MX vs. ATV Review: 7.8/10

I can't tell you how long it's been since I played a motorcross or ATV game that I actually liked. I guess the last one I played was on the N64 way back in the day. Now MX vs. ATV has filled that void in my gaming experience.

The gameplay is everything that you would expect out of this type of game. The controls are simple and easy to pick up, but I do admit that it took me a while to learn how to back up when I got stuck. Unlike most games were loading is a pain, loading in this game is actually fun. While your race is loading you get to drive around in a big open arena with some jumps and obstacles. The races themselves are awesome- allowing use of several different vehicle types, such as trucks, ATVs, and dirt bikes. There are several different types of races going from just plain motorcross to racing from point to point cross country. The physics are usually good- but there are random occasions when they go a little buggy. In one instance I hit a tree and instead of throwing me backwards it sent me straight up the tree. The stunt system also could use a bit more work but no major complaints. I didn't really find any major flaws in this game other than there was a glitch that locked up my XBOX for a couple of minutes.

The graphics are on par with any other racer, but lack the more popular (and in this case- appropriate) conventions like damage modeling. I would like to see the trucks get dents and dings as you took them where they shouldn't go. The water and the dust effects are extremely sub par but they don't take away from the experience. When you get into a large outdoor environment the detail is very sparse leaving the map to look quite plain. I noticed this the most during the waypoint races, which have huge maps but lack small details (such as more small trees and shrubs). I'd like to also like to see some more detail added into the textures so that everything wouldn't look so mediocre.

Overall this is a very solid game but not all will like it as much as I did. I would say go out and rent this game- you may like it or you may not but this game definitely deserves a chance.