Developer: Rainbow Studios
Publisher: THQ Nordic
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Version Reviewed: eShop Download
Category: Racing, Sports
No. of Players: up to 8 players
Release Date: September 1, 2020 (Worldwide)
Price: $39.99 USD
HISTORY:
The MX vs ATV series has seen its ups and downs (
pun intended) throughout its lifespan. Starting back in 2005 on the PS2, Xbox and PC, The series has seen an installment on every console since then with MX vs ATV Unleashed, MX vs ATV Untamed in 2007, MX vs ATV Reflex in 2009, MX vs ATV Alive in 2011 on just the PS3 and Xbox 360, MX vs ATV Supercross on PS3, Xbox 360 and eventually ported to the PS4 and Xbox One and finally MX vs ATV All Out which launched in 2018 on the PS4 and Xbox One and was ported to the Nintendo Switch on September 1st, 2020, developed by Rainbow Studios and published by THQ Nordic.
The series was born by combining the MX Unleashed franchise with he ATV Offroad Fury series, born from the ashes of THQ as the company saw some reorganizing. The series survived the death of THQ before Nordic grabbed the franchise. This series is well known for high flying stunts, offroad vehicles, and motocross races. On a Nintendo system, it really shows how far we have come since the Excitebike days as offroad racing games have developed over the years.
STORY:
With MX vs ATV All Out, there is no direct story. It’s an open world, offroad arcade racing game. The primary focus is competing in various racing modes, exploring the open world, completing some pretty ridiculous stunts in freestyle mode, and competing online and with friends in local and online multiplayer.
As you compete in various race series, you’ll earn money depending on when you finish, just like any other racing game where you have in-game currency.
You’ll use this currency to upgrade your cosmetics, tune-up your bike, and purchase more gear throughout your career. There are quite a few well-known brands if you’re astute in the world of motocross and ATV racing, of which I am no expert.
When you begin, the game walks you through each tutorial of racing styles. This was helpful, however, while racing around in practice mode, the pop-up tips and hints and instructions were very distracting and I could not focus on the information given. You’re not competing against anyone but there is a timer of course and while it is tutorial mode, if you’re racing around you don’t want to read and drive…just like the law says against texting and driving. I was not a big fan of the tutorial and honestly, there is a lot to take in that newcomers need to ingest before jumping in and trying to tackle stunts and races.
GAMEPLAY:
MX vs ATV All Out is your standard racing game.
Pull the trigger to give it the “Go Go” juice, press the left trigger to brake. When you crash, press a to restart quickly. The controls are very standard and easy to jump in and play. The challenge lies in the terrain and how you handle jumps and landings.
Any motocross game is going to replete with bumps, hills, leaps, and bounds. You have to read the area as you soar through the air and figure out the best way to land and keep your speed in certain modes. There are quite a few different areas when you start into the various series to compete in. All of them have their own personality. Some levels are a vast desert, others are a rocky terrain and some are a pleasant hilly mountainside valley. All of these levels have a lot of jumps and twists and turns that you must traverse in order to win.
In point to point mode, you race through 10 checkpoints that are placed randomly throughout each world. In the unforgiving vein of Mario Kart, do not get cocky and think you have it in the bag because the NPC racers will quickly steal your thunder!
In Series, there is an amateur offroad set of events, an amateur motocross set of events and indoor opencross set of events.
There are also a few DLC packs that you can purchase for more experiences. As you level up, you unlock more challenging racing modes and more stunts and arenas to race in. You’ll have to get the game to really learn more! This racing title is quite full of experiences and replayability for the offroad racing fan!
In events mode, there are six modes. Supercross, ArenaCross, National, Opencross, Waypoint, Freestyle, and Freeride. Each mode has a plethora of levels to race in, as well as more add on DLC content. The online multiplayer is not the most intuitive. The wait times are too long and the gameplay is very choppy. However, there is one neat perk. When you enter online multiplayer mode, you can use the Nintendo Switch Online Smartphone App to communicate with other racers. I did not have a pleasant experience with the online multiplayer on the Switch and I hope they improve over time.
Some modes in multiplayer include the standard waypoint races and circuits. One fun mode is called TAG! It is literally tag, but with motocross bikes.
