MX vs. ATV Unleashed – Review

With game modes galore, an in-depth tutorial, a wealth of variable options and features, rewards at every turn, not to mention the thick spray of wheel mud and exhilaration of nailing tricks, MX vs. ATV Unleashed must surely be a definite buy for fans of dirty racing, yes? Well it is…and it isn’t. The simple fact of the matter here is that MX vs. ATV Unleashed—though a satisfactorily entertaining racing distraction—flatters to deceive through its considerably effective padding.

The nucleus of the game concentrates on single-player tournaments consisting of 16 weeks of competitive racing. Once through the practice laps and initial qualifying heats for each course, the player then lines up against five AI opponents in an attempt to conquer the stage, secure maximum points, and successfully progress to the following week’s race. A fourth place finish (from six?) sees you clearly on your way; though your point winnings will be marginal, of course, and not much help to your overall tournament standings. Success on each stage, unlocks extra content such as challenges from other riders (be that via bikes, trucks, ATVs, and even the woefully inappropriate inclusion of airplane stages), as well as the track itself, new vehicles, dapper clothing, kit accessories, etc. It’s all par for the course in terms of expectation, and in this regard everything is fairly straightforward and thoroughly acceptable. The game promises hard fought dirt track racing and, from the aspect of gamer reward, it
certainly delivers.

However, the actual racing in MX vs. ATV Unleashed is poor. How so? Gamers are offered guidance through an extensive non-playable tutorial, which accurately outlines the necessary gameplay skills required to master the control system’s nuances. It also gives hints at how to best approach potentially dangerous elements on any given course, and it proudly boasts of the extensive trick usage that can be incorporated into your mud-soaked conquests. Hmm. Dutifully (because we are ALL purists), you’ll watch and learn, hoping that you’ve absorbed all there is in order to become a legendary champion. Nervously you’ll approach the first race intent on utilizing the carefully explained knowledge the game was kind enough to impart. Then, as the gate drops and you speed toward the first corner, you’ll abandon all sense of focus and resort to pure videogame racing instincts. As you hurl the rocketing vehicle into the banking curve at a ridiculous angle, cutting the corner outrageously and breaking every rule the game outlined so lovingly, you’ll marvel at your good fortune as you emerge not only unscathed from the impossible physics, but also in first place. “How can this be?” you will wonder. “I should be face first in thick cloying mud while my opponents race on toward victory!” And lo, merrily you will howl as you enjoy your inspirational gameplay deceit. Yet, a few more corners on, and guilt emerges as the full weight of your deception lands every time you watch the AI racers adopting perfect racing lines into each climbing bank and grooved rut. Oh, dear. Is this your fault? No, of course not. Should you be hanging your mud-matted head in shame at this juncture? No, of course you shouldn’t. But THQ and Rainbow Studios should.

Those players well groomed on high-profile racing titles will likely scoff at the lack of genuine challenge offered up by MX vs. ATV Unleashed and its championship modes. Worse than this, though, those players unaccustomed to races will be left scratching their collective helmets as to all the fuss. There is little to no adrenaline on show here, nothing to truly raise the heart rate or test the reflexes. Laughingly destroying opponents is undeniably entertaining for the first few races, but the joy of victory soon becomes little more than repetitive disappointment and a quest to amass enough of a points lead to guarantee the overall championship. And what do you receive for your blind persistence as you secure the coveted mantle of champion? A nice gold trophy, that’s what. Wow. Well worth 16 weeks of drudgery. Just be thankful (and perhaps a little concerned) that 16 weeks of virtual racing can be twisted from the throttle in around three hours.

To add to the general sense of racing disillusionment, MX vs. ATV Unleashed also suffers from terribly unbalanced crash physics. Grabbing serious air over a jump while jostling for position against a host of other riders will often see you landing with someone else’s vehicle cutting a groove into your spine. The result of this is, quite obviously, that you are violently thrown from your ride. The amusing rag doll effects are not in question here, but rather the lack of balance in the gameplay when it comes to you being the rider landing atop of an opponent. More often than not it’s frustrating to the extreme to watch a fellow rider speed on unaffected by the contact he just endured. However, once the wheel of doom is firmly pressed into your back, you can count on the sweet taste of two-stroke gruel as you nose dive into the track. It’s enough to invoke screams of anguish from beneath your smeared visor…

Or it would be if the real-time events weren’t so fractured. Being cast unceremoniously into the mud should mean that your opponents attain a certain lead while you clamber back into the race. It should, but it doesn’t; the result being that the game generously plonks you back on the track a millisecond after actually losing control. Those racers directly around you when thrown are brought back to almost the exact positions you last saw before sucking on the mud. This begs the question: Why implement the crash physic in the first place? Professional riders are seldom cast from their rides, and when they are they need to battle back into contention. However, the default three lap races in MX vs. ATV don’t allow for that player vs. game battle to ensue, and probably because more than three laps would make things as dull as dishwater. Bringing the action back to the point of dismount negates any kind of tangible challenge and winning the race can still be a viable reality unless the player loses control on the final corner. It seems that crashing was included for the sake of crashing, not as a defined extension of the racing experience.

