Xbox Gaming in South Africa

I consider myself something of a purist when it comes to motorsport games. I lean toward elitism, some might say, and as such I usually shy away from what I always considered to be low-brow motoring disciplines, like those ridiculous racing trucks and supercharged dune buggies, even motocross to some extent. But after having spent even longer than I care to admit playing this latest installment in the MX vs ATV franchise, I fear I have been converted.

Don't get me wrong, MX vs ATV: Reflex is certainly still a big fat American of a game, compared to, say, a lithe Swiss athlete like Forza 3, or even a somewhat rough-around-the-edges English lad like DiRT 2, but Rainbow Games has injected so much personality into this game, so much charm, that I was able to forgive many of its shortcomings.

Let me just warn you that the soul of Reflex only becomes clear after you have put in a few hours of gaming, so racers expecting a blast right out of the gates will be left feeling let down. Honestly, first impressions here are not great. The presentation seems unpolished, the menu's are clumsy - although this is one first impression which lasts, I'm afraid - and the vehicle controls feel, well, fiddly. There is a focus on the new 'Reflex' system here, which controls the vehicle and rider's movement separately, but your initial reaction will probably be something along the lines of "what's the point?" In fact, for the first few races, it is totally possible to win without using the Reflex system at all. Making matters worse, early attempts to actually use this 'game-changing' control element will just lead to frustration as both bike and rider are flung left and right by a unsubtle right thumb.

Perseverance pays off though, because just as you are about to rip the disc from your console and frisbee it out a moving vehicle, the Reflex system starts to grow on you. It eventually becomes second nature, and you'll soon be carving through tricky chicanes like a pro. You really do need to take the time to get to grips with leaning into hard corners and balancing your rider in the air after huge jumps, because once the competition heats up you will quite literally be left in the dust if you haven't put in the effort.

Unfortunately, even once you're well versed in controlling your rider, there are gameplay issues which crop up to spoil your fun. The motocross bikes sometimes feel too loose, too prone to sudden changes of direction if one wheel hits a bit of mud at an odd angle. This can often mean the difference between winning and losing, when you've been in the lead for the whole race and suddenly one of the AI drivers gives you a little nudge or you lean slightly when you should have been upright, it can all go very wrong very quickly. Basically, be prepared to restart races. A lot. What's strange though is that the problem is intermittent, and dependant on the track. Some races you will come in first without really even trying, and the next race will have you tearing your hair out as you try to finish anywhere near the podium. In its favour though, this is one of those games where you can be pretty sure that your losing was probably more to do with mistakes you made and not due to unfair AI or weak track design.

Speaking of the tracks, most on display here are top notch. From the wide open deserts to the arena-based Supercross tracks, everything seems well balanced and cleverly put together. The diversity is impressive, especially the open-world 'Free Ride' sections, the polar opposite of the claustrophobic high-energy arena's filled with screaming fans and huge fireworks. There is a flow to the tracks which works very well with this sort of racing, where you are managing your speed to angle your jumps just right so that you can slip into the next corner at the right speed. It becomes a little bit like art once you've got the knack. Muddy, messy, noisy art.

Mud is a major feature in MX vs ATX: Reflex. It's not just a brown texture to ride on. Here the track surface plays as much of a part as your competitors do. Taking a leaf out of previous off-road titles like SEGA Rally, the road is deformable, with persistent wear and tear as the vehicles tear around the track. Deep grooves are worn into the mud as a race goes on, forcing you to keep wide awake or risk being thrown off course by a ditch that wasn't there a second ago. It would have been nice to see more realistic mud effects for your vehicle and rider though. Sure, you get dirty, but it seems canned, not 'on-the-fly' dirt which cakes up in real time as you race. Still, the ever changing track surface does well to add another strategic element to the race.

It's quite obvious from the way the game is put together that the various dirt bikes are the focus in MX vs ATX, and it's almost a pity that Rainbow Games felt it necessary to dirty the water, so to speak, by adding a host of other off-road disciplines to the fray. This need to throw as much into the mix as possible to flesh it out is unfortunate, because the core bike riding game here is a lot of fun, and the additional vehicle types only serve to disappoint. Why do I say the game is focused on the bikes? Well, for one thing, the Reflex 'gimmick' doesn't do anything when you are driving a dirt truck, since obviously leaning to the side is an exercise in futility. From a gameplay point of view, these modes all feel like they were rushed, maybe with the exception of the 4-wheeler bike, but is also too touchy and erratic to be any fun to drive. Even the presentation makes it clear who the stars of the show are, because the tutorials are centered on the bikes.

