The problem with this game isn't in what's there, it's in what isn't there... and that really sucks
I'm not saying the game has an unfinished feel to it, the controls are solid and so far I haven't encountered any bugs, but it's just lacking so many things that should be in the game. Manual transmission option for one, I mean what racing game doesn't at least let you change gears?? It doesn't help either that the automatic transmission is absolutely stupid, it shifts at the most inappropriate times, and worse still it doesn't shift when you need it to. So generally speaking, you spend alot of time spinning your tires and hitting the rev limiter as your opponents go speeding off ahead of you. It also seems to conspire against you by limiting your top speed as you're going down a hill, or up, or anywhere really. This one little feature would have made this game so much better.
As well, the game just isn't exciting, it doesn't feel like you're blasting across the desert on a motorbike, it feels like you're going shopping with your mom. There isn't that sense of lunacy that should exist in a game like this. There also seems to be no risk in taking a quad or bike over a car, since as hard as I've tried, I can't knock the rider off the bike until the damage meter is completely full, and then it just respawns you, often times on a hill where you slide back into the water.
Car customization would have been so awesome too, but more typical of Codemasters you just have paint and liveries. Imagine how cool it would be to have hundreds of parts to choose from to build your own ratrod, it would have added years of replay value to this game. But before I finish, this game isn't all bad.
There is a good choice of cars and a huge amount of different races to try out, and while I said this game isn't very exciting, the race courses are designed to give you a few moments, the game starts you on a dirtbike jumping off a cliff, and it is pretty fun. Theres also a huge open world to explore, although it tends to be a bit too big, you will never possibly see it all before you get bored with the game.
So overall? well i honestly can't recomend this game for more then a week rental, it has all the pieces needed to make this game the best racer ever made, but they obviously ran out of glue before it was put together. Hopefully they will get it right next time around!