This past year has seen a number of Motocross titles appear in the videogame market and most of them have shown their face on the Playstation 2. This latest offering is courtesy of the new Infogrames/Atari publishing house that previously released the hit Splashdown. MX Rider was developed by Paradigm Entertainment, the same fine folks who brought us the new and improved Spy Hunter. Therefore, expectations were somewhat high when we learned that Paradigm would also develop an MX game. Unfortunately MX Rider is a mixed bag that ultimately fails to deliver the control and excitement needed to be a successful MX experience.

It is interesting to watch how developers approach the programming of the PS2. In Spy Hunter, Paradigm was able to harness the power appropriately to deliver a slick engine with a number of filter effects without any mishap. In MX Rider however, things are inconsistent at best. The graphics are somewhat blocky at times and lack any great amount of detail. The framerate is fast and works well but draw-in and pop-up are seen more often than they should. Collision detection is also odd. For example, you are gunning it over 60 mph and bump into a tire without any grave consequences. I think if I tried that in real-life, I would end up in the hospital for a couple of months. On a positive note, Paradigm did a nice job of creating believable mud splashing effects that spray mud back into your face all over the screen. The courses leave a lot to be desired but the freestyle arenas are gorgeous and more important very large. As already mentioned, the game is extremely fast and this is even more evident when you start using 250cc and 500cc bikes. The problem becomes that things get too fast to properly control. The soundtrack and sound effects are pretty generic fare and do nothing to either enhance or deter from the overall experience.

The gameplay is average and could have been tightened a lot more. The controls are very awkward at times when both racing and trying to pull of tricks. There are more than 30 tricks to master if you have the patience and endurance to figure them out. Interestingly enough is how tricks in this game are actually meaningful. Performing successful tricks during races makes you become more popular with the fans and the sponsors will reward you with money and more lucrative signing deals. The opponent AI is better than I expected as they react to your moves and to state of the race. If you start playing rough and bump opponents, you will find they will come back and do the same to you later in the race or in future outings. The most fun to be had in MX Rider is found in the freestyle arenas where you are at your free leisure to pull of some great tricks as you gain huge air from the insane ramps. While fun, the controls are still awkward. The courses on the other hand seem very claustrophobic and narrow. In real-life MX competition, courses usually widen and narrow at a number of points. In MX Rider, things remain the same and here lies further control issues as trying to get by other riders without some sort of contact is near impossible.

There is fun to be had from the various game modes which include: Single Race, Freestyle, Championship, Challenge and Multiplayer. The problem is while fun, they are not as consistent as they could have been. Regardless, Championship and Freestyle will eat up most of your playing time. In Championship, you must compete against top riders while working your way through several seasons of races and accumulating money and points as you go. Try to get sponsorships for monetary rewards. You must maintain a good standing to continue receiving sponsorships and cash flow. Therefore, continuous winning is pivotal to your success. In Freestyle mode, pull off as many stunts as possible within the allotted time limit. Only one arena is unlocked to start but beat each record in each arena and the next arena will be unlocked. There are six freestyle tracks in all for your jumping pleasure. The game also sports more than 60 real-life pro riders and 23 licensed Motocross and supercross tracks. If MX Rider becomes a franchise, next year we would like to see a create rider and track editor modes.

MX Rider is yet another title which has some potential if Infogrames/Atari decides to take the series further. As it stands, MX Rider is inconsistent from its presentation right through to the gameplay mechanics. If you are an MX fan or have had your fill of MX 2002 then give MX Rider a spin. Otherwise, a rental will suffice.