This can actually be fun whenever a game loads….As I type this, I am still waiting on matchmaking to find a quick match and it’s been about ten minutes…
Overall the gameplay is smooth, albeit the graphics in the open world can be choppy. The casual racing fan will find the most challenges trying to navigate all the jumps and mounds in lieu of their standard flat tracks they are used to in the average racer. You should not play this game if you are not a fan of jumping hills and performing stunts all the time.
CONTENT & FEATURES:
As mentioned above, there are quite a few DLC Packs and Add on content available for this game. The Ricky Carmichael Farm GOAT pack includes a map pack that is a replication of Ricky Carmichaels Goat farm. Ricky Carmichael is a pro motocross driver who holds 7 AMA Motocross championships and 5 Supercross championships, so he’s kind of a big deal, and I think it’s pretty neat his goat farm is a usable track!
The Hometown MX Nationals pack includes a few tracks from around the world and a few day time variations to add some variety to your racing! And finally, Slash’s Snakepit includes three supercross tracks and a freestyle map that were all designed by the legendary guitarist Slash!
In the eShop, there is also an overwhelming amount of DLC vehicles for MX vs ATV All Out to purchase to add to your collection.
All these vehicles are actual replications of real motocross bikes and ATV’s. I love it when real brands get used in racing games. This adds more realism to the experience, especially when you’re tuning your bike and you’re using real brands and real parts!
On top of DLC, you can use your in-game currency that you earn from races to upgrade your bike and customize your appearance to match your racing personality! This gives you some incentive to win and finish every race and earn as much money as possible.
AUDIO:
Being the hard rock fan I am, I always gravitate towards the soundtracks of games like this and Need for Speed Underground or even Tony Hawks Pro Skater. The soundtrack for MX vs ATV All Out is no different as it is chock full of great metal, punk even some dubstep. Featuring artists like Asking Alexandria, Lettuce, Stick To Your Guns, The Offspring, and even My Chemical Romance, the soundtrack is one of the best for fans of rock and metal in a racing game.
The balance does seem to be off sometimes as the music is sometimes too faint in the background. You can adjust the balance in the menu, however, I still feel the overworld noise and the hum of the motocross bikes are too overbearing and cover up the music.
VISUALS & PERFORMANCE:
The overworld graphics in MX vs ATV All Out leave much to be desired. The frame rates drop pretty quickly but after you play for a bit, it smooths itself out. For some reason, the actual series races and events run smoother than the overworld driving. Freestyle can be a real mess too when you’re trying to control your driver and the performance gets choppy. I found that choppiness very frustrating at times.
The other fun part of motocross racing games is the crashes and seeing your driver ragdoll into oblivion. If you wreck into the wrong spot your driver will literally go flying into the sky…Not sure why it would be this extreme.
Handheld mode for MX vs ATV All Out is not very smooth either as you drive. I have found though that when you play a game like this on a tv with limited settings, it may perform better. Playing the Switch version on a big 4K display TV, the framerates can drop, whereas, playing this game on a smaller 22” HD Tv, the graphics performed a little better.
OBSERVATIONS
MX vs ATV All Out is a fun offroad racer, even with some issues. There is a huge variety of maps and levels to explore and experience and there are plenty of DLC vehicles to unlock as well as gear to unlock and upgrade.
The average racing fan may not enjoy how many hills and leaps there are, but for those who enjoy stunts, high flying, and performing tricks, this is the game for you. The challenge in the series racing is satisfying and the racing is quite addicting. If you can get past the long loading times and matchmaking, this is an experience that is worth your time.
All the positives can still be erased by the performance. Graphics don’t make the game. Performance matters more and this game fell short. The tutorial was not designed well and I still had questions on how to do some of the tricks they explained. Luckily, you can revisit any tutorial again and practice your skills. This game is focused on physics and racing and you must pay attention to how you land and where you land.
CONCLUSION:
MX vs ATV All Out is a challenging, fun and sometimes frustrating open world, offroad arcade racing game. Anyone can pick it up, but it is not easy to master. This experience is enjoyable however, be prepared to be underwhelmed by some of it’s performance.
