Quad bikes are brilliant, aren't they? Four wheels, capable of handling pretty much any terrain... they're just perfect for fun and high jinks. Everyone loves them. Princes William and Harry recently did a spot of fox hunting on them, I seem to recall, while lank-haired comedian Rik Mayall once had one fall on his head. This last example neatly demonstrates that ATVs are both fun and dangerous - just like most things that are a worthwhile pastime, then.

And just like most things that are a worthwhile pastime, there's a video game that lets you try it, with less danger to both head and wallet. ATV: Quad Power Racing 2 features loads of disciplines for you to try, from racing to stunt challenges, and if you succeed at them all then one thing's for sure: there's no way you'll be having a quad fall on top of your head.

Like that other bike game to come from the racing fans at Climax, the creamily magnificent MotoGP: URT, ATV 2 features a control scheme that makes ample use of both thumbsticks on the Xbox pad. Using the pair in combination allows for all sorts of wheelies and stoppies to be performed, as well as the usual acceleration, braking and steering. And there are some more unusual functions to mess around with too, accessed via the triggers. You can bring the quad up onto two wheels ('bicycling', as quad-riding trendies would have it). Even better, the R trigger allows you fill up the 'Preload' meter, which enables you to pull off a cheeky bunny hop when the trigger is released. And that's something that comes in very handy, not least because if the trick is deployed at the top of a ramp you can get some truly mahoosive air.

Once in the air, crazy stunts can be executed before you line up the quad's wheels for a nice smooth landing. For all the racing and wheels, the way you use the Preload meter to prepare for a jump, then pull off a stunt and align yourself for a perfect landing, feels a bit like the kind of antics you get up to in a snowboarding game like Amped. Indeed, pulling off a stunt properly and landing it results in your boost meter being filled - a process that will be very familiar to fans of SSX Tricky. It does help to make ATVs quite involving little thingies to drive. Unfortunately, while all these nice ideas have been thrown together for the handling - both thumbsticks and triggers being used to perform some unusual manoeuvres, and so on - it just doesn't gel together as satisfyingly as it does in, say, MotoGP. The boost is mapped to the Y button, requiring you to take your thumb off the Right stick (accelerator) to access it; and even if you prefer to use the A button to accelerate, quickly accessing Y can mean a clumsy stab of the brake (X), which ruins things.

Stunts, too, sound straightforward enough - simply combine a direction on the Left stick with the X button while in midair. But in practice, they too feel slightly clumsy, with the controls proving unresponsive when trying to pull off a trick. Sometimes it works fine, and sometimes it won't - the timing feels a smidgen too precise. Or even worse, it will work - but too late - so your hapless rider finally does the splits just as the quad hits the ground.

You can imagine the pain. This is a bit of a shame, because as a straightforward racing game ATV 2 is good, but it's not quite good enough to compete with the premier racers on Xbox. The subject matter demands that the stunts sit easily with the racing - as they do in SSX Tricky - but as it is, they're slightly awkward, and feel bolted-on somehow, although they're almost certainly not.

The thing is, though, as noted at the beginning of the review - ATV 2 isn't just about racing - there's the Challenge mode, too, which tests your quad handling skills under supreme pressure. And it's this mode that makes ATV 2 a worthy purchase. In direct contrast to the racing section of the game, the challenges feel like they're what the quad bikes were supposed to be doing all along, making for lots more fun.

At first, the challenges are simple, akin to the kind of thing you might find yourself doing in MotoGP's Training mode - perform a wheelie for a certain distance, or something like that. But upgrade to the Tower Challenges and you'll find a whole new game. These are a Kickstart fetishist's dream, requiring the player to negotiate an intricate series of suspended ledges, pipes and ramps within a strict time limit. There are moments, when you are teetering over a precipice with only a few seconds left, that the game feels like GameCube's Super Monkey Ball, only with a complicated piece of machinery under your precise control. Excellent.

All in all then, it's quite hard to decide what to make of ATV 2. If you are the kind of player that got hours of fun out of the mini-games in Crazy Taxi 3 rather than the main game itself - just like many of us here - then this will provide your next hit of mini-game elation/frustration. But if it's pure, hardcore racing action you're after, then ATV 2's offering is less alluring, but solid fun nonetheless.

1. Great mini-games/challenges
2. Solid, quality visuals
3. Some nice ideas for the handling

1. ...But it can be a bit fiddly at times
2. Races are strangely uninvolving

Power
It's pleasing to look at, if not spectacularly so, and the use of colour makes it hard to complain.

Style
A no-nonsense, cheery feel really helps make the ATV experience a likeable one.

Immersion
The racing isn't as exciting as it might have been, but the challenges are gripping.

Lifespan
Players determined to get gold medals on every challenge have got their work cut out.

Summary
This is a solid, entertaining game with some great 'mini-challenges' for fans of bite-sized entertainment.