Baja: Edge of Control

Overview

Baja: Edge of Control is a 2008 off-road racing game developed by 2XL Games and published by THQ for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It takes its name from the real Baja 1000 off-road race in Baja California and Baja California Sur, Mexico, which the game is based on.

The game is set on over 95 tracks, including three Baja 250 courses, two Baja 500 courses and one Baja 1000 course, across nine open world environments.

It is aimed at arcade off-road racing, similar to Colin McRae: Dirt, and is built around endurance racing across the desert. Multiplayer covers Xbox Live, System Link and up to four-player split-screen.

Baja: Edge of Control received mixed reviews on both consoles according to Metacritic. GameSpot nominated it for best racing game of 2008.

A remaster, Baja: Edge of Control HD, came out worldwide in September 2017 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows. It adds 4K support and improved shadows, lighting and dust effects, and also received mixed or average reviews.

Official trailer

Baja: Edge of Control Xbox 360 Trailer - Trailer, IGN. Watch on YouTube

Gameplay

Baja Edge of Control - 2008 (Gameplay), RacingELV. Watch on YouTube

Screenshots

Game details

Genres

Racing

Developer

2XL Games

Publisher

THQ

Modes

Single player

Yes

Local multiplayer

4

Online multiplayer

Yes

Release dates

Editions

Buy this game

Disc IDs

The serial printed on the disc and the case. It tells you which region a copy is from.

Achievements

Achievements50 (1,000G)

1000G possibleYes

Total

50

Gamerscore

1000

100% time

30 to 50 hours

Difficulty

8 out of 10

Playthroughs for 1000G

1

Playthroughs for 100%

1

1000G without online

No

Online trophies

1

Online note

Basic Multiplayer needs 5 hours of online play. The other 49 achievements are offline.

DLC has trophies

No

1000G includes DLC

No

100% includes DLC

No

DLC note

No downloadable content carries achievements.

Missable trophies

0

Separate trophy lists by region

No

Only in a language other than English

No

Languages

English

Online-only version

No

Digital-only

No

Disc-only

No

Players with 1000G

2.78%

Gamerscore, base game

1000

Gamerscore with DLC

1000

Grind

• Finish the Baja 1000, about 2.5 hours in one race
• First place in every career event