Pleasant
*A Review key was provided by the publisher for the purposes of this review
To check out more reviews by the Miketendo64 Review Team, feel free to click here.
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Off-road racing is a potentially dangerous endeavor. Hell, we nearly lost our own Hamza Aziz to an ATV accident last year — but, shark that he is, he merely brushed off the crash and continued onward in the name of Destructoid. That’s our Hamza!
Luckily, I didn’t have to perform any death-defying ATV jumps to get my hands on THQ’s upcoming off-road racing hybrid, MX vs. ATV Reflex. It’s the fourth iteration of the well-known MX vs. ATV series, so what has developer Rainbow Studios done to try and mix things up? Hit the jump to find out just why the word “reflex” is part of the game’s title.
MX vs. ATV Reflex (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation Portable, DS)
Developer: Rainbow Studios
Publisher: THQ
To be released: Holiday 2009
It seems that as the years go by, more and more games have turned to the analog sticks for functions that, a console generation or two ago, were mapped to buttons.
In most cases, this change has been for the better, offering gamers a higher degree of control. MX vs. ATV Reflex changes up the franchise’s long-stagnant controls by introducing Rider Reflex, which provides a much more logical and natural control scheme. As usual, the right trigger and left trigger are the gas and brake, respectively, and steering is controlled by the left stick. But the right stick gives you complete control over your rider’s body, so it can be controlled independently of your vehicle.
Rider Reflex allows you to take tighter corners, jump higher, and avoid crashes. With the right stick, you can shift your rider’s weight to lean left or right, which makes a huge difference in how sharp a turn is. And while preloading jumps used to be controlled by holding down a button, you now pull the stick down on the way up a ramp and flick upward to launch yourself into the air. It’s a much more intuitive and fluid control scheme, and it really makes you wonder why this hasn’t been implemented before.
There’s no going back from this — from here on, it should be the standard control scheme for these kinds of games.
Wreck Avoidance is another new feature that utilizes the right analog stick. If you’ve taken a jump at a poor angle, and are close to crashing spectacularly, a green arrow will flash for a second on the screen. Should you manage to flick the right stick in the appropriate direction in time, you’ll be magically saved from wrecking. But there’s even more that the right stick does in MX vs. ATV Reflex. This time around, tricks have been mapped to it. (Perhaps RS stands for “Renaissance stick” instead of “right stick,” eh?)
To perform a trick, you hold the left bumper (or L1 on the PS3) in the air — this tells the game that you want to use the right stick for tricks instead of leaning. From there, you can do all kinds of things with the right stick to do different tricks. Merely flicking in a direction will perform simple ones, but the game incorporates more complex movements like quarter- and half-circles to offer over 70 different tricks in all.
The third major new feature that Rainbow is touting is the game’s real-time terrain deformation. That might sound like a mere marketing term, but the developers don’t just mean that your wheels will leave tracks in the dirt. They will, and the significance of that goes beyond the visuals — it has an actual physical effect. Just like a real race, you’ll want to either follow the already-created rut of a rider ahead of you, or create your own. It’ll be slow going if you try to drive over a bunch of ruts, since your vehicle will be bobbing up and down. And the tracks that are created by each vehicle in a race don’t go away — in fact, the complexion of a race will change from lap to lap as the race progresses and the track gets more and more torn up by the treads of the vehicles on it.
Rainbow claims that this has never been done before in any other racing game, and while we’re not entirely sure that that’s accurate, it’s still pretty awesome that you’ll have to change your tactics and adapt on the fly to the road conditions.
If you’re driving through some particularly sticky mud for a few laps, you might eventually see the underlying puddle of water; the mud covering a ramp will erode over time as more bikes and ATVs jump off of it. Even your body can affect the landscape — say, if you fly off your mount and skid along the track.
Visually, there are high points and … not-so-high points. I saw some impressive fog and water effects, and the terrain deformation, as I explained, was uniformly spectacular-looking. But when I was placed in a snowy, mountainous area to roam freely, I couldn’t help but notice that it was rather sparse (though this may have just been because the space was created for the demo). Still, even in a race with a number of other vehicles, the game didn’t seem to have as many visual bells and whistles, so to speak, as a series like MotorStorm (and in the off-road genre, comparisons to Evolution Studios’ PS3 racers are inevitable).
