But somehow, widespread acceptance has yet to be forthcoming. Not quite car enough to be considered a car, yet too far removed from a bike to really fit into that market either, it seems that the humble ATV is destined to remain a niche machine.

But while the appeal of quad biking has yet to catch on in the real world (in the mainstream sense, anyway), its combination of high octane powerslides and massive power-to-weight ratios sounds ideally suited to videogames.

Or at least, that’s what Black Rock Studios believes. And if Pure is anything to go by, then the developer formerly known as Climax Racing may well have a point.

Although quad bike games are nothing new, Pure nevertheless looks like it should be a breath of fresh air. Of course, there are similarities with other ATV-style games: you still have to beat 15 rivals to the finish flag, pulling mad stunts and grabbing air is very much an essential part of the game and, thanks to the dazzling array of components, you can craft a personalised machine from scratch.

It’s only once the action gets underway that Pure really starts to elevate itself above its peers. The key to the game is boost. As with Burnout and its ilk, this can be obtained by performing stunts, drifting around corners and suchlike. But rather than simply being a tool to get you moving quicker in a straight line, your boost meter becomes the key to unlocking Pure’s more elaborate features.

The boost meter comes in three stages, with the stage you’re at determining how impressive the stunts you can pull off are. So long as you remain stuck in the first stage, you’ll find you can only pull off basic moves. Once your boost meter eases into the second stage, so you’ll find you can pull off more complex tricks, and when you finally hit the third stage, you can really push the boat out.

Pulling stunts is also relatively easy, with the three different stages mapped to the corresponding face button on the controller.

The amount of boost you have also brings the level design into play. As with the likes of MotorStorm, each course is littered with a wide variety of routes. But unlike Sony’s racer – where your route is largely determined by the characteristics of your vehicle – the number of paths open to you depends on how much boost you have.

The more boost you have, the faster you go; the faster you go, the more air you can grab; and the more air you can grab, the greater your chance of clearing obstacles and accessing shortcuts. As a result of this, a shortcut you weren’t able to access on the opening lap of a race may suddenly be open next time.

Coupled with the stunt elements, this greatly encourages you to experiment and explore the limits of Pure’s 50 individual events.

If these elements form the basic framework for the gameplay, then it’s the vertigo rush that provides the sense of spectacle.

This kicks in almost as soon as you launch off a big jump. The music stops, and is promptly replaced by strange, slow motion-esque noises and the sound of rushing air. Visually, you’re given the illusion of being hundreds of feet in the air, marvelling at the spectacular views that extend for miles in all directions. And with several seconds passing before you hit the ground, you’ve got plenty of scope to pull off some serious tricks.

Granted, it would be easy to dismiss this ‘rush’ element as elaborate audio-visual frippery. But while there may be some truth in that, its sense of spectacle and occasion – which is heightened even further by there being only a selected number of jumps big enough for it to kick in per course – can’t help but impress.

Of course, the fact Pure looks rather tasty helps matters immensely. Although each of the settings we saw were rural in nature, each had its own unique sense of individuality, such as decaying roman-esque marble columns and architecture in Italy.

Each rider is fantastically well animated, and even little touches – such as the way dirt is thrown up by your tires or grass sways in the wind – looks fantastic.

Indeed, the only question that remains is how well it plays. While Disney and Black Rock weren’t quite ready to relinquish the controller and let us have a blast on this occasion, simply watching one of Black Rock’s staff putting Pure through its paces would seem to suggest that the game is shaping up well.

The handling seems well weighted and instinctive, and the vehicles naturally tail happy; when in the air, the member of staff demonstrating Pure had no problems judging jumps and stunts, and the whole thing looked spectacular, quick and – above all else – fun.

Indeed, the fact members of the staff were setting each other stunt challenges during the presentation would seem to suggest that the game plays rather well.

Nevertheless, we won’t have a firm idea of how well the game is going to turn out until we’ve been given the chance to rack up some virtual mileage of our own, so you’ll forgive us if we don’t make any bold predictions at this stage.

Rather, we’ll simply say the potential for a decent game is undoubtedly there. And as soon as Black Rock and Disney let us have a go, we’ll let you know if they’re on course to realise this or not.