Another improvement over past games is just the presentation before and during races. This was pretty evident on Supercross events where you get the build up to the race with panning camera shots of the riders, the video of the girl holding up the 30 second sign, and crowd reaction shots. Even during the race you’ll see things such as flash bulbs randomly going off as the crowd takes pictures and random crowd reactions as you race by. It really helps improve on the experience of the race and offers up another level in immersing you into the race besides just the track and racers themselves flying around.
Visually, the game looks outstanding with improved graphical detail and a lot of nice little subtle touches. As mentioned earlier, the dynamic terrain deformation helps create interesting looking roads as you race over them again on the next go around. All the textures and models have been pushed up a few notches to take advantage of the increased horse power in the 360 and the PS3. I was told they had up to 10X more resolution over the previous game in the graphical department.
Besides the improved visual representation of the environments around the race itself, I noticed some little things the rider does that really make the person seem more real. As you are changing speeds, you’ll see your rider rotate his hand on the accelerator. When going backwards, the rider will turn his head around to check what’s behind him. The clothes on the rider flutter in the wind as you go faster on an ATV or MX bike. There’s dynamic damage on cars as well as you’ll see panels loosen up and fall off as your car is hit more. As mentioned earlier, the crowd reactions are also some small and subtle that add to the overall graphical improvement in the game. These little things and many others not mentioned add up to give you a truly improved looking racing game over Unleashed.
Some old favorites from the past game also make their way into Reflex. Free ride is a feature that was popular and it returns here where you can just go online and ride around with others finding jumps and performing stunts without any restrictions. Online games such as Tag and Snake are also here as well along with other online mini games. I never played the previous game but I had a lot of fun with Snake. If you’re seen the movie Tron and watched the light cycle sequence, this is the same thing only in a 3D environment. Well, I guess it’s more modeled after Tron Legacy with 90 degree restrictions on your light path removed. As you race around, you’ll draw a colored wall behind you and any rider hitting that wall will be eliminated from the round. If you crash you’ll also be eliminated and the last person standing wins. Along with the races, these mini games add a little variety to the online gameplay available in MX vs. ATV Reflex
I am a little disappointed to hear that there’s no PC version planned unlike past titles as I would like to see the community offer up user created tracks for the game since the engine’s capable of much more. I was told by another editor that the online community is still flourishing with user made tracks for the past title.
While I’m not an ATV or Supercross fan, I did enjoy my time with MX vs. ATV Reflex that I could find myself picking this title up for some of the online gameplay and replayability offered bys the dynamic terrain deformation. I spoke with a few of the editors at the event and the ones that weren’t really into the sport enjoyed it as well. I used to play a lot of dirt bike racing games when I was younger and MX vