The fact that Sony has now delivered six ATV Offroad Fury (ATVOF) games in five years leads one to suspect a couple of things. The first is that this series about racing ATVs on dirt tracks must be rolling in some serious dough for Sony (which seems a just a little surprising, given its subject). The second is that red-state America's boys and young men - obviously the franchise's target demographic - must not care all that much about diversity or variety in games, because we've basically been provided the same game year after year, with incremental upgrades like online play, a trick system, and point-to-point races that simply matched the gaming trends of the time without innovating upon them.

The series' two newest games, ATV Offroad Fury 4 for PlayStation2 and ATV Offroad Fury Pro for PlayStation Portable, continue the franchise's tendency to simply maintain the status quo. Both games provide the option for players to race bikes, buggies, and trucks - a first for ATVOF - and the PlayStation2 game throws in a lengthy story mode, but it still feels like we've been playing the same games since 2001.

Not that that's necessarily bad. Stagnating or not, ATVOF has consistently delivered satisfying, high-flying, dirt track racing thrills, and that's still the case.

Both ATVOF 4 and ATVOF Pro employ the series' trademark intuitive driving controls and accessible game play, which means series veterans will hit the ground running (or rolling, as the case may be). ATVs and bikes control nearly identically to one another (though the latter is a bit more wiggly in turns), while buggies and trucks handle similarly to the heavy vehicles found in most other offroad racing games. In the unlikely event you happen to be a rookie to both the ATVOF franchise and other racing games, the tutorial modes in both titles take only a few minutes to play through. Aside from tricks, which can prove frustrating, it's pretty simple stuff.

The content in both games feels quite similar. They share custom track building modules, unlockable vehicles and upgrades, and live and local multiplayer modes. There are plenty of different tracks, bikes, and single-player championships in each game, but once you actually get on a course and start racing those differences tend to fade away; all that will be on your mind is the race, and the racing in both games feels nearly identical.

As it turns out, the greatest difference between the two games - other than the size of the screens they're played on - is that the PS2 version has a story mode that follows the trials and tribulations of either a male or female rider (your choice) as they move up the ranks from greenhorn to dirt track racing demigod. Players can partially guide their rider's career by selecting the races they want to enter and the vehicles they want to use. It provides a bit of structure to the game, but it doesn't really add any extra content.

However, if you happen to pick up both games you'll be able to unlock some content that isn't available in either game on its own, including a mini-game called Rings of Fire (which involves - surprise, surprise - driving through fiery rings), as well new tracks, vehicles, and upgrades. All you have to do is connect a PSP running ATVOF Pro to a PS2 running ATVOF 4 with a USB cable. It's a nice extra, but it will likely convince only the most obsessed dirt racing fan to shell out an extra sixty bucks for a second game.

In the final analysis, when deciding which - if, indeed, either game - is worth our hard earned cash, it seems common sense is the best guide. If you're down with offroad racing, both games can be a blast. They won't win any awards for innovation, but they're definitely fun. However, there's no need to buy both. Each game offers tracks, vehicles, and competitions the other doesn't, but the overall experiences feel very similar.

Ergo, let your gaming lifestyle decide: are you train gamer or a home consoler?