Boys like dirt; it’s one of the few constants that all humans of the male orientation have shared since the beginning of time. Because of that when a publisher asks if we would like to go hands-on with the latest build of a racing game all about engines, speed, and dirt – the affirmative response we give is nearly automatic. A couple weeks ago we headed out to Las Vegas to do exactly that, sit down with a near-final version of THQ’s upcoming off-road racer: MX vs. ATV Reflex. The team at Rainbow Studios has taken a franchise plagued with letdowns and rebuilt it from the ground-up, taking on so many new gameplay features and elements that even the most hardcore MX fans will be surprised. The single-player experience is downright deep, the graphics blow anything from the last MX games away, and the all-new multiplayer modes are sure to drive the fun-factor to a whole different level. From what we saw (and played) Reflex stands to be the most realistic and intense off-road racing game to ever hit a next-gen console; it lands on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 at the beginning of December 2009.
The first thing we noticed during the opening discussion was the overhaul this game has received when it comes to lifelike presentation; making every attempt to be as close to the actual sports of motocross, off-road racing, and everything in between. One of the most tantalizing additions to MX vs. ATV Reflex has to be the 30-second girls, completely motion captured in all their busty glory, to make sure that moment before the gate drops feels just like the real thing. Throughout our hands-on time with Reflex there were multiple times we got that feeling that the development team put a ridiculous amount of time and effort into making sure this game had the “it factor” – at least when it comes to off-road racing. All the real-world tracks have also been given an amazing amount of production detail, down to the color of the stadium seats. Even with all the amazing new presentation bells and whistles it would mean nothing if the core gameplay wasn’t successful. Thankfully a lot of tweaking and reworking has been done in that category as well, and the team at Rainbow Studios is standing proud behind their upcoming product.
Just because we men love all things related to mud and speeding motorcycles doesn’t meant that playing what amounts to be an off-road racing simulator will come naturally. It took a bit of time to really get just the basic controls down in Reflex and once we did that it took some more practice to get comfortable with the trick mechanic. The biggest addition to this edition of the MX series is the “reflex” part, which changes everything in terms of play control and in-game rider customization. Using the right joystick (the left is used to steer the bike) we were able to manipulate each and every inch of our rider, leaning to the left or right resulting in no physical change is a thing of the past. In MX vs. ATV Reflex you are able to literally bend and move all parts of your rider, giving you the ability to truly impact what happens on the track and in the air (during trick sequences). This massive amount of maneuverability comes at a learning curve, but once mastered it can be used to zip around the track and pull-off ridiculous tricks with ease. All of this gameplay will take place over a number of different tracks and locations, each with it’s own unique surface type (dirt, snow, sand, etc.).
As you drive around the off-road locations these different surface types will undertake a too-cool change, the ground literally deforms under your tires. These deformations come into play when trying to overtake a rival rider or take one of the hairpin turns at over 80 MPH. The best demo of this that we saw was when one of the producers took the controller and did a number of donuts out in the middle of the “load-out” stage, basically digging a big whole using only the ATV. Another big focus of our hands-on time with MX vs. ATV Reflex was the game’s multiplayer modes, and trust us when we tell you that there are a ton of them. All the options from single-player are available via Xbox LIVE play or local system racing, in addition the developers included multiple “online only” game modes. This is where the real multiplayer fun comes into play; featuring games like “snake and tag.” All of the offroad vehicles a dirt-loving man could think of are available to control in Reflex, but it’s obvious that the game performs at it’s best when using the smaller ones (ATVs and MX bikes).
Our hands-on time with MX vs. ATV Reflex left us with a very positive taste in our mouth, from the top-notch presentation to the new player controlled options, it’s obvious that the developers really took their time with this one. It was obvious that the team took notice to what was wrong with the first MX game and made the appropriate changes to this one. It has to be said that Reflex was one of the best looking off-road racing games we have ever seen on the Xbox 360 and deforming the track is just downright fun. Only time will tell if the true fans of this genre will flock to THQ’s latest journey into the quad-universe but it seemed to have all the right attributes needed for a great racing game. Stay tuned for our final review right here at PlanetXbox360.com as the December release date nears.
