Review: MXGP – The Official Motocross Videogame

The only official MXGP videogame: all the riders and bikes from MX1 and MX2! Race on 1:1 scale official championship tracks. Career mode takes you from Debut Season to MX1. The game physics and dual stick control allow for separate control of bike and rider: unprecedented realism, in your hands.

Pros:

• Good graphics with some really good detail work on the bikes. Every bike looks just like they do on the tv and have some real nice sponsor graphics over them, again all authentic looking. Riders again have all the appropriate gear and look good sat there.
• Realistic engine sounds, Hear every bump, scrape and collision with a huge dollop of realism.
• Full 360 pad support from the get go.
• 14 Tracks are all taken from the official roster and all look brilliant. From correct hoardings to good looking stands , packed with spectators.
• Tutorial videos to teach you how the game mechanics work and what you need to fdo in order to win.
• The game is accessible to new players and vets of the series with its cutomisation setup. You can tune just about everything on the bike from gears to brake power. New players can simply pick a load out and skip this whole section.
• Customise your rider with new outfits and helmets that you unlock as you play. Choose a number for your self and your set to go.
• Unlock videos of the sports greats showing what they do best.
• Six game modes to pick from:
  • Instant race-Your quick race option.
  • Grand Prix-Pick a grand prix and off you go.
  • Championship- Pick one of the pre set championships and pick a rider and go.
  • Career-The real bread and butter of the game.
  • Time attack-Pick a course and set some times.
  • Multiplayer-Set up a room and play online with friends or randoms.
• Career is where you earn XP from races and unlock new bikes,outfits etc.
• Excellent presentation of the sport. From the fly over of the track to the arcade tv show style menus, You feel a lot of time went into how the game starts as much as how it plays.
• All rider animations have been motion captured and look so realistic its incredible.
• Online play allows upto 12 riders to race.
• With only a few views to choose from, The helmet cam is the one the pros will use for the ultimate immersion experience.
• With riders getting full mo cap for their animations, Its only fitting that the bikes get the same treatment. Every bike handles differently but more importantly every bike handles realistically. Every movement feels natural and depending on your setup, will determine how well it looks.
• Every track gets deformation as your race plays out, Watch ruts appear on corners, Hitting a sign on the first lap will still be damaged by lap 4 for example. Use the ruts to get the perfect line.
• Before each race you can elect to do a practice run or jump straight into a qualifying lap for placement. Along with the bike setup, You have all the options to tailor the race to your liking. Even allows you to pick a lane you want to start in.
• Full detailed stat screen showing you everything you have ever done, From distance traveled to max air achieved coupled with the usual wins/losses records.

Cons:

• Overly fussy online system, Still using a 3rd party login to get online, It would be a lot smoother experience with Steam integration.
• Steep learning curve with just staying on the track proving hard at the beginning. This is aimed more at new players.
• No reset to track button.
• AI for the most part are good but every now and then they become invincible. Knocking you off your bike, sticking to the line regardless of hazards.
• Character models of your pit crew and close up spectators are butt ugly, Looking more like a re animated cardboard cutout than a realistic person.
• Few audio cut offs during play which needed a reboot to fix.
• Some bike noises sound more like a malfunctioning flymo than a bike.
• Button prompts on screen do not change despite using a pad.
• No designated tutorial section with a hands on approach.

In Summary, I am a complete noob when it comes to these games, But I found I could get many hours of fun from it. After an initial learning phase of working out how to power slide and fight opponents with ease, I quickly became a fan. The presentation grouped with the graphics really helped as you felt like you were actually there. Vets of the series will get so much more out of it with its insanely in depth bike customisation. New players will be able to approach it in a arcade type of way and avoid all the tweaking and still be able to compete with the best. For a licensed game they have done a good job and despite a quite big price tag, Hours of fun can be had and that is before you take it online. Online is where you make your mark. Worth a look if you are a bike fan in any way, Vets will already own it! Luckily there is a demo so fire that up and see what you think.