Multiplayer and Graphics
Multiplayer in PURE is as straightforward as the events you'll experience in the campaign, offering players a choice between the three available types of events. In addition, the game also has a free ride mode for those who'd rather just tool around and maybe check out their friends' ATVs with no winner or loser tagged. In this mode, players may simply check out stats that show things like who made the highest jump or the most impressive trick.
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During my time with the PC and Xbox 360 versions of PURE, I was able to check out all of the available online modes and I am happy to report that the game performed flawlessly with absolutely no lag or graphical glitches experienced on either platform. While I can't promise a bug-free experience for everyone, I think it's fair to note that there were multiple instances where the conversations between players centered on how well the game performed during online play. Since the game is fairly new, I was not able to apply my criticism to an online match with the maximum sixteen players the game touts. However, I did experience as many as twelve racers on both platforms and the same smoothness in PURE's multiplayer modes applies to both. Sadly, online play is limited to one player with no split-screen option for online or local play. A fifth or sixth event type or multiplayer mode would have increased the game's already high replay value, but what's here is indeed satisfying.
Graphically, PURE is simply a gorgeous game. The environments you'll race though are vividly detailed with blooms of light and eye-catching structures throughout. On the PC front, PURE is hardly a game that will put today's upper-midrange graphics cards to the test. Equipped with a single 8800GT, an overclocked Core 2 Duo, and plenty of memory, my machine achieved an unwavering 60 FPS throughout most of the game. Whenever my GPU did take a hit, the effect was minimal with frame rates only falling to (at worst) 56 FPS. Even on its highest settings, similar results were achieved with a 6800 GT, suggesting great performance even on midrange machines. (Granted, 6800 GT doesn't support DX10 effects, but it still looked good and ran very well, which was rather surprising.)
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While the PC version may have the upper hand in performance and graphical quality, the gap between it and the Xbox 360 version of PURE is not enormous by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, aside from the 360's signature blur effects, there isn't a whole lot separating the two save for the obvious difference in frame rates. Even though an interview with one of Black Rock's finest stated that the target frame rate for the console versions was 30, I am inclined to believe that the goal was exceeded. In the end, you've got an excellent performing game that looks and performs great on both consoles and PC. While I was not able to try out the PlayStation 3 version of PURE, I figured the deal breaker would be its online performance over the PlayStation Network, which is known for having its issues. However, the buzz seems to be pretty positive among the gamers who participate in the forums at PlayStation.com.
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MonkeyPaw - Monday, September 29, 2008 - link
Actually, it reminds me a lot of ATV2. Interesting scenes, ridiculous jumps and tricks, and even boost. If it has a "kick" feature where you can boot riders off their quads, then it sounds like it's the same game. That would be fine, since ATV2 was a blast, and this could be the graphical update for the next gen. :)computerfarmer - Monday, September 29, 2008 - link
It is nice to see a game of this type. Fun is the name of the game.What are the system(PC) and graphic card requirements?
ON Board - ATI 790GX - nVidia 8300
or
ATI HD-4670 / nVidia 9600GT
or
ATI HD 4850 / nVidia 9800GTX
or
ATI HD 4870 / nVidia GTX 260
or
any of the above
EddieTurner - Monday, September 29, 2008 - link
128MB DirectX 9.0c-compatible 3D video card supporting Shaders 3.0.wumples - Monday, September 29, 2008 - link
Why is there no mention of the horrendous loading times on the PC? I have a fairly decent wee PC (similar to the one posted in the article by the sounds of things) and thought the load times were abysmal. With owning a PS3 / 360 I was hoping something would be mentioned about this.EddieTurner - Monday, September 29, 2008 - link
You are indeed correct. I did notice the difference in load times. However, in my experience, the difference is pretty much a given between the two platforms. But yes, I did feel that the PC's load time were a bit lengthy. Totally worth it nonetheless.unclebud - Saturday, October 4, 2008 - link
thanks for mentioning that! its a deal breaker for me to have long load times. i HATE waiting. this is just as bad as crysis warhead having ea's securom (i returned it back to circuit city unopened). why do reviewers leave this kind of stuff out??? ugh.Subzero0000 - Saturday, October 4, 2008 - link
*Firstly, none of the editor function (Bold, https, Quote...) works on any of my browser (IE 7, Firefox 3, Opera 9, Chrome), why?Anyway, here is a quote from their official FAQ :
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"Why does Pure take so long to load?"
Normal loading times for Pure average between one to two minutes. This is an acceptable load time for a 3D graphics-intensive game. In some cases, pressing the Space bar or Enter key will advance you to the main menu in less time; however, this would not be an indicator of any issue with the game or your system.
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Well, they think it is perfectly acceptable to wait for one to two minutes. You can't complain.
It's ridiculous, even Crysis doesn't take that long.
The FAQ link :
http://disneyinteractivestudios.custhelp.com/cgi-b...">http://disneyinteractivestudios.custhel...dGV4dD1w...
Sabrewulf6000 - Sunday, October 5, 2008 - link
This worked for me. Based on a post at the Pure's message boards, there is a problem with this game, VSync and NVidia cards. Turn off VSync in Rivatuner or the NVidia control panel (I set up a game profile in Rivatuner) and the load time were greatly improved. Weird huh? Hope its works for ya.Sabrewulf6000 - Sunday, October 5, 2008 - link
Here's the link - http://forums.purevideogame.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?t...">http://forums.purevideogame.com/n/pfx/f...sages&am...Subzero0000 - Sunday, October 5, 2008 - link
Thanks for the info. But it doesn't seems to improve the situation.Mine still takes about 30 sec to load. By the time the stage is up, my hands already cold.
My other PC is ATI4850 though. I might try that Vsync on it later.