That was really the only semi-negative thing I can say about what I saw.
The mechanics of MX vs. ATV Reflex are undeniably solid, so if Rainbow can take the graphics up a notch, they very well may have a winner on their hands this holiday season. Check out the game’s Web site for more details.
Samit Sarkar
| MX vs. ATV: Reflex | |
| Developer | Rainbow Studios |
| Publisher | THQ |
| Official site | www.mxvsatv.com |
| Release date | November 2010 |
| Genre | Arcade Racing |
Rainbow Studios, which breathed life into virtual motorcycle racing with the release of the Motocross Madness dilogy, continues to delight players with new projects. Unfortunately, not all of them reach personal computers or appear with a significant delay.
So, MX vs. ATV: Reflex arrived on consoles a year ago and has only just made it to PC players, just in time for the release of the new Alive this spring.
As the name of the game suggests, we will be offered to ride not only two-wheeled horses, but also four-wheeled ATVs. In fact, the fleet of vehicles here is even larger and we will eventually have UTVs, sport buggies and small pickup trucks at our disposal.
However, acquaintance with the game will begin with motocross. And further, as we progress through various championships, we will have access to new vehicles, and the tournaments themselves, where they are allowed. Staying true to its roots, the game offers us cross-country racing or supercross on difficult artificial tracks in the lights of large stadiums to the sound of a roaring crowd.
Among the banal races of several laps on the same track, there are knockout races, passing checkpoints and a free ride mode.
Checkpoints are not very out of the general range, because there is always a rolled road, and the difficult terrain does not make it possible to cut off the path much. Free ride includes several locations where we look for secret flags and go through several competitions - drive up a steep mountain in the allotted time without falling down, or fly through all the markers in the air, jumping on jump hills.
There are some tricks, but they play a secondary role, not a key one, as in Pure. Separate competitive stages just offer us to do somersaults on stadium tracks with springboards.
The main interest is mixed competitions. The game only at first limits us in transport, and then nothing prevents cars, ATVs and two-wheeled bikes from clashing in one race at the same time. Moreover, it turns out to be quite interesting and exciting, because the tracks are built in such a way that certain sections create problems for different vehicles.
The motorcycle easily overcomes the steepest sections, but gets stuck in the water, and on a sharp turn, some pickup truck will simply crush it into a cake, throwing it back a few positions.
Sport Truck sometimes resembles a tank, scattering everyone on the way. From the start, you can simply crush all the nimble enemies, go half a circle perfectly, jumping on potholes, and then roll over in a ditch with logs or on a very sharp turn. Yes, and among the thicket you can’t maneuver much. But a light motorcycle can sometimes cut where it is difficult to fit into a larger opponent.
The only trouble is that in fact the whole choice is limited between nimble motorcycles and powerful cars. Quads are maneuverable, but too sensitive. This is not a perky cheerful Pure. Here the drive on both pairs of wheels is perfectly felt and you can easily fall down on a sharp rise, not keeping your balance and lifting the front end.
Lightweight buggies and UTVs can't match the speed of cars, but jump on the track much easier, making it much more difficult to control. As a result, all this is fun and great at first, then you just choose a motorcycle or car and calmly go through the track.
Some incentive for the player to use intermediate class vehicles more often would be welcome. But there are catastrophically few competitions in the game that specifically limit us in choosing among them.
Riding motorcycles requires constant control of the balance and the need to compensate for the imbalance in the balance of the motorcycle by tilting the rider's body. But the most difficult thing is to control a light ATV, which is too responsive, light, jumpy and unstable on inclined surfaces. Here everything depends on fast and, most importantly, precise movements of the body, because if you overdo it with the driver's inclination, you can easily fall on your side or land on your neck.
By the way, if after landing you did not keep your balance, you will still have the opportunity to normalize the position of the bike by pressing one of the illuminated body tilt keys in time. Such a quick-time event.
In competitions where there are no restrictions on vehicles, the developers successfully combine different terrain elements and different types of dirt to make the races more unpredictable. From snow to mud, from mud to hard to bumpy and wavy surfaces, and a few sharp turns in a grove of trees - somewhere forward riders break out on motorcycles, and somewhere on buggies and pickups. It is these races that give maximum adrenaline and pleasure.
