MX Unleashed Review
By Jason D'Aprile - Posted Mar 17, 2004Will this game pull the motocross genre out of its mediocre mud pit?
The Pros
- Hits all the whoops with just the right speed
- Solid career mode
- Beautifully contoured landscapes
The Cons
- Analog stick to shift your biker's weight takes a little getting used to
- No online support
Most gamers will look upon the average motocross game without feeling a single ounce of love. Simply awful extreme-sport motocross titles have been released on almost every system on the planet. But Rainbow Studios has dirt cred with the "Motocross Madness" series, and now it's gripping and ripping anew with "MX Unleashed." Tonight "X-Play" finds out if this dirt bike jumper is covered in mud or pulling off double backflips.
Puddle of mud
"MX Unleashed" hits all the whoops with just the right speed. It has a solid career mode and a potent mix of open freestyle tracks and classic lap-based indoor/outdoor tracks. The career mode takes the checkered flag thanks to the sheer number of tracks and extra options.
You get an impressive 24 indoor supercross tracks and 22 outdoor courses. Supercross is the heart of the real sport, and it's handled here as it is in similar games. You'll find all the action in the freestyle mode. You'll commonly encounter huge, wide-open environments, and you can unlock mini-games and non-bike vehicles for a change of pace.
Freestylin'
In homage to the "Tony Hawk" franchise, you can take on objectives located throughout the freestyle courses. Hit and run mode tasks you with making specific jumps through a course, while the stunt mode gives you a limited amount of time to score as many points as your bike will allow. The machine mode lets you square off against monster trucks, biplanes, dune buggies, and helicopters. Although most of these are gimmicks, it's a welcome injection of variety to the game.
"MX Unleashed" has beautifully contoured landscapes, even if the ground looks like a pile of used coffee grinds. You'll bike your tail all over a mix of desolate deserts, indoor arenas, urban areas, and thickly forested countryside. Slick animation makes the stunts and tricks look almost possible for pasty-face game freaks like us. You can use your own soundtrack, and the engines rumble just as you'd expect.
Big air when by one's self
Of course offering little more than the prerequisites won't get you to the finish line if the gameplay isn't up to par, but "MX Unleashed" has the handling to back the horsepower. Shunning the usual clumsy method of powering up to reach big air, the game uses the analog stick to shift your biker's weight. It takes a little getting used to, but it ends up being far more intuitive than gameplay in previous games. General steering is tight and responsive, with bikes reacting to bumps and divots like motorized pinballs.
You'll need those good controls to win, however, since the AI riders are out for blood. It's a shame this dirt devil isn't playable online. Though the game supports the usual split-screen multiplayer mode, this cross-platform game lacks the ability to jack in and play. Pity, as it had the chance to be the king of videogame motocross.
Race wrap-up
Even without online support, "MX Unleashed" rips around the motocross videogame track with a vengeance. This genre has been mired down in mediocrity for years, so finally seeing a game that executes is a relief. Nonbelievers might have a hard time getting into it, but fans of the sport and racing addicts will love it. It gives you what every motocross game should: the feeling of gripping the handlebars while constantly wondering what's around the next bend.
"MX Unleashed" (Xbox)
"MX Unleashed" hits all the whoops with just the right speed. It has a solid career mode and a potent mix of open freestyle tracks and classic lap-based indoor/outdoor tracks. The career mode takes the checkered flag thanks to the sheer number of tracks and extra options.
Freestylin'
In homage to the "Tony Hawk" franchise, you can take on objectives located throughout the freestyle courses. Hit and run mode tasks you with making specific jumps through a course, while the stunt mode gives you a limited amount of time to score as many points as your bike will allow. The machine mode lets you square off against monster trucks, biplanes, dune buggies, and helicopters. Although most of these are gimmicks, it's a welcome injection of variety to the game.
"MX Unleashed" has beautifully contoured landscapes, even if the ground looks like a pile of used coffee grinds. You'll bike your tail all over a mix of desolate deserts, indoor arenas, urban areas, and thickly forested countryside. Slick animation makes the stunts and tricks look almost possible for pasty-face game freaks like us. You can use your own soundtrack, and the engines rumble just as you'd expect.
Of course offering little more than the prerequisites won't get you to the finish line if the gameplay isn't up to par, but "MX Unleashed" has the handling to back the horsepower. Shunning the usual clumsy method of powering up to reach big air, the game uses the analog stick to shift your biker's weight. It takes a little getting used to, but it ends up being far more intuitive than gameplay in previous games. General steering is tight and responsive, with bikes reacting to bumps and divots like motorized pinballs.
You'll need those good controls to win, however, since the AI riders are out for blood. It's a shame this dirt devil isn't playable online. Though the game supports the usual split-screen multiplayer mode, this cross-platform game lacks the ability to jack in and play. Pity, as it had the chance to be the king of videogame motocross.
Race wrap-up
Even without online support, "MX Unleashed" rips around the motocross videogame track with a vengeance. This genre has been mired down in mediocrity for years, so finally seeing a game that executes is a relief. Nonbelievers might have a hard time getting into it, but fans of the sport and racing addicts will love it. It gives you what every motocross game should: the feeling of gripping the handlebars while constantly wondering what's around the next bend.
"MX Unleashed" (Xbox)
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