MTX: Mototrax

Arguably more of a simulation rather than arcade take on the sport, Motortrax's strongest point is most likely the tricks system, or more accurately the sheer number of tricks available. The game requires a specific thumbstick motion and button press to perform a trick, and while there are no "modifiers" per say, you can still perform pretty much every imaginable variation of each trick available, meaning that there are well over 100 tricks/trick variations at your disposal. This is certainly impressive, and also necessary for the game's scoring system Ц you can combo your tricks together simply by performing them in the air, with no wheelies or stoppies required. Performing trick after trick (even on separate jumps) will increase your point modifier, performing the same trick more than once will lower the modifier as well as the trick's point value. Bailing will naturally reduce your modifier to 0, so you'll want to make sure you have enough air to perform your selected trick(s) before actually performing them. How do you do this you ask? Easy. You preload.

Preloading isn't really much of a revelation any more, but it's crucial to the game nonetheless Ц using either a button or your thumbstick you can lean forward onto your suspension (which'll compress it) and then lean back quickly for a giant boost of air. This is really where most of the game's strategy requirements reside, since the jump lengths and heights are more varied than in most other games of the same type. Having said that, there is still a decent amount of strategy needed when planning which tricks to use Ц easier tricks are worth less but still add to your modifier, so you want to save the best ones for last Ц and of course you'll need to be familiar with the use of clutching if you aren't already. Hitting the clutch as you hit a corner (but continue to apply the gas) will rev your engine high and then releasing it once you've made the turn will shoot you forward as your gears re-engage, meaning you don't necessarily need to ride the berm to get around a corner faster than the rest of the pack. You can also clutch at the beginning of the race for an extra speed boost, and speed is indeed the word Ц Motortrax's sense of speed doesn't nearly rival that of say NFS: Underground, but for a dirt biking game it's damn good. You won't have to worry about hitting something that just appears in front of you either, thanks to impressive draw distances and a pretty constant 60 fps.

One of the reasons for the high and constant frame rate is rather disappointing, however Ц the freestyle tracks and courses in general are all very small. Not small to the point of tiny, but there isn't much exploring to do in the free ride areas and even the outdoor courses don't feel as long and varied as they should.

As in MX Unleashed, there are three main types of courses Ц Motorcross, Supercross and Free Style competitions. There are 8 Motorcross and 8 Supercross courses, making for a disappointingly small arsenal, but the real feeling of lacking is very clearly in the Free Style levels. They're all small with a limited amount of challenges, and there isn't really that much exploring to do. The challenges in them are presented fairly well (you'll ride up and talk to an AI character, whose mouths ponderously never move) and you earn new tricks in the Free Style areas, but once you've completed the challenges there isn't much reason to ride through the areas again.

As you progress through the Supercross and Motorcross competitions you'll have the chance to earn new sponsorships which will reward you with new clothing, bike parts, and eventually entirely new bikes. It's a simple feature but a nice one, and it's implemented pretty well to boot. Throughout the game you'll also unlock videos of a variety of real-world Motorcross stars, including interviews and lots of riding footage, and although that's really the bulk of the extras it's certainly a lot nicer than say a bunch of concept or level design art. The soundtrack's also pretty well varied, and you can edit it to your liking. It's the little things like this that make games more enjoyable.

Motortrax has Live support, always a nice feature, and it includes lobbies and the like as well, but frankly this game isn't as good as a "drop-in and play for the first time" as it might have been, due really to the more simulation-oriented game play. You aren't going to be landing any 600 foot jumps (in fact initially 200 is extensively rare) and the racing itself is a very different beast than in oh so many other games of the motocross variety. The game is forgiving to a degree, but what few courses there are are all designed to test not only your racing skills, but your clutching, preloading and just good ol' basic steering skills rather extensively as well.