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Most
of us believed, at least once in our long childhood day’s, that
when we grew up and obtained the obligatory motorcycle certificate,
we were literally one step away from winning the next racing
championship, possibly beating Biff; your old school rival on the
way.  Unfortunately most of us soon learned that getting from home
to work without getting ‘cut-up’ and almost killed by a blasted
lorry was challenging enough, without getting six other people to
race you at it.
Luckily,
a couple of people in times past had this problem too; they used
their motorcycles to take them to their pokey little games
development office. These few, wonders of their age, went on to
produce games where you were sitting on a back of a two-wheeled
engine with nothing but thick skin and a hard head to stay alive,
racing four other similar idiots, jumps became the challenge, but
falling off just entertained your mates instead of damaging your
insides. Thus started a genre that has spanned decades, starting
from the very beginning of virtual life progressing to the present
day evolved form. Many,
many companies have attempted to conquer the motorbike market
through the days, specific title’s that sold massively were, ExciteBike
on the NES, Road Rash on the Mega-Drive and MotoGP on
practically every format under the sun, ExciteBike64 and the
Moto X series on the PlayStation.
Now,
on the current generation of consoles we have another huge range of
bike games to consider, although one that should catch any virtual
bikers attention, is  the latest of the already well established MX
and ATV ranges from THQ, in fact it’s the game to
unite both the MX and ATV ranges into one brilliant
little package.
The
concept, for those unfamiliar with the series, is to progress
through championships, earning the most points each round, you can
do this with a combination of out tricking your opponents (with the
large range of moves and tweaks available) and a high placing, or
by winning every heat. An
enormous variety of accessories to customize your rider and
bike/All Terrain Vehicle with is obtainable by winning these
championships, some of these can make a difference to driving,
while others allow you to customize your character more, adding
hours of replay value to the game.
In
this game there are two modes of transport immediately available
with many more unlockable, truck and dirt buggy racing being two of
my favourites, every vehicle handles slightly differently, though
not to the delicacy of some driving simulators, but this keeps with
the arcade-feel from the early biking games.
The jumps can take a little getting used to, but once
accomplished, you get a burst of satisfaction every time you manage
to get your rider safely down  from his 30ft drop,
twirling tricks off his seat as he does so.
The
graphics of this title are better than the average game of the
moment, giving you the opportunity to check out all the little mods
you’ve put on your vehicle, whilst also being able to see
spectacular views of your riders many ghastly crashes. The option
of a more cinematic camera by merely pressing R1 was a stroke of
genius, and make the most gut-wrenching crashes look even more
painful. The stunning
skylines and the amazing dust effect when landing or just tearing
it down a straight clearly demonstrate THQ’s experience in the
field.
The
sound is good, all engine noises and suspension creaks and cranks
seem relevant enough to make it seem real, although I don’t claim
to be an expert. The
sound track has the pumping sounds of Nickelback and Black Eyed
Peas, for those of that taste.
Nothing
is bad about this game, even the little niggles found in other huge
titles of the genre seem to have been ironed into the learning
curve. Only minutes after finding a problem you’ll realise that
the one holding the pad is causing it, the arcade-feel isn’t
delicate, but it is very precise. Everything in this game has been
geared towards sheer enjoyment for all who still dream of a biking
career, even those that just want to imitate Ozzy and see how many
times they can chuck their riders off an ATV.
 
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