When it comes to video game renditions of motor sports, whether it's automobile racing or motorbike racing, there are usually two main camps that games tend to fall into - arcade and simulation. Last year, EA Sports released Supercross 2000, a simulation-oriented motorcycle racing game. Although a valiant effort, the game was mostly unplayable, featuring a frustrating mixture of touchy control, cruel collision detection, and dodgy steering. Hoping to put the past behind it, Electronic Arts has gone the arcade route with this year's release, dropping the numbering system and creating a much-improved follow-up effort. A few graphical issues aside, EA Sports Supercross is one of the PlayStation's best arcade-style motorcycle racing games.
The first thing EA did to improve this year's Supercross was to expand upon the game's options and give the player a greater variety of activities to participate in. Unlike last year's release, EA Sports Supercross features several gameplay modes, including single race, time trial, freestyle practice, and freestyle competition. The series championship from Supercross 2000 returns intact, albeit with one major change. Instead of just a single circuit of courses, the series championship now consists of nine different championships: the EA Sports Supercross, EA Sports West Supercross, EA Sports East Supercross, the Thor Championship, the Parts Unlimited Championship, the Wrenchead.com Championship, the FMF Championship, the Scott Championship, and the Etnies Freestyle games. In all, there are 55 events to compete in across these nine championships, and, as an added bonus, you won't be stuck racing indoors for the duration of the game. Whereas Supercross 2000 restricted you to indoor arenas, EA Sports Supercross offers a mixture of 22 indoor and outdoor courses. There are 12 enclosed arenas, four open-air stadiums, two outdoor motocross tracks, and four outdoor, trick-oriented freestyle courses. The game also features 30 actual riders from the AMA's Supercross, Motocross, Arenacross, Freestyle, and Women's Motocross circuits. However, should stars such as Jimmy Button, Jeff Emig, Damon Huffman, and Jessica Patterson not float your boat, there's also a create-a-rider editor. If multiplayer gaming is your calling, you'll be happy to know that all of EA Sports Supercross' modes, except the series championship, can be played by either one or two human players.
While it may be said that there is a lot to do in EA Sports Supercross, it is the game's addictive gameplay that ultimately becomes the true measure of its worth. The control is simple, yet it works. On a basic level, all you really need to do is mash the X button for acceleration and use the analog stick or the D-pad to steer. However, if you really want to master the game and brutalize those corners, you'll have to acclimate yourself to the game's more advanced controls. Borrowing a page from Nintendo's Excitebike 64, holding down (back) gives you more air on jumps, while holding up leans your front wheel forward to enable better landings on sloped surfaces. The R1 button gives you the ability to perform tight turns or steer the bike in midair, while the L1 buttons performs the most important action of all - the power clutch speed boost. Similar to the crazy dash from Sega's Crazy Taxi, the power clutch speed boost gives you a temporary speed increase, and it is your most useful tool in your quest for first-place finishes. When put into the context of the game's hill-laden, winding courses, the tight turn and speed boost features also give the game a rhythm that is simultaneously exciting and unique.
On the freestyle side of things, the stunt system in EA Sports Supercross bears special mention, simply because it's so perfect. Performing tricks is easy - just hold down the circle button and tap the directional pad. Some tricks, such as the no hander and nac nac, only require single directional presses, while advanced stunts, such as the superman and mulisha air, call for two or three different directional presses. In all, there are 35 different stunts to learn and perform, all of which can be chained together into custom combinations of two, three, or even four different tricks. Practicing your stunt skills isn't just for show, either. Later championships boast freestyle events, meaning that taking what you've learned from racing and applying it to your own innate trick performing abilities is a necessary gameplay requirement. About the only real problem you'll find in playing EA Sports Supercross is its collision detection, but even a few trips through the wall can be forgiven when the rest of the game plays so wonderfully well.
Unfortunately, while EA put a lot of effort into improving the series' gameplay for EA Sports Supercross, it's made only minor strides in fixing the visual and audio problems that plagued last year's release. Compared with last year's attempt, this year's release animates more smoothly, but the riders and scenery are still far too boxy and pixelated when compared with those of other PlayStation motorbike racing titles. Additionally, the frame rate still turns to mush when a pack of racers are onscreen, meaning that you'll have to hold first place or bring up the rear in order to witness a comfortable 30fps. EA Sports Supercross doesn't sound that much different from Supercross 2000, either, but a larger assortment of comments from announcers Art Eckman and David Bailey at least improves upon what was once a quiet romp in the park. An adequate assortment of engine murmurs and skid effects rounds out what is ultimately a game that plays better than its appearance suggests.
EA Sports Supercross is the pure embodiment of the graphics vs. gameplay debate that has gripped the gaming industry since the arrival of this latest generation of consoles. Despite barely making the grade graphically, the game plays like a dream. If you're really tied to perfect visuals, you may find it difficult to enjoy what EA Sports Supercross has to offer. However, if you're on the fence in the debate or value gameplay over graphics, a mere $40 investment stands between you and one of the best arcade-style motorcycle racing games the PlayStation has to offer.
