I own at least 15 to 20 racing games (and that's what I kept when I moved from Texas to Florida) and the only thing that playing Baja - Edge of Control made me want to do is go back to playing any of them except this one. The gameplay and controls to this THQ title are just terrible and that is quite a shame because the game showed great potential.

For the most part this game was actually very impressive (theoretically); it featured many cars in several car classes, it had upgrades and it had a great car-setup system where anywhere from brakes to transmission to suspension balance and whatnot could be altered and customized but none of that matters. And do you know why? None of it matter because the game's steering is so bad that the game is for the most part unplayable. I have not been able to finish a single race without restarting it at least 10 to 15 times. And I did not do that out of greed. I did it because unless you finish in the top 3 spots you can not move on and unlock the other set of races. And if you're wondering why I even bothered with the career mode of the game it is because in career mode is where you unlock vehicles to race in single player mode or multiplayer. But the steering is terrible in every game mode. While most games have a smooth steering aspect, in Baja - Edge of Control, your steering has only 4 settings (2 settings for turning left and 2 for turning right). The left analog stick is responsible for steering but depending on the direction that you push the wheels turn either half way or full way. There is no smoothness and precision to it. Add that to realistic handling and a very bumpy terrain and all you get is restart after restart in hopes that you can actually finish a race anything but dead last.

Note: I did promise earlier in the review under Sound and Graphics that I will explain why the game has vehicular damage in the sense of flying panels instead of dents and scratches. As you win races sponsors pay you money to put advertisements on your car but you only get paid for the advertisements if you finish the race with the corresponding panels still attached to your vehicle.