• Unlimited VW Experience Level Earn enough experience points to unlock the Unlimited VW race leagues. 10G 33.5% of players
• 4X4 Class Experience Level Earn enough experience points to unlock the 4X4 Class race leagues. 15G 24.33% of players
• Open-Wheel Experience Level Earn enough experience to unlock the Open-Wheel race leagues. 15G 20.88% of players
• Mini Truck Experience Level Earn enough experience to unlock the Mini Truck race leagues. 20G 18.27% of players
• Fullsize Truck Experience Level Earn enough experience points to unlock the Full Size Truck race leagues. 20G 14.74% of players
• Class 1 Experience Level Earn enough experience points to unlock the Class 1 race leagues. 25G 12.85% of players
• Trophy Truck Experience Level Earn enough experience points to unlock the Trophy Truck race leagues. 50G 10.87% of players
• First Career Race Won Finished a career race in 1st place. 15G 56.03% of players
• Career Complete! Completed 100% of the career! 100G 3.63% of players
• Deux Mille Bournes Drove 2000 miles in all vehicles combined. 25G 3.96% of players
• Mille Bournes Drove 1000 miles in all vehicles combined. 20G 6.88% of players
• Won All Cabo San Lucas Races Finished 1st in every race in Cabo San Lucas. 25G 3.68% of players
• Won All Canyon De Chelly Races Finished 1st in every race in Canyon De Chelly. 25G 3.7% of players
• Won All Canyon Lake Races Finished 1st in every race in Canyon Lake. 25G 3.7% of players
• Won All Cocono Island Races Finished 1st in every race in Cocono Island. 25G 3.8% of players
• Won All Lake Powell Races Finished 1st in every race in Lake Powell. 25G 3.7% of players
• Won All Uyuni Salt Flats Races Finished 1st in every race in Uyuni Salt Flats. 25G 3.76% of players
• Won All Nevada Races Finished 1st in every race in Nevada. 25G 3.85% of players
• Won All Painted Desert Races Finished 1st in every race in Painted Desert. 25G 3.96% of players
• Won All Mogollon Rim Races Finished 1st in every race in Mogollon Rim. 25G 3.68% of players
• Clutch Used Used the clutch at least 5 times in one race. 5G 77.27% of players
• Hand Brake Used Used the hand brake at least 5 times in one race. 5G 63.54% of players
• Preload Used Used the preload at least 5 times in one race. 5G 29.02% of players
• Speed Demon Exceeded 120 MPH. 5G 49.47% of players
• Roll Over Rolled a vehicle at least 3 times in a row. 5G 54.71% of players
• Basic Multiplayer Played at least 5 hours in Multiplayer. 10G Needs online 5.89% of players
• Won All Hill Climb Races Finished 1st in every Hill Climb race. 25G 5.63% of players
• Won All Open Class Races Finished 1st in every Open Class race. 25G 4.06% of players
• Won 5 Invitational Races. Finished 1st in 5 Invitationals races. 25G 7.41% of players
• Owns 15 Vehicles Purchased 15 vehicles. 20G 5.24% of players
• Owns 25 Vehicles Purchased 25 vehicles. 25G 4.73% of players
• Won First Race Finished a race in first place. 10G 19.55% of players
• First Race League Won Finished a career race league in 1st place. 10G 43.51% of players
• Careful Finished a race in 1st, 2nd or 3rd with no body damage what so ever. 10G 55.18% of players
• Total Loss Finished a race without any body panels attached to a vehicle. 10G 21.69% of players
• Friendly Skies Accumulated a mile of distance traveled in the air. 10G 60.97% of players
• Hat Trick Won three races in a row. 10G 30.07% of players
• High Roller Earned in excess of 1,000,000 credits. 10G 5.41% of players
• Well Informed Watch all of the tutorial videos. 10G 18.6% of players
• Clean Line Completed a lap without ever leaving the track. 10G 68.45% of players
• Clean Driving Completed an entire race without ever leaving the track. 10G 34.62% of players
• Never Flat Finished a race in 1st, 2nd or 3rd with no flat tires. 10G 72.54% of players
• Hot Pit Repair Was fully repaired in a Hot Pit at least one time. 10G 38.91% of players
• Help From Above Was fully repaired by the helicopter at least one time. 10G 35.66% of players
• Manual Tranny Finished a race in 1st place using a manual transmission. 10G 8.18% of players
• Baja 250 Finished a Baja 250 race. 20G 11.36% of players
• Baja 500 Finished a Baja 500. 30G 7.93% of players
• Baja 1000 Finished the Baja 1000. 50G 7.89% of players
• Explorer Found every hidden Discovery in Free Ride. 15G 3.61% of players
• King of the Hill Finished the Baja 1000 in a Trophy Truck. 50G 7.56% of players

Space and patches

Space neededPlays from the disc

Playable today

Playable offline todayYes

Career plays offline from the disc, with up to four players on one console, and online races still run on Xbox 360.

Online

Online servers runningYes

Plays offlineYes

Online races for up to ten players run over Xbox Live and still work on Xbox 360. No shutdown has been announced. The Xbox 360 Store closed to new purchases on 29 July 2024.

Services

Service	Status	Shutdown date
Online races over Xbox Live	running	None announced

Reception

Aggregates

Outlet	Platform	Score	Scale
Metacritic	Xbox 360	65	100

Critics

Outlet	Score	Scale
4Players	75	100
Edge	5	10
Eurogamer	6	10
Game Informer	8	10
GamePro	2.5	5
GameSpot	7.5	10
GameSpy	3.5	5
GameTrailers	7	10
GameZone	6	10
IGN	6.9	10
Official Xbox Magazine	8	10

Notes for collectors

• The game is named after the Baja 1000, and it has courses for the Baja 250, Baja 500 and Baja 1000. Finishing each one has its own achievement.
• King of the Hill, worth 50 gamerscore, needs the Baja 1000 finished in a Trophy Truck.
• Career Complete, for finishing 100 percent of the career, is worth 100 gamerscore, the most of any achievement in the list.
• The Xbox 360 list has 50 achievements worth 1,000 gamerscore.
• GameSpot nominated it for best racing game of 2008.
• An HD remaster for PS4, Xbox One and Windows came out in September 2017 from BlitWorks, published by THQ Nordic.

Credits

Publisher

THQ

Developer

2XL Games

Released

2008-09-22

Age rating

E (Everyone)

Disc ID

545107EF

Region

US

Time to beat

about 21 hours

Copies in the shop

• Baja: Edge of Control (XBOX 360) CA$14.99