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MX vs. ATV Unleashed - Australian Review (Reviews)23/06/2005 10:23:23
Throwing a couple of successful game titles into a bucket and stirring can often have inspired results. If the hybrid product showcases the best elements of both games blended into something new, fresh and twice as sweet, hey, everyone's laughing. This, however, MX vs. ATV Unleashed is not. Instead it is a marketing-driven affair that simply dumps the ATVs into the MX Unleashed engine with only the slightest whiff of evolution in its design. Sure, the original product was good enough that newcomers will still be entertained, but veterans of either series will be quite disappointed. Forget for a second that there are two main vehicle types in MX vs. ATV Unleashed: when you begin the game you can choose between Single Player, Championship, Multiplayer, Quick Race and Training. Within these main modes are you standard genre options, like Racing, Freestyle, Challenges and Free Ride as well as a selection of seven race types, including Short Track, Waypoint and Hill Climb. The Championship mode offers the game's greatest longevity, with 16 tracks served up (complete with qualifying and two heats) and along the journey you will unlock goodies (like new apparel) and earn store points (which can buy new vehicle models). Now simply account, for the fact that you can choose an MX, ATV of a mixed option for each mode and bob's your uninspired uncle! This isn't helped by the similarity in the vehicles. After a run through the thorough Training Mode, you can pretty much tackle the tracks in the same fashion regardless of the vehicle. But despite this disappointment, the gameplay is quite solid. Driving all comes down to how you use the suspension and the clutch, with the former determining the height you get off jumps and the latter your acceleration out of corners. How you manipulate these two features will determine how you fair against the competitive and aggressive AI. It requires plenty of strategy and fast-thinking, especially if you throw in the odd trick, but it shows little evolution to the gameplay found in MX Unleashed. And that's exactly where MX vs. ATV fails: there should have been some evolution. There should have been improvements in the track design, which is a tad on the boring side and a little repetitive (not helped by some seriously bland and uncreative environments), while the trick aspect of the gameplay needed a complete overhaul. Tony Hawk this ain't and like its parent games, busting big tricks simply doesn't feel fluid or cool, but rather laboured and awkward. It's fun in the short term, but the lack of variety in moves and the less-than-remarkable controls make the freestyle side of the title a short-term alternative to the Championships, leaving the basic but fun multiplayer as the main means of longevity. So, you're left with a solid game, but a missed opportunity. Where is the story-driven career mode that interconnects the two sports? Where is the kooky, creative track design that is as spectacular to look at as it is to race? Where is the graphical overhaul? Where are the quirky multiplayer modes? Where is the track editor? Despite the above average quality of the gameplay, these are the questions you end up asking, especially if you have already sunk your teeth into either series previously. MX vs. ATV Unleashed drives the illusion of getting double your money's worth, but in truth your just getting double the tyres - sue us if were not foaming up over that one.
Score = 7.5/10
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