MX vs. ATV Unleashed Review

MX vs. ATV Unleashed is a fast-paced and fun-filled arcade racing game, loaded with enough variety of content to keep you engaged for quite a while.

The Good

  • Responsive controls  
  • Game runs at a quick pace  
  • Outdoor tracks are lots of fun  
  • Lots of modes will keep you busy.

The Bad

  • Player usually gets short end of the collision stick  
  • Game tends to lack challenge at all but most difficult level  
  • A max of six competitors per race? Boring  
  • Airborne races are maddeningly frustrating.

MX vs. ATV Unleashed is a game that gives fans of off-road racing practically everything they could want in a two- or four-wheel dirt-racing game...and more. The "more" part of the equation, however, doesn't always ring true to the arcade racing series that has built a reputation for itself with a blend of fast action and responsive control.

ATVs and MX bikes are just the start of the dirt-racing fun in the game.

Though motocross bikes and ATV four-wheelers are at the heart of the rides found in MX vs. ATV Unleashed, they are far from the only machines available to race. The game tosses everything but the transportation equivalent of the kitchen sink at you--golf carts, dune buggies, monster trucks, helicopters, and biplanes being only a portion of the available rides in the game. This may sound like great fun, but the controls for some of these vehicles--particularly the airborne ones--are frustrating and unresponsive, a stark contrast to the majority of the earthbound racers found in the game. If the planes or copters had anything approaching the level of accessible controls found in a game like the PlayStation 2's Sky Odyssey, you'd have a winner on your hands. As they are in the game, any race involving flight is an exercise in frustration, which is probably why these airborne races are so haphazardly (and infrequently) placed throughout the game.

Even when you're racing the two- and four-wheeled beauties featured in the game, you can expect to spend plenty of time in the air. The same bouncy physics model that has propelled previous ATV and MX games is in full effect here in MX vs. ATV Unleashed. Your bike will rocket off the lip of a jump and propel you high into the air, where you'll be free to perform as many points-grabbing style tricks as you can manage before descending back to earth. If you manage to preload your suspension--by moving the left thumbstick backward, then forward--before your wheels leave the ground, you'll gain even more air. Preloading your bike's suspension is a key technique for navigating the bump-filled courses found in MX vs. ATV, but it won't be a technique you use for each jump. In fact, the game effectively forces you to choose your spots for preloading--take a jump too long and you may crash directly into the apex of another hill; take it too short and you'll lose precious momentum.

Your knowledge of how to navigate the tracks found in MX vs. ATV is the key ingredient to winning races. There doesn't seem to be much in the way of performance differences among vehicles of the same type, so in all-ATV or all-MX races, your main advantage will be knowing exactly how to tackle each hill you find on a course.

This is made all the more intriguing by the imaginative and immersive environments found in the game. While the majority of the stadium-based motocross tracks are only mediocre, the track designs come to life in the outdoor courses. The 16 Nationals Championship series events, for example, are a tantalizing mix of forest courses, dusty desert roadways, snowy mountain trails, and sandy beachside tracks. The wide variety in track types is further bolstered by individual features that are sure to provide thrills lap after lap. Huge pillars of dirt--resembling walls more than jumps--dot tracks that find you leaping felled trees, open-air gulches, and even your competition. As you speed your way toward the finish line, the dirt tracks twist and turn, wrenching your ATV or bike from side to side as you try to keep up with the constantly shifting camber.

The variety of courses found in the game is one of its best features.

On the most difficult sections of track, such as tight hairpin turns, you're best served by making liberal use of the clutch control found in MX vs. ATV. By using the trigger button on the PS2 or Xbox controller, you can engage or disengage your bike's clutch, which lets you gain short bursts of speed around tight corners or at the start of a race. It takes some getting used to but soon becomes an essential weapon in your driving arsenal. Then there are the tricks you can perform, imaginatively titled stunts such as the lazyboy, the can can, and the nothing. For each trick you successfully land, you'll earn points that can be spent in the store to unlock new rides, gear, pro riders, and tracks, among other goodies.

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MX vs. ATV Unleashed

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