The arcade racing genre has been around for some time now. Some of you may remember earlier classics like Out Run, Burnout or Need for Speed - all great games with their own unique challenge thrown in. Outrun introduced a beat the clock style mission, Burnout specialised in crashing into opponents and Need for Speed focused on outrunning the cops.

Still, there's only so much you can do with a car driving on bitumen. This is where off-road racers come in to make things a little more interesting. Pure is an intense ATV (All Terrain Vehicle, or Quad Bike) racer which focuses on getting the player to pull off some unrealistic tricks while getting some insane air within a breathtaking environment.

Pure was developed by Black Rock Studio - formerly known as Climax Racing. Fans of bike games might recognise the name from the Moto GP and ATV Offroad Fury series'. These guys have had some experience in their time and wanted to take Pure to the next level - and they've done a top job at delivering a fantastic racer.

When you first load up the game you'll be taken straight to the tutorials. The narrator, who reminds me a lot of DJ Atomika from Burnout Paradise (don't worry, you can mute him), will go over the basics of how to launch your ATV in the air using what the game calls a preload and how to pull off all the inhumane tricks and get the oxygen-depriving altitude the game quickly becomes all about. Performing a successful trick earns you boost , giving you more momentum to get even more air. Once you pass the first five challenges in the tutorial you get to design your ATV which you'll use to race in World Tour mode.

Manually designing your ATV will literally take up to 10 minutes. I counted 22 customisable parts varying from body frame, shocks, wheels, A-arm, fenders, engine, sprockets, body paint, radiator, nerf bar, frame guards.. the list goes on, but don't freak out. If you want to jump straight into the action you can auto build your ATV but you miss out on the 1 of a kind achievement if playing on the 360.

Once you've finishing building and naming your new vicious ride you are then taken to a character selection screen where you'll need to choose a rider, each with a background story and an ambition. Once selected you're ready to rock 'n roll in World Tour!

Hip-checks work better without the ATV.

WT mode is where you'll be able to earn upgrades for your four-wheeled baby and unlock more stages and tracks. There are three different racing modes you'll face, Sprint, Freestyle and Race. Sprint is a race on a short, fast-paced track with only a limited amount of jumps. Freestyle is focused on tricks, and it throws power-ups into the mix. Race is an endurance mode packed full of mountain leaps, ramps and hill sides. I found this particular mode to be the most exciting and hardest out of the three - stuff being the first to cross the finish line, you’re doing well if you finish 6th or better in the later races.

At the beginning of every race you'll start off by performing only the basic tricks by using the A button and pushing on the left analogue stick. Get a couple successful tricks in a row and you'll be granted access to intermediate tricks (B button) and then onto expert tricks (Y button) which you'll only be able to pull off effectively with longer than average air time. If you stack it you will lose a level from your stunt meter and repeating tricks earns you significantly less points.

The trick system may be familiar to SSX Tricky fans, as the point system is essentially the same - chain enough awesome tricks and you'll be able to execute a special stunt so unreal it makes Speed Racer seem realistic. Special stunts are performed by tapping on both the bumpers and using the analogue stick. Here's a tip for would be pros - be sure to get plenty of air because it takes a good 8 to 10 seconds to showboat these moves. Do it well and you'll earn some serious points and boost.

As you progress through World Tour you will be faced with tougher and more aggressive AI sooner than you might expect due to the game’s short number of stages. It’s a case of “Why make a long game easy when you can make a short action packed game hard?” or what I like to call the Wave Race: Blue Storm paradox. There is ultimately no room for mistakes so don't punish yourself too hard for losing first place on the last lap.

There are three other modes available, Single Event, Trail and Online. I think you can work out what Single Event is - Trail is the same, except minus AI racers. Online mode lets you race up to 16 other players - online (shock). Of course if you're going to be playing online will run into the occasional overseas gamer with a shoddy internet connection so expect some ATV to be skipping and jumping all over the race track - in these instances I found Freestyle to be a more enjoyable mode as you don't rely on your connection just your mad skills.

Visually, Pure is amazing. Whilst in the air you can see as far as a virtual eagle - draw distance is almost infinite. The mountains are simply stunning, the endless deserts will send a shiver down your spine and I'm sure you wouldn't have anything against landing your ride into a disgustingly beautiful looking mud pool. The game gives the player a great sense of speed and air thanks to the constant smooth framerate.

While there are slight drawbacks preventing Pure from being an absolute winner it is nevertheless a well executed racer and another excellent addition to the off-road racer genre from the Black Rock team. If you don't find yourself gripping hard onto your controller, sitting at the edge of your seat and screaming at your TV while you pull off a double special stunt there might be something wrong with you.