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MX vs. ATV Reflex Game Review

By Richard Sultan  

It has been a while since the last game in the MX vs. ATV series came out, and gamers are treated to a complete overhaul from the ground up. The key feature of this new game, and the title itself, is “Reflex”.

Plenty of Bar to Bar Supercross action with Dirt Bikes or ATVs.

Reflex has been added to give more control over rider positioning as you race the Dirt Bikes and ATVs. This new system allows you to take corners a bit sharper and adds a level of realism to the series. There is a learning curve with this new system but after some practice it becomes second nature. Despite my poor thumb coordination I was able to yield some close wins. With this new reflex system comes a new system for tricks as well. Gone are the days of mashing buttons and moving your arrow keys in a frantic mess to do a trick. You now have a button to push while in the air and then moving the Reflex joy stick in combinations of directions to perform the trick.

Game play is fairly quick paced, as is expected from off-road racing. Reflex offers many styles of racing to choose from to satisfy the needs of any dirt racing enthusiast. The racing styles ranges from the traditional motocross/supercross racing, off-road point to point, freestyle, and the mash of everything called omnicross. Each style of racing allows gamers to choose the type of vehicle to race. Most events are limited to just ATV/UTV and Dirt Bikes but there are select maps that allow Baja trucks and buggies. If a track is too difficult for the first choice, players can switch to a different vehicle. When starting the race again everyone will be racing the same style of vehicle as you. Trucks and buggies are a different sort of experience, mostly because they are pretty much indestructible and rarely do you find our self in a situation where you can’t get out of. In Omnicross trucks and buggies tend to dominate and it seemed rare for an ATV or dirt bike up front due to how much larger and powerful the trucks are.

MX vs. ATV Reflex delivers a good selection of outdoor tracks to choose from and more air than you can shake a stick at.

Overall the game plays well, looks great and for the most part has many of the features players expect out of a game of this caliber. Those looking for more customization will be rewarded with different color options for just about every piece of dirt bike gear imaginable even down to wearing a neck brace or chest protector. Rest assured gamers can have a unique look all your own with the amount of options at your finger tips.

Omnicross can be more demolition derby than race as trucks lose body panels and vehicles swap paint.

Reflex has a fairly extensive list of tricks you can perform including the Hart Attack.

One feature that could have been added is a “rewind” feature to correct a big mistake during a race, similar to the feature encountered in DiRT 2. While the rewind feature is more of a luxury, it has become almost standard in many recent racing games and would have saved a lot of early frustration as I got used to the reflex feature. There is a vehicle reset but it you have to hold a combination of buttons rather than a quick push of a single button to get yourself back on the track. I tended to find myself stuck in situations where the game wouldn’t automatically reset me to the course but left me to flail till I could find a way out or wander off course enough to force it to put me back. While this can be irritating, eventually gamers start to play with this in mind and ride a bit more carefully to avoid these situations (easier said than done considering how hectic races can get).

The long list of tracks and unlockable events will keep players racing for a good long time. With online play and online mini games available you can keep racing in the off season of your favorite two or four-wheeled racing series.

All told, the updates made in Reflex create a solid platform for the MX vs. ATV series to grow from. So for those searching for a dirt bike or off-road racing game, look no further than MX vs. ATV Reflex.

Retrieved December 29, 2009; from  http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/395/5372/Motorcycle-Article/MX-vs–ATV-Reflex-Game-Review.aspx