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MTX
Mototrax
Score: 8.1 / 10
Activision may be best known for the highly
successful Tony Hawk Pro Skater series. This time around they put their
weight behind motocross, a sport that has seen its share of highly
successful games including Motocross Madness and MX Unleashed. Left
Field Productions and Activision’s effort, MTX Mototrax (MMT), proves to
be a solid title but misses a perfect landing over a couple of issues.
Like most games in the genre, the standard modes include: single race,
multiplayer (offline and online), track editor, create-a-rider, and a
career mode.
The game features four different race types including freestyle, free
ride, supercross, and motocross. The freestyle races are based around
completing different tricks and challenges in a given time period. The
free ride mode sees you complete different challenges (similar to those
in Tony’s Hawk’s Pro Skater series)
and sometimes earn money along the way. The
supercross races take place in indoor environments (arenas), while the
motocross races take place in outdoor areas.
The career mode should the main attraction of the game as it’s fairly
robust. In the career mode you create a custom rider, climb up the
ladder of success, and acquire corporate sponsorship. The career mode
has an email
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system where you’ll basically receive information from your race
manager, news from around the league and email from different companies
wanting to sponsor you. At the beginning of the career mode you’ll meet
a rider named Travis Pastrana who’ll teach you the basics of motocross
and from there you begin racing.
The motocross and supercross races are made up of different series
(125cc and 250cc classes). In each series you’ll have to attain the
first place standing in order to qualify for other events and unlock new
items. If you achieve first place, then your email inbox will be flooded
with companies asking you to be their sponsor. The companies range from
helmet makers to bike manufacturers and the more sponsors you have the
more equipment you’ll be able to use.
MMT isn’t your typical two button racer as you’ll have to use a lot of
strategy to win races. Aside from your typical accelerate and brake
buttons are the clutch (left trigger) and the suspension levels, which
become your best friends throughout the races. The clutch is used when
taking corners and usually the clutch will give you a much needed speed
boost. The suspension on your bike can be controlled using the A button.
The longer you hold the A button, the more air you’ll get off a jump.
(The most challenging part is using the clutch in moderation with the
accelerate button. Sometimes I found it easier to have my finger pressed
on the clutch and accelerator buttons at the same time as this maximized
the speed of my bike, however there will be some instances where this
strategy forced me off the track and ended up costing me the race.)
All of the tracks are made up of small hills, massive jumps and lots of
“whoops!” sections.
MMT also supports offline and online multiplayer capabilities. Online,
you can play with up to eight players. There are three mulitplayer
modes: King of the Hill, Race and Freestyle Battle. MMT also supports
split-screen play offline for two players. In the offline multiplayer
mode you can either play a race series or just a regular race. There is
also an impressive track editor mode, which allows you to create your
own tracks from scratch.
One complaint that many people may have is the small number of tracks.
You’ll experience this a lot during the career mode as many of the race
series take place across the same tracks time and again. The game could
have benefited greatly if the developers had included more tracks. Some
people may also get frustrated by the fact that you have to place first
in all the racing series. You’ll probably find yourself replaying a lot
of the races over and over, and this is made worse by the lack of track
variety.
Graphically, MMT is top notch. The game runs beautifully at about sixty
frames per second with no slow down. Lots of the environments are nicely
detailed and well lit. You’ll notice a lot of trademarked clothing and
equipment on the riders. Though it would have been a lot nicer if the
developers had implemented some rag doll animations.
The game’s audio mainly consists of rock’n roll tunes. There is a fair
bit of licensed tracks in the game as bands such as Slipknot, AFI and
Pennywise. Since MMT boasts a large number of licensed pro riders and
has a Tony Hawk feel to it, there is a lot of speech. Lots of the pro
riders have lent their voices to the game. You’ll usually hear the
riders talk when they are giving you a goal to complete or render a
verdict of your performance.
MTX Mototrax is a solid game that contains the basic features you’d find
in any motocross game, with a few extras. If you’re a motocross fan,
then MMT is your game, but if your not, then a rental might be up your
alley.
