After those interested are filled with info a click of the "play" arrow sends gamers to the virtual garage staging area where three buttons offer a choice of kayaking, snowboarding or mountain biking, the likely activities X3 buyers will do on weekends or so the marketing department has decided. To be more realistic the game developers might have considered choosing a shopping mall parking lot
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| It's actually a lot of fun zipping the little SUV around tight mountain corners via the keyboard. (Photo: BMW of North America) |
Just the same the kayaking game starts out with a fast drive to the top of a mountain in an X3, with the opportunity to collect points on the way up by hitting spinning X3 graphics. It's actually a lot of fun zipping the little SUV around tight mountain corners via the left and right arrows for turning and up and down arrows for propelling it forward and back, with the indestructible X3 bouncing off boulders the size of small houses without even a scratch.
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| The game takes into account such details as the weight of the vehicle, the length of its axles and its center of gravity. (Photo: BMW of North America) |
To be fair the game takes into account such details as the weight of the vehicle, the length of its axles and its center of gravity, making the driving experience come across more realistic than the majority of similar web games. It's 3D too, showing surrounding scenery in detail and decent topography, while also allowing the possibility to drive all the way back down the course the wrong way and then turn around and drive up again - if you so choose.
The virtual X3 does an amazing job of traversing rough terrain, although it slips appropriately when attempting to scale extreme verticals covered in snow. After the drive up to the river in the kayaking segment, rally driver becomes kayaking expert and the same controls are used and points system followed on the way to the whitewater finish line.