One More Lap
MX vs. ATV: Untamed signals the end of Rainbow Studios' all-too-familiar formula. Or at least we hope.
Published: January 18, 2008
There was a time when Rainbow Studios was one of the most bankable names in gaming. They quite literally created this whole "rhythm racing" style of off-road fun with their PC debut Motocross Madness and have gone about perfecting it over the years. When they moved to ATVs for Sony's Offroad Fury games, what began on two-wheeled vehicles easily transitioned into the four-wheeled type, and for a time, all was good.
The evolution of those basic concepts hit a high when Rainbow started making the MX vs. ATV games, which started throwing in multiple vehicle types beyond ATVs and bikes (despite the name), and barring, say, a plane here and there, the controls for all of them were really quite good. The same tracks couldn't be driven the same way with multiple vehicle types, and learning the ins and outs of them all was arguably the games' biggest draw.
The problem is that it's been three games of more or less the same formula, and the thrill of learning how to bomb around a corner on a bike, clutch at the ready to blast out of the turn, then to mash the gas and do it all over again in a big ass truck has gotten... well, fine, I'll say it, it's gotten stale. That doesn't mean you can't have fun with MX vs. ATV: Untamed, but with the exception of the new career path progression and the new Endurocross and Opencross events, you've had this fun already. Twice.
For the sake of explaining their merits rather than just writing them off as more open races, Opencross and Endurocross function more or less the same. You're still bound to a track, but the courses are fairly large and introduce a number of environmental hazards into the mix. Both are welcome additions to things and can actually make races with some of the bigger vehicles more interesting, but beyond, the X-Cross (anyone from the UK is probably reading that has a horribly redundant title) career path, you'll be running the same supermoto, freestyle and nations on their own.
X-Cross essentially works as a two-round series of events that take you through the whole of Untamed's plethora of racing options. As you complete each of the major events (and again, because you're racing every track twice in a row to place, it can take well over an hour to finish everything up), more types are unlocked and you're free to jump into any of them before racing everything to completion. Early on, it's a bit of an uphill battle, with races packed almost solely with bike events, but once you start unlocking some of the shorter and more interesting vehicle-based races, it ends up being a lot more fun. Just don't expect to really get into the meat of the mode for a few hours, which I suppose is why all the other modes are freely acceptable.
It should be noted that there is some customization of your vehicles, but it's almost all vanity-based goodies from what I could tell. Earning money in races is a slow, plodding process, but dropping into a mini-game or six will quickly negate any of the money-earning tedium, as they pay out far better. Unfortunately, without a tangible sense of vehicle performance upgrades (which makes sense, as the races are defined by class, and it would be fair or fun to blow the doors off everyone out right out of the gate), the unlockables are really just there to set you apart online.
The evolution of those basic concepts hit a high when Rainbow started making the MX vs. ATV games, which started throwing in multiple vehicle types beyond ATVs and bikes (despite the name), and barring, say, a plane here and there, the controls for all of them were really quite good. The same tracks couldn't be driven the same way with multiple vehicle types, and learning the ins and outs of them all was arguably the games' biggest draw.
The problem is that it's been three games of more or less the same formula, and the thrill of learning how to bomb around a corner on a bike, clutch at the ready to blast out of the turn, then to mash the gas and do it all over again in a big ass truck has gotten... well, fine, I'll say it, it's gotten stale. That doesn't mean you can't have fun with MX vs. ATV: Untamed, but with the exception of the new career path progression and the new Endurocross and Opencross events, you've had this fun already. Twice.
For the sake of explaining their merits rather than just writing them off as more open races, Opencross and Endurocross function more or less the same. You're still bound to a track, but the courses are fairly large and introduce a number of environmental hazards into the mix. Both are welcome additions to things and can actually make races with some of the bigger vehicles more interesting, but beyond, the X-Cross (anyone from the UK is probably reading that has a horribly redundant title) career path, you'll be running the same supermoto, freestyle and nations on their own.
X-Cross essentially works as a two-round series of events that take you through the whole of Untamed's plethora of racing options. As you complete each of the major events (and again, because you're racing every track twice in a row to place, it can take well over an hour to finish everything up), more types are unlocked and you're free to jump into any of them before racing everything to completion. Early on, it's a bit of an uphill battle, with races packed almost solely with bike events, but once you start unlocking some of the shorter and more interesting vehicle-based races, it ends up being a lot more fun. Just don't expect to really get into the meat of the mode for a few hours, which I suppose is why all the other modes are freely acceptable.
It should be noted that there is some customization of your vehicles, but it's almost all vanity-based goodies from what I could tell. Earning money in races is a slow, plodding process, but dropping into a mini-game or six will quickly negate any of the money-earning tedium, as they pay out far better. Unfortunately, without a tangible sense of vehicle performance upgrades (which makes sense, as the races are defined by class, and it would be fair or fun to blow the doors off everyone out right out of the gate), the unlockables are really just there to set you apart online.