Review MXGP3 | Milestone brings us the third instalment in their MXGP series with MXGP3, the officially licensed motocross video game. Is three times the charm or will this game get stuck in the mud? Let’s find out!
A review written bij a Dutchman on a Belgian made website has a screenshot with a Belgian flag.. cooooool!
THE GOOD
Official license means the tracks, bikes and riders that participate in MXGP appear in the game. While I’m not a fan myself, I can appreciate what this means for fans of the sport.
Dynamic track deformations are not just a gimmick, you can actually see where riders have gone the round before, and it makes subsequent rounds slightly different in how you should approach certain parts of the track.
Track and weather conditions look good but more importantly influence how you handle your bike during the race. Sand, dust, mud, rain puddles, they all make a different impact.
The racing itself is just fun, at least after the initial adjustment period of an hour or so, if you usually play car based racing games like I normally do.
I have no idea why but he wanted to show that his wheels are still in splint condition.
MIXED FEELINGS
While your bike is clearly affected by the condition of the track, visually it’s a different story. Better keep your eyes ahead on your bike because if you look at your rear wheel while riding, you’ll notice that it just floats over the track.
The soundtrack offers a nice upbeat tempo and isn’t bad, but it is extremely repetitive, it’s the same song over and over, and it gets old really soon.
The game really misses out on opportunities to drag the player in more. While the core gameplay is great, and that’s coming from somebody with zero interest in the sport, the menus and feedback on your progress felt really out of sync.
Forza’s cardbox crowd/audience found his way to MXGP3 too. It seems they love to watch impressive race games.
THE BAD
MXGP3 is really barebones. There are multiple modes, but there is precious little difference between them. While playing, I couldn’t tell you which mode I was in. Its entire presentation is dry and quite dull.
Online racing is generally not a great experience in video games, but in MXGP3 it seems especially bad. There is almost no defence against rammers as it’s easy to topple a bike and there is no penalty at all.
Furthermore, while testing out the game there weren’t many players active online and there are no lobbies or anything, you just set a series of filters for the kind of race you want and then wait. When the game does find one or two people, lag and host disconnects are par for the course.
Score: 73% | MXGP3 offers a surprisingly good and enjoyable on track motocross experience, but the lack of features and proper game modes keeps it from being truly great. Still, if you’re interested in motocross and are only concerned with the actual bike riding on authentic tracks, you should definitely consider picking this one up.