On the other hand, having other vehicle classes around does add a lot of atmosphere to the inter-discipline races, like the fantastic Omnicross, where all vehicles are allowed and it's a free-for-all race to the finish across wide open 'natural' tracks with multiple paths to victory. You get a great Dakar Rally feel here, speeding across a muddy plain on your nimble MX Lite bike, the thundering engine of a sports truck breathing down your neck... it's a harrowing experience and can get quite tense, in a good way. So that's good, but being forced to use an All Terrain Buggy or something to complete certain events feels more like an unwelcome distraction than anything else. What I found especially odd was that while races are divided into sub-groups based on event type, including Waypoint, Outdoor Motocross, Supercross, Freestyle and more, quite often the last event in a series will be a totally different race class. For example, you're taking part in the Supercross series, you do maybe three frantic and exciting Supercross races on your favourite bike, and then to complete the series and get the gold you end off with a buggy race on a Waypoint course? It makes little sense. I guess my gripe here is that you will be forced to take part in the other disciplines even if you don't really want to. And when the biking sections are as much fun as they are here, you probably won't want to.

I mentioned that there is a slight lack of polish to the presentation here, and it's an unfortunate truth that this carries through to the general game graphics too. I wont call it bad, because it isn't, but the character models, vehicles and gameworld textures are just not up to the standards we know this generation of gaming hardware can deliver. Let's call it serviceable. In other words, sure, it gets the job done, but the visuals are not pushing any boundaries by any means. The continually devolving mud surfaces are worth special mention though, and the graphics engine does a commendable job of creating what looks like mud being dug up in real time. On the other hand, there is a strange sort of 'refresh line' for lack of a better phrase, and almost invisible draw-distance diagonally across the screen, where you can see the track surface updating itself as you get closer. I have to imagine that this is a necessary evil if you want a track surface which changes all the time. Did it irritate me while playing? A little bit, yes. But it's not enough to ruin the game, and it's hardly noticeable when things are moving fast.

Sound direction is mostly of good quality, with a few misses here and there. Ambient noises, like the cheering crowds and the flashy fireworks, do well to create an immerse atmosphere, and give you a feeling of being part of an exciting event, not just a lonely bike ride in the desert. By that same token, when you are off on a lonely bike ride in the desert, it's suitably quiet too. Full marks there. The vehicle noises can grate though. There is a sometimes unsettling over-revving when air born, a monotonous drone which doesn't sound exactly right, and it's disconcerting. On the other hand, when you are being chased by a truck and you can almost feel it rumbling a few meters behind you, the roaring engine noises there are spot on and sometimes frighteningly loud. Besides that you've got your standard hard rock soundtrack, which I turned off within the first thirty minutes, but if generic metal-lite is your thing then you'll love it. The commentators voice was a drag though. He's got a gravelly voice like he should be narrating cheap adult films, and unfortunately you hear quite a bit from him through the course of the game.

Digging up dirt and launching your vehicle into the stratosphere is always going to be more fun when done with friends, and MX vs ATV: Reflex is no different. Offline gamers are catered for with quite full featured split screen or system link options, with hardly any slow down or graphical cut-backs, and Xbox LIVE gamers will be able to take part in the full gamut of race events with a relatively lag-free experience.

MX vs ATX: Reflex is definitely a step in the right direction for this sort of off-road racing game, and it's clear to see that Rainbow Games had the right idea with the Reflex rider control system, but there is definitely room for improvement across the board. I think that the developer should have relied more heavily on the one-trick pony, the bike riding, and worked harder on polishing that aspect of things instead of diluting the experience with all kinds of unfocused race disciplines. If you can ignore the cumbersome trucks and buggies, there are hours of fun to be had here, even if you have no real interest in off-road motorsport. Sure, this isn't going to keep you busy for months on end, but there is enough race content here, with fluid and eventually intuitive controls, to keep you playing in the mud far longer than your mother would usually allow. Just do yourself a favour and make sure you stick to the two-wheeled options.

Pros:

• Exploring the desert is great fun, as long as it's on a bike
• Atmospheric arena races get your blood pumping

Cons:

• Reflex controls take some getting used to, and require tweaking
• The other vehicles are all filler, no thriller

Rating: