User Rating: 8.6 | MX Unleashed PS2
Unleashed is a better game than any moto X game yet. But it is a Arcade racer. But unlike Superfly it is a challenge. An unlike ATV Off Road Fury 2, the game is big The tracks are bigger. And the bikes do NOT! Handle the same in the turns as the ATV's. When I first picked this game up, the first thing I noticed was the control was not like ATV ORF. It was way more loose. At first I was all over the place. But after getting myself under control. I found out that the new feel was a plus. With in hours I was wiping around corners taking different lines. Jumping jumps from one corner and landing down face landing in another corner. Which was cool, when I had to really make a wild pass. Im not talking about cutting the tracks either. Im talking about literally slanting the bike in a sense around a corner just enough to get the down face of a jump on the other corner. Something like Bubba would do in real life. You can move the bike freely and wildly in the air. And you have to take turn's on the inside line in context. YOU MUST LEARN TO USE THE CLUTCH. Unlike ATC ORF were you can just slide around any line. But you don't need to know how to use the clutch just like the book says. I use it when im short, and need to re bounce right away to get back in rhythm. Put it this way in a 3 lap race "Even if im not taking the inside at all" im still using the clutch at least 25 times. It helps in places you don't notice in till you go wow how did I jump that jump so much further this time. You can rail the outside and clutch before the turn. Unlike the inside. And you can move the bikes all over in the air, and even move soo, move them a tad left and right to get to a certain spot. Say if you don't want that inside line when landing. The tracks are a big step up from ATV OFF ROAD FURY 1 OR 2. If you make it to the THQ 12 race 250 class supercross. You'll see how much more technical the tracks are than the old ATV predecessor. Its major rhythm sections and timing. And many will quit after a few rounds threw these tracks who don't have the patients to learn rhythm jumping. But once you get these tracks down. Its awesome. You busting lines not missing a beat. And getting threw areas that have at least 4 different ways you can go threw it. Even some jumps that are worn out and rutted low in areas to stay low, or not worn in others areas of the same jump to throw you higher. Vary complex. Even the whoops are now way different. The first few tracks and race series offer you your basic ATV ORF whoops. After that they get a tad different. They start making them bigger, and just raising the front is not enough any more. And also "not in ATV ORF" is the fact that their are worn lines threw the whoops that you want to take to stay low and fast. If you get out of that line you slow down major. And what's more, sometimes the lines only hold about 3/4 the way threw and changes to another area. Little nuances like this in the upper level tracks make it vary interesting. And brings the tracks design above and beyond anything you have seen in ATV ORF 1 or 2. And they are way more complex. And more rhythmic. Which to full go no thinking riders may be a bad thing, but to riders who like to nail a difficult line is amazingly fun. The sim to realistic ratieo. Which has become a big deal in this day in age in gaming. Weather companies believe it or not, considering the average age of gamers has went up past 20some years of age. Is were its hard to judge this game. Impacts "once again" that should bust you don't. But to compensate for the lack of good realistic impacts. The AI is good enough "your playing the AI at 90% if you didn't realize that as your playing now. If your playing the game. And it can go to 110%. But the AI in the game is good enough to at least make you have to be smooth threw the rhythms. Although I myself would have liked to seen more punishment for making a mistake. I do find that at least now the AI makes you pay for landing short even if you don't wreck. They will catch you. Especially on 100 or 110 percent. So wrecking or not, you have to learn to ride the tracks well, in the late and bigger 250 races. So at least its balanced out that your going have to make it threw clean any ways. The graphics are great. I don't wow at them. But I don't shrug my head or ever see myself saying ehhhh at them like in some games. They look great. And with the added Nack 1 YZ's and stuff. And variation of the stock bikes. Which amazingly the 250F has in the game the same dual dice graphics kit I have on my own YZ 2 stroke 250 at home. Not nack but whoever that is. And the many versions of bikes is cool. Ok I cant say much on the X GAMES WILD RIDE FREESTYLE VERSION of this game, because I just don't get into that. But I have road it. And it is cool. What's even more cool is driving the other machines. I mean they actually are not some side joke, and are fun to drive, or fly. And lets just say the freestyle mode is huge and has a lot to offer. I let someone else write on that, who knows it more. Ok, whats bad. Well, Im not going to mention online. Because I have a cable router, hooked to my PS2 and im still not a big online fan, in till its done right in the next 5 to 10 years. One guy mentioned one thing in the message boards that is vary true. Why cant they let you practice a track before you race it. I know I know, you can start the race over or re race it. But that just doesn't feel right to me. I rather practice the track, get it down. And get my one shot. Which is all you got in the finals in real life. And take what I get. Feels more satisfying that way. And going into the major amount of tracks blind in a race series is tough, in till you do learn the tracks. And when you do learn the tracks the game becomes so much more, then just jumping as far as you can. Sometimes you short jump the first double to catch the the big area just right. Or hop across the tops of several little Tables. Instead of just flying all over. So it good to know the track. And being able to practice a track before each race would have been nice. I also would have like to seen more construction to the races too. Hay,, even if were gona have an arcade game, it doesn't mean we cant have a sim version of how races go. With practice, heat races, semi's, etc., etc. More presentation!!!!!! You know announce the top five riders before the main, LIGHTS OUT CHEERS, CHAD REED, TIM FERRY, Spot lights. You know whatever. I mean theirs not even any kind of announcing at all. Presentation would be great. Play ESPN NFL Football 2004, And you get what I mean by good presentation. This game lacks any presentation. You race look at points that's it. Also, Full instant replays. Or at least enough memory to get 5 laps out. That's the only thing that made Superfly worth wild is you could watch your race in full after words like watching it on TV. Full Instant replay is huge in games. Look at Gran Turismo. That was at least 20% in what got that game going in its first run was "wow look thats me look me on the instant reply." Here we get highlights??? Ok decent but not good enough. Im not going to complain about Licensed bikes or riders. Its up to an EA. sorts like crew to get that a tad better next year. "EA SEEMS TO BE ABLE TO SIGHN ANYTHING, WHY cant Rainbow" This year the guys had to work on the game thow. Track editor would be nice. MTX Will have one, and that's something that is going to really make that game come close to Unleashed is building your own tracks. You know buld all your local tracks. If that does not make MTX as godd it amy take it past Unleashed. Because forget the MTX one track demo fokes on THU. The game is way beyond that now and that's going to be a great one too. And last but not least, I know its an arcade racer, but just a notch up on the impacts and wrecking would be nice. Not to much, just a light notch up on caseing those jumps. Dont get me wrong this is the best moto X game you will ever play "at least for a few weeks "MTX :?." And is an awesome game. But this is a sport "arcade or not" we can push a lot further in. We need presentation. It's big lack is presentation and options to fit the presentation. And that's something for them to work on for their next game. They got their physics engine down. Now lets make Unleashed 2 a spectacle too of almost a story of a racing career, with great presentation. Great job so far. Great game. But we need to keep pushing this sport which is just made for video gaming, to the next level. Yet even further.