Motocross and Supercross are not as dynamic. In stadium races, difficult tracks force you to be attentive and correctly control your balance. Here the key to success is not in speed, but in the correct passage of all tricky turns and maintaining balance after all the jumps.
However, it is still interesting and exciting, but racing on sports trucks alone is really boring and boring. The tracks in such competitions are unpretentious and, thanks to obedient control, are passed very easily.
Fixed low camera that limits the view a little on steep slopes.
The money earned for prize-winning places, together with the bonus for tricks, is spent only on buying new things for your garage. The necessary amounts are accumulating quite quickly and there is still nothing to spend until new classes are opened as the championships progress.
The surface of the track has a direct and immediate effect on any vehicle. Dirt roads are combined with gravel and sand embankments, sometimes even covered with snow. Each vehicle behaves differently on different surfaces. Having easily overcome some section on a motorcycle, you can lose ground a little, getting bogged down in a stream or on a snow-covered turn. And there is a lot of dirt in the game, and it has a direct impact on the physics of vehicles.
Only in MX vs. ATV: Reflex wheels leave real ruts in viscous soil, which also create certain difficulties. The most difficult thing is to overcome the road eroded by ditches on a quad bike, it is difficult for a motorcycle to taxi out of such a place, unless it is a downhill. For cars, this is not a problem at all.
All the technological delights of the game end in mud and changing road surfaces. The same dirt does not stain vehicles at all and does not splash fountains from under the wheels, as in other games. The environment looks simple, the textures are rather weak, the stubby trees look very poor, the water is also not so hot. There are no advanced lighting effects, the blinding sun will not interfere with the player. And there is no widespread blurring of the image at high speeds either.
MX vs. ATV: Reflex is a unique game. Here in one bottle and motorcycle racing, and mixed competitions.
Only here motorcycles, sports buggies and cars can come together. Off-road, dirt and collisions with motorcycles flying to the sides and cars overturning on sharp turns are provided. The traditional motocross and the players' favorite tricks on the jumps are not forgotten. Quite spectacular and varied, but sometimes boring. Often dynamic races are replaced by mournful trips along familiar tracks. The most difficult races with intricate tracks, constantly changing landscape and soil provide maximum pleasure. Car racing is not exciting, and supercross in stadiums also becomes boring in the end. More than once mentioned Pure is more dynamic and brighter. But Reflex is more serious, it has more realism (there are even licensed championships). And most importantly, the game has no competitors. No MotorStorm on PC is expected, and the next part of MX vs. ATV is unknown when it will appear in our area. So the game is recommended for mandatory familiarization to all fans of virtual racing and motorsport.
Few of us follow what's going on in the world of motocross, or even know the names of key racing stars. However the sight of motorcycles wallowing in the mud invariably produces on men aged from 12 to 32 years old hypnotic impression - there is something in this sport something that distinguishes it from civilized and skimmed asphalt races. Not high speeds - they just don't exist here. And not even the number of broken bones riders, which is much higher than in other disciplines. A business, most likely in a different way: to be a motocross star, you need to do more than just ride faster than anyone - you need to do it spectacularly, to be a real actor in the saddle.
Perhaps this is why motocross (compared to other types of racing competitions) has so many girls. Prancing on a two-wheeled horse is not for you to sit inside a cramped car where no one can see you anyway.
The main thing here is the show. When riders in bright overalls overcome a climb so steep that the stairs in your entrance, in comparison with it, it will seem like a smooth avenue, to them involuntarily get respect. Therefore, the demand (albeit very limited) for simulators motocross always exists, and sometimes among them there are really good games. Now, with the advent of MX vs ATV Reflex , there was one more.
| The start of motocross is a special ritual that is reminiscent of racetrack racing. Until the iron barrier comes down, everyone gets nervous and keeps their hand on the clutch lever. |
Despite the fact that Rainbow Studios was a bit whether not single-handedly brought to the people three-dimensional motorcycle racing (ancient Motocross Madness - just their work), the first game to notice the show appeal of this discipline was last year's Pure .
