I don't know about you slackers, but I've been killing it on the riding/racing front since December 1, 2009. I'm not usually one to brag, but I've won more races than I've lost, and no amount of rain or snow has kept me off my ATV (or dirt bike or sport buggy or UTV or Trophy truck, for that matter). I can't think of another time I've ridden this much and, regardless of crashes, for the first time in my career I'm 100 percent healthy (99 percent if you count a sore thumb). I guess I should give thanks to the folks who helped me reach this point in my career, so without further ado, I'd like to thank Bill Gates and the folks at Xbox 360 and Rainbow Studios for the new MX vs. ATV Reflex.
In all seriousness, everyone should be thanking these guys for adding yet another amazing title to the MX vs. ATV lineup. Reflex is the latest in the series, and while initially frustrating and complicated to figure out, it's miles ahead of anything we've tried before. The all-new "Rhythm Racing 2.0 Physics Engine" is responsible for the frustrating aspects of the game and ironically what makes it so great. Gone are the days of just mashing the throttle and hoping for the best. In Reflex you'll need a masterful control of both your rider and the machine thanks to the "Dual Stick Rider Reflex Control System" which requires you to steer the machine with one stick while controlling the rider with the other. Like I said, it was initially frustrating to have to relearn the controls, but once mastered the game is absolutely amazing and on a whole other level of realism when compared to previous titles.
From a visual standpoint, the game looks great and is steps ahead of the others. The environments are a bit repetitive and the tracks seem pretty similar to one another, but overall Reflex is visually pleasing.
Outside of the physics, the game play itself is much improved and the real-time "terrain deformation" means that, just as in real life, the track conditions change as the game wears on. If you make a rut, it's there for the duration of the race and continues to worsen every lap. While gimmicky sounding, it's a great feature that allows you to create a good line and stick to it throughout long races. On sand tracks, it's really quite amazing how realistically the conditions deteriorate. One of the game's biggest negatives was in the career mode; it makes you compete in various disciplines and aboard all sorts of vehicles in the quest to unlock and complete the career. It's a bummer to not just be able to race one long supercross or motocross series aboard one type of machine on all of the tracks, but this is not a heartbreaker, either. The multiplayer mode allows up to 12 racers to compete online at once through X-Box Live.
Vehicle-wise, there are customizable ATVs, dirt bikes, UTVs, sport trucks and sport buggies. All of them are pretty fun, with the Trophy trucks really taking the cake. The dirt bikes seem easiest to go fast on as the ATVs somehow tend to feel like Yamaha Banshees on ice. The UTVs feel a bit hokey and golf cart-ish, but I still had a blast banging them around. Overall, the new features keep the game interesting and much more challenging to master than in past versions.
-Jorge Cuartas
| GAMING |
97 |
| Graphics |
19/20 |
| Rear Slide |
20/20 |
| Controls |
18/20 |
| Online Play |
20/20 |
| Multiplayer |
20/20 |
Bottom Line: Reflex is miles ahead of any off-road game available! The new technical aspects of the "Rhythm Racing 2.0 Physics Engine" make winning races more difficult, but who ever said winning was easy.