Graphically the game handles itself admirable. The courses rush beneath your wheels with a lag-free fluidity, and there is little noticeable chop or draw. The other racers present little more than characterless named defaults to accompany their point scores; not that a narrative thread should have been included. But there isn’t even a trace of personal and direct AI competition to your rider, or even grudge clashes, which could have livened things up a tad. The courses themselves are largely unimaginative save for one or two that positively sparkle with aesthetic invention, perilous jumps, and unforgiving points of decision. Sadly, these intermittent smatterings of racing originality only serve to highlight the generic feel of the majority. The challenge stages are also fairly bland, putting the player through their paces on 1 vs. 1 courses through winding forests, cramped indoor arenas, and even a ‘fly through the loops’ aerial course that proves itself as both the game’s most challenging endeavor and also its most annoying distraction.

Aurally MX vs. ATV Unleashed is comprehensive if players are partial to whining engine noises and dull grunts of pain, accompanied by a punk/rock soundtrack. Musically, the game was never going to emerge sporting a classic piano concerto or a two-hour stylophone solo by Rolf Harris, but the likes of Papa Roach and Nickelback don’t exactly endear the game to a wider audience. Whatever happened to contemporary soundtracks to complement the on-screen action and thereby thrill the player? Gone. Replaced by the irrepressible musical marketing devices. Also, the game’s thoroughly empty narrative (it is dirt racing after all) means that players who are hearing impaired will garner no sense of defined inclusion to the experience. But, then again, the insipid punk/rock soundtrack means that you’re really not missing much.

But, hark! A spot of sunshine breaks through the eight cloudy paragraphs of negativity. MX vs. ATV Unleashed, despite the dour single-player tournaments, receives a renewed lease of life through its Multiplayer and Trick competitions. Hurtling up ramps and crossing cavernous gulfs is fun by itself, but slamming death-defying tricks between take-off and landing propels the game into realms of enjoyment never even approached by the championships. Of course, you can perform tricks during the races if you choose, but they’re a hell of a lot harder to land when the track beneath you is treacherously uneven. And giving the races further call to infuriate really isn’t needed. The Trick competitions are run over set periods of time with a selection of opposing riders, where you can either battle for the highest scores and collected redeemable store points, or try to concoct the best trick combos before an adoring arena crowd. There is even a semi-tutorial competition where you receive onscreen button prompts as you rush toward the ramps and must execute the combos successfully to progress. As simplistic as it sounds, the Trick competitions inject an element of thrill to the proceedings that go some way to redeeming the lacklustre tournaments. This, coupled with all the usual multiplayer facets manages to elevate MX vs. ATV Unleashed beyond the grip of the plainly average. Yet it’s still more than likely you’ll spend considerably more time slamming tricks than winning races. But, then again, securing first place has nothing on landing that breathtaking 360 while taunting the crowd over your shoulder. Class.

When it comes to how MX vs. ATV Unleashed pans out for female demographic, there’s really scant little on offer. It’s basically a bunch of filth-covered guys riding filth-covered vehicles through filth-covered locations. There’s not a girl in sight. And the real-life unlockable male riders mean that the game is definitely one for the boys, especially as all the main event stars are clothed head-to-foot in racing gear…not one glistening bare chest amongst them.

The uninspiring central championships and unbalanced gameplay physics mean than MX vs. ATV Unleashed emerges as somewhat of a disappointment. Racing should be a challenge as well as an exercise in speed. Control should be taxing on focus and concentration rather than overtly rewarding through its blatant disregard. Courses and locations should be varied and inventive. Opponent AI should be involving and more three-dimensional, even in a race game. Moreover, in this day and age, a player should not be able to hold down the accelerator for the entire duration of a race without once applying the brake…and still win.

And, just to add an unpalatable cherry to the trifle of tribulation, don’t even get me started on the load times. The room was very quiet while reviewing this title…if you’d been there, you would have heard me getting older!

Review by Stevie

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