Aerial acrobatics at a height of 50 meters above the ground had little to do with real motorcycle racing, but it was largely thanks to her that the Black Rock Studio broke the bank. MX vs ATV Reflex, which still adheres to the laws of the real world (included licensed racers and championships), against this background it looks real anachronism. Motorcycles (as well as quads, buggies and pickup trucks) go around and bounce around on artificial springboards - well, where have we not seen anything like this?
Meanwhile, right now the series is experiencing the second revolution in its long history (the first happened with the advent of quads and the abbreviation ATV in the name), only this time - technological. physically correct the dirt that is now in every first off-road race is now available and real motocross riders. Another thing is that in some Colin McRae DiRT 2 this same dirt is first of all decor element. Rally cars pulled out clods of earth with their wheels and left behind a barely visible track, but this had practically no effect on the behavior of cars.
Motocross is another matter. While racing down the compact and bulldozed track, two-wheeled motorcycles manage to gouge a real gutter in the mud meter depth, which is especially difficult to ignore when cornering (steering pulls out of the hands with terrible force). And if the race takes place on wet ground (track they are specially poured with water before the start so that spectators and riders do not suffocate in clouds of dust), then the track also manages to fill with water - also physically correct. H 2 O ripples, dislodges sunken wheels from the bottom and severely disappoints everyone who likes to overcome the fords without slowing down the gas.
| All eyes on the ruts: a couple of laps ago they were not here, but now you can get bogged down. | The quads aren't as fast and bouncy as the Pure, but that just makes riding harder. |
The model of vehicle behavior has also become more reliable - now, when you see a fallen tree on the road, the trunk of which is thicker than the wheel of your ATV, you involuntarily retract your neck and brake almost to zero, because if this is not done, the rider will have to dampen the speed with his own body.
On the in a heavy pickup truck, the same obstacle is perceived much more calmly, but on motorcycle ... In general, if you have ever tried to overcome on a bicycle wet tram tracks or curbs, then there is nothing to explain, and if not - just never try to do it at a sharp angle.
| Colin McRae DiRT 2 racing pickups as guest stars. |
In general, you have to fall all the time in the game. First of all, because of the aggressive but stupid opponents who often go "on contact". And in the second - when trying to perform some famously twisted trick. The tricks themselves are an integral part of motocross, and in the past parts series for their performance awarded separate points. But since Pure closed this topic for good, the developers of MX vs ATV Reflex seem to have quieted down and pushed the tricks into the background. Now, during a regular race, no one makes us look for the jump button - just sit firmly in the saddle and slightly tilt the body when cornering.
Here, too, one small innovation is hidden - if you landed badly or somehow lost control, the game always gives a couple of seconds to correct the situation. You just need pull the right stick in the indicated direction, and the rider who previously held the steering wheel with one hand, will return to the saddle again. Not the worst way to use quick-time events in racing - anyway much more honest than the ubiquitous time rewind.
When it comes to content and variety, Rainbow Studio has reached some cosmic heights over the years of working with the genre. We have already said that in addition to motorcycles, there are quads and other four-wheeled units in the game, that you need to discover in the course of a career. And which (most chic!) can also race against each other. It turns out almost MotorStorm in miniature - light motorcycles at a glance rush forward, but on the first straight they are caught up and rolled into the mud heavy pickups.
And the main guarantee of survival in such races is usually the ability do not climb on the rampage and stay away from local battles.
Other than regular circuit racing, checkpoint orienteering, freestyle, supercross (where it takes place in a closed arena and tracks are especially slow and insidious), the developers for some reason added to the game freeplay. In this mode, we simply explore a deserted piece of territory in search of new flags and tasks, while trying to understand if we have already passed by this pine or not. Fortunately, unlike the boring Fuel is not the main mode here, but just a way to unwind.
| Tracks are a real gem of the game. There are a lot of them, and they are all dirty. | But why a completely dirty motorcycle has a perfectly clean tread (at least in the Xbox 360 version) is a separate question for the developers. |
Despite the best dirt in video games, which finally not only loads the processor, but also has reliable physical properties, MX vs ATV Reflex is quite highly specialized race.
