 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| The Entertainment Review |
| Genre: Racing Developer: Rainbow Studios Publisher: THQ |
Rainbow Studios has always been a leader in the field of off-road racing games. With their entry into the genre in 1998 with “Motocross
Madness” for the PC, they have been continually been improving on its working formula ever since. With great controls and level
design, along with staying true to the genre, which most developers can’t quite get right, the franchise continues to pave the way in the
racing genre.
With the release of its seventh off-road game “MX vs. ATV Untamed,” the game takes most of the elements from the predecessors and
continues to redefine the design in a positive way. A decade after releasing its first game, the studio seems to be running out of ideas
on how to further the gaming experience. Considering the fact that the game has been around for so many years, it isn’t surprising that
new features are running low. There are a few new modes and event types, but the core game play hasn’t changed much. While it is
still a strong game, it seems to feel very familiar.
What “MX vs. ATV Untamed” does very well is retain the excellent control mechanics that have been seen in past games. Every vehicle
in the game controls much like an arcade game, but still allowing players to get the full simulation experience. This means that players
can turn their vehicles at the last second on the turn and the game is rarely going to punish them for it. Because of this, players can
land some insane jumps and cut corners like a profession, but at the same time players can use the clutch to corner and accelerate, or
cause the player’s bike to stay low in the air off of a jump. Each of the vehicles types in game whether it is a bike, ATV, buggy, truck,
players will have to learn different controls.
Even though players need to change their driving techniques from race to race, the game seems to be the same thing that has been
offered over the last decade and the racing can seem monotonous after a while. The core racing mechanics work well and can be quite
enjoyable for some time, but it only takes so long before it starts to feel like every hill feels the same. The different types of events help
to change up the game play, but players will still eventually get sick of jumping hills.
This time around two new events have been added to the game, Endurocross and Opencross. The Endurocross events have players
race through a Supercross track, except it has ponds, tires, rocks and other obstacles in the way. It is meant to be chaotic, but it is a
little bit too much so. The Opencross is nothing too special, but it makes players balance risk and reward.
Aside from the standard series of events that players can take on in Career mode, players will also be able to find the new X-Cross
Tournament. The tournament works like a reverse tournament where by completing one competition will open up more to partake in. In
theory it was a good idea, but players will quickly find themselves in tournaments and realize that they don’t want to race anymore just to
progress through the game. Since each round can have four or more races, each of which has two stages, players will be stuck in the
middle of a series for a while before they are given any option of what to do next.
Throughout the game there are a number of customization options that are at their disposal, but the system is a bit useless because of
the fact that players can earn a large amount of money quickly and purchase whatever they want early in the game. Also, most of the
customizations have to do with colors and look instead of performance, so it is more about appearance rather than performance.
The multiplayer game play works well and there are a large number of mini-games that can be played. Snake is the highlight in this
game. It works much like the light-cycles from the movie Tron, which the bikes leave a trail behind the racer’s bike. The difference is
that the trail exists in a three-dimensional world, allowing players to jump over or race under other player’s lines.
When looking at the game from a visual standpoint, the game isn’t anything spectacular. The graphics are rather boring and the
vehicles and riders can sometimes look flat, especially when compared to other racing games that have been seen on this generation
of consoles.
Overall, “MX vs. ATV Untamed” is a fairly solid game, but it is one that will eventually lose its enjoyment for many. For those who haven’t
played an off-road racing game in a while, this is probably the game to get. However, players shouldn’t hold their breath for something
that will entertain them for hours on end.
Madness” for the PC, they have been continually been improving on its working formula ever since. With great controls and level
design, along with staying true to the genre, which most developers can’t quite get right, the franchise continues to pave the way in the
racing genre.
With the release of its seventh off-road game “MX vs. ATV Untamed,” the game takes most of the elements from the predecessors and
continues to redefine the design in a positive way. A decade after releasing its first game, the studio seems to be running out of ideas
on how to further the gaming experience. Considering the fact that the game has been around for so many years, it isn’t surprising that
new features are running low. There are a few new modes and event types, but the core game play hasn’t changed much. While it is
still a strong game, it seems to feel very familiar.
What “MX vs. ATV Untamed” does very well is retain the excellent control mechanics that have been seen in past games. Every vehicle
in the game controls much like an arcade game, but still allowing players to get the full simulation experience. This means that players
can turn their vehicles at the last second on the turn and the game is rarely going to punish them for it. Because of this, players can
land some insane jumps and cut corners like a profession, but at the same time players can use the clutch to corner and accelerate, or
cause the player’s bike to stay low in the air off of a jump. Each of the vehicles types in game whether it is a bike, ATV, buggy, truck,
players will have to learn different controls.
Even though players need to change their driving techniques from race to race, the game seems to be the same thing that has been
offered over the last decade and the racing can seem monotonous after a while. The core racing mechanics work well and can be quite
enjoyable for some time, but it only takes so long before it starts to feel like every hill feels the same. The different types of events help
to change up the game play, but players will still eventually get sick of jumping hills.
This time around two new events have been added to the game, Endurocross and Opencross. The Endurocross events have players
race through a Supercross track, except it has ponds, tires, rocks and other obstacles in the way. It is meant to be chaotic, but it is a
little bit too much so. The Opencross is nothing too special, but it makes players balance risk and reward.
Aside from the standard series of events that players can take on in Career mode, players will also be able to find the new X-Cross
Tournament. The tournament works like a reverse tournament where by completing one competition will open up more to partake in. In
theory it was a good idea, but players will quickly find themselves in tournaments and realize that they don’t want to race anymore just to
progress through the game. Since each round can have four or more races, each of which has two stages, players will be stuck in the
middle of a series for a while before they are given any option of what to do next.
Throughout the game there are a number of customization options that are at their disposal, but the system is a bit useless because of
the fact that players can earn a large amount of money quickly and purchase whatever they want early in the game. Also, most of the
customizations have to do with colors and look instead of performance, so it is more about appearance rather than performance.
The multiplayer game play works well and there are a large number of mini-games that can be played. Snake is the highlight in this
game. It works much like the light-cycles from the movie Tron, which the bikes leave a trail behind the racer’s bike. The difference is
that the trail exists in a three-dimensional world, allowing players to jump over or race under other player’s lines.
When looking at the game from a visual standpoint, the game isn’t anything spectacular. The graphics are rather boring and the
vehicles and riders can sometimes look flat, especially when compared to other racing games that have been seen on this generation
of consoles.
Overall, “MX vs. ATV Untamed” is a fairly solid game, but it is one that will eventually lose its enjoyment for many. For those who haven’t
played an off-road racing game in a while, this is probably the game to get. However, players shouldn’t hold their breath for something
that will entertain them for hours on end.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
