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| - So it's been quite a while since I've played a motocross game, the last title being the venerable Excitebike. So imagine my surprise when I find that dirtbike games are no longer about hitting the gas and worrying about overheating, but instead many innovations have been introduced to the genre - the most notable being the ability to compress one's shocks in order to gain additional height and distance off of jumps. And then there are the other changes that have happened in the 14 years I've been away from the dirt track: trick systems, career modes, supercross, soundtracks, and complex, yet intuitive control schemes. All of these things are featured in MTX Mototrax, the latest motocross title from developer Left Field and those extreme sport loving folks at Activision. The staple of any good extreme game is choice - without plenty of interesting modes to throw at a player, these games tend to get old very fast. Luckily, MTX Mototrax has no shortage of interesting and varying ways to make bike go over jump. In addition to the Supercross (indoors) and Motocross (outdoors) tracks and series, there is a Freeride mode. Those familiar to Activision's other extreme game titles (Tony Hawk Pro Skater) will feel right at home here. While other titles on the market hastily throw in a freestyle mode that is cluttered with jumps thrown across a barren landscape without any rhyme or reason, this is the exception. Mototrax instead favors a more Tony Hawk approach, giving players many objectives spread over any given map - running the gamut from riding wheelies for a given distance to clearing gaps to anything and everything in between. And while any of these modes can be played exclusively, they are linked together via the game's impressive career mode, wherein the player takes control of a generic, customizable biker with aspirations of winning, becoming sponsored, and reigning supreme over the motocross world. As players progress and win races, sponsors come flocking via the game's PDA - the main means of communication between the player and the in- | |||||
game management and sponsors. Players can even switch from team to team as more profitable contracts are offered, an interesting and addictive concept. With fully customizable, unlockable gear, winning those contracts is actually rewarding as those sponsors equipment is then worn by your rider, and your rider will only get money for wearing those goods. So yeah, you may be a corporate whore, but you'll be a rich corporate whore. On the track, Mototrax obviously handles very much in the style of arcade. With the main focus on maintaining speed and compressing for jumps, the races unfold at a burning pace with rival racers consistently upping the ante in both speed and skill. Turns, if not mastered, will soon become a player's worst nightmare as Mototrax is unforgiving about players going over the bank and losing 3-4 vital seconds. Control-wise, the game gives the player a couple of ways to do everything. Players can either compress shocks by holding the A button and then releasing it, or by pulling down on the left analog stick, then pushing up at the lip of the jump. Both methods work just peachy, but experienced gamers will find the analog stick method the better of the two. Getting the timing on compression feels inconsistent and unpredictable, but with enough practice, even it can be mastered. Graphics are a different affair - while the environments are large, moderately detailed, and somewhat interactive, they leave a bit to be desired as far as details and nuances. There just doesn't seem to be the level of polish applied that we've come to expect from Activision's other extreme sports titles. Furthermore, the model animation is borderline boring. Tricks look stiff and uncoordinated, crashes are ho-hum, and models look generally bland. In an extreme sports game, where tricks and crashes are the persistent theme, this is inexcusable. And then there's the audio. While I understand that a lot of people are into this kind of stuff, I can't the number of extreme games features the standard assortment of pop-punk, nu/old metal, and generic alterna-bands. Luckily, if you feel the same as I, the game provides many a soundtrack option, including self-made playlists (this is the Xbox version, after all) and the ability to turn the vocals off. Finally,
MTX Mototrax is the sole motocross game on the market with Xbox Live support.
Featuring an interesting King-of-the-Hill mode (like that found in Tony Hawk)
and a freestyle competition, it's always interesting to see the varying playing
styles online. Finding competition was a bit tricky at times, but the inclusion
of multiplayer is always a nice touch, and when implemented with all the fixins'
of Live support, it's downright great. Overall:
7/10 [ top ] |
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