MX vs. ATV Reflex Review: Hitting The Dirt

For over a decade, Rainbow Studios have been pumping off road racing games such as “Motocross Madness” for the PC almost annually, and the popularity of the franchise became so big that spin-offs were made such as “Monster Truck Madness” series. Fast forward to today and Rainbow Studios is still around with their latest entry into their current offroad series “MX vs. ATV,” which is a somewhat misleading title, as you also drive trucks and sports buggys in the games. “MX vs. ATV Reflex” is the third in the series, but does it break new ground for the off road genre or is it more of the same?

When you first start up the game, it will try to introduce you to the new “Reflex” control scheme. The previous versions of the series treated your vehicle and rider as one, but with the new Reflex system, you can control your vehicle using the left stick while controlling your rider’s weight with the right stick. The game’s tutorial shows you the different ways to use the weight to your advantage in different sections of the track as well as with techniques like power sliding.

The game goes on to introduce a new “crashing” mechanism, which is a much needed feature, because in the previous versions crashing felt too random. Now in Reflex, whenever you are at the verge of crashing, a yellow arrow will appear on the screen and you must press your right stick in the signaled direction to save yourself. This doen’t stop guaranteed crashes though, so if you happen to upside down on your ATV when you land, you are still going to crash.

The tutorial works very well to introduce you the game, but like any respectable game, just because you know the controls doesn’t mean you’re a pro. “Reflex”’s events and tracks are numerous, and despite the new, more forgivable control scheme, you will be faced with challenges that you will either respect as formidable opponents, or become frustrated with.

If you played any of the earlier games in the series then you’ll quickly see that not much has changed here. You get your Omnicross that mixes all the vehicle classes in the game into one race, National with large outdoor tracks, and the Freestyle for all of you who like to perform stunts instead of racing. Some of the variations remain the same while others are new, so even though you might be playing the same track, you might be forced to change your strategy. One perfect example of this is Section Race, where you race the fastest in each marked section to “own” it.

Aside from the controls and new challenges, “Reflex” also has dirt deformation. Just like “Sega Rally Revo,” the track deforms as the racers grind through the dirt, literally pushing it out of the way. As the race progresses, you’ll see groove lines from other racers. While it is a visually impressive, it barely plays a role in the game itself despite claims from the developer. You can simply drive over them without destroying your own racing line, and this is especially true when you use trucks that aren’t affected by the terrain.

While all these features sound good on paper, how does it play out? Surprising well. The Reflex control scheme is a definite improvement to the aging franchise, as it forces you to get more involved in the game instead of holding down the accelerator the entire race. The analog is sensitive as well, so pushing the stick all the way to the edge might make your power slide too strong or pop an unwanted wheelie in a dangerous part of the track. This forces players to not only master this new control scheme, but memorize how to use the weight efficiently in each part of the track, adding a whole new layer of depth into the game.

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean the game is perfect. There are a few problems that might turn away some players, especially those with a low tolerance. For starters, the physics in this game can be unpredictable at times; for example, sometimes when you powerslide, your character will fall off. Or when you believe you landed perfectly, your rider will simply crash. On certain tracks, your controls become extremely sensitive and you will slide off to the sides with the slightest nudge on your stick. I understand that games need to have a bit of difficulty, but having a game that seems to roll the dice on certain crucial situations and screwing you over isn’t what I exactly call enjoyable.

The A.I. isn’t all that convincing or challenging either. Most of the time you’ll see them crash, which is a good change in the racing genre, but sometimes this puts you in mortal danger. For example, when playing Omnicross with an MX, you might see that Sports Truck screw up on a turn and suddenly he is on the side covering half of the track, or worse, in the air and ready to crush you. I’ve been in situations where it felt like a demolition derby instead of a race, with a sea of cars just bumping into one another. This doesn’t help that almost any time the A.I. hits you, you’re sent falling to the ground while they dart right through without receiving a scratch. Again, frustrating.

As for the freestylers, the new scoring system is inconsistent as well. The game judges you based on flow, difficulty, and other factors. The problem is sometimes you might pull off several backflips, and perform several stunts, but the game won’t rate you very high. It’s very hard to do well because you simply don’t know what the game wants from you.

For those who are into multiplayer, not much has changed here either. The interface is still mediocre, and the game doesn’t even tell you the total number of players that are playing. All you do in multiplayer is to select a game mode from single player, and it will either start up or join an available game, unlike other games, where they show you a list of games via “custom games” option or search for specifics, you are forced into matchmaking. This would work if the game actually told you if there were people playing in a certain mode, but it doesn’t. Instead, picking a game is a lot like gambling where you just pick something and hope for the best. If you are looking for a healthy online community with a bit of competition like “Halo” or “Modern Warfare,” it’s not going to happen here.

Despite the issues, “Reflex” is still a decent game. It’s certainly the best off road game out in the market, but that isn’t saying much with the lack of quality competition. The controls are good, the more forgiving crash system was sorely needed, and numerous variations to the tracks adds a bit of replay. Unfortunately, this is all plagued by inconsistent physics, mediocre multiplayer interface, and buggy A.I. If you are fan of the series, you will probably like this game, as not much as changed, but if you played the previous ones and hated them, this won’t convert you either.

Rating:

 
“MX Vs. ATV Reflex” is developed by Rainbow Studios and published by THQ for the Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, and DS on December 1, 2009. This review is based on the Xbox 360 version of the game.

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