Milestone set a decent bar in the past when it comes to motorcycle simulation games with MXGP, SBK 2009 and SBK X. The first MXGP was a decent game but didn’t give you an exhilarating feeling like it should do. People who ride a motorcycle in real-life can probably agree that this kind of sport gives you a big shot of adrenaline and game developers try to bring out motorcycle games that offer this kind of excitement. Even though the first MXGP was a decent motorcycle simulation, it didn’t have this adrenaline spark and failed in that domain. This year they’re releasing their sequel MXGP 2 on different gaming platforms. Will the game give us that spark that we need to become motorcycling adrenaline junkies?
Ready, set, go…
Like any other simulation game, the first chapter of this glorious motorcyclist journey is creating a character. Besides the single player and multiplayer options, you’ll soon find out that the game has different game modes: Career, Test track and Monster Energy MXoN (Motorcross of Nation). Career is all about your own character building up his career as a professional motocrosser earning reputation and money to become the best. Test Track comes with 2 modes: Free Riding and Time Session. Free Riding is all about performing a number of laps with all the time that he needs and set up tests while Time Session reveals the player’s time after riding one lap and gives him the opportunity to improve his accomplishment. The last mode “MXoN” is one of the toughest modes as you’ll be able to play as one of your favorite motorcyclists of a certain country, shoot for the winning cup in the World Championship and take it up with Jeffrey Herlings.
Up and running
Most of the time, you’ll be playing in this career mode to build up to a better position in the motor cross world. If you’re racing and you end up with one of the best, you’ll earn promotion and find yourself in a better team. The money that you’ve earned during races can be used to upgrade your motorcycle and become better at racing. Some of the parts of your motorcycle can be replaced and each part can have an upgrade. If this upgrade system doesn’t suit you, you can always buy a new motorcycle. The goal is simple: earn money and spend money. The better the motorcycle, the better you’ll perform.
I do like to mention the fact that this “career mode” can take away your “fun” aspect pretty fast. In the beginning of the game, you have to earn your title as a professional motocrosser. This takes you about 12 games in the MX 2 before you can actually start playing in the MX1. The motorcycles in MX2 have about 250cc engines and it doesn’t give a sense of “power” which can make a race pretty boring. There’s really no challenge here. The MX1 offers you motorcycles with 450cc engines which is a lot more exciting and this is far better than those other motorcycles.
Now watch me whip and watch me scrub!
Of course, you’ll have to play a lot of races to hone your driving skills and eventually get further in the game. The gameplay mechanics are very simple, just throttle and drive. If you fail at taking a certain turn correctly, rewind and try again. The drive controls are sensitive and takes a while to get the hang of it but eventually it felt realistic. As a player, you’re able to divide the weight of your game character across the motorcycle to perform whips and scrubs, just like any other professional. It takes a while to really own these movements but it works perfectly within the game.
The better the motorcycle, the better you’ll perform
All these difficult technical aspects give a good sense of control when you’re racing against other racers. It’s all in the player’s hand. Since all of these controls can be accessed by the player, it’s easy to make a simple but crucial mistake which can turn into a loss for that specific race. Milestone did a very good job when it comes to the gameplay experience and technical aspects of the game.
Muddy visuals
The game looks okay but it really doesn’t offer you next gen gaming visuals. The game suffers from minor bugs and frame rate issues, especially during the start of each race. It doesn’t affect the gameplay but it’s big enough to make me noticing it. You can also see that the character models aren’t very unique. Of course, they’ll have their number and team name printed on their backs but the developers used the same model over and over again. For example, Jeffry Herlings is the same character model but the outfit and the motor is indeed characterized. The character models are okay but they do seem to be a bit clunky during the game, especially their animations.
Except for the fact that you have the opportunity to play on important and known race tracks of the World Championship Motorcycle series, the terrain of these tracks are very bland and are missing out on that “something” extra.
The sound is okay but there isn’t really a lot of depth going on. A lot of the engines sound exactly the same, which is weird because every engine is supposed to sound different, just like in real life. The moment when your motorcycle touches the ground after a big jump, sounds very poorly. The game developers could have done better.
Conclusion:
MXGP 2 is definitely a step up from last game. MXGP 2 offers a lot more game modes and the career mode can take a while before ending it, but in the end, MXGP 2 is the same MXGP from a couple of years ago but with better visuals. Multiplayer hasn’t changed since previous game which isn’t exactly a bad thing but a bit more innovation would have been fantastic. Sound and visuals can be improved but it’s the gameplay that eventually stands out from all other aspects. It’s a good game but don’t expect the best motorcycle simulation game. The idea is there but it has to be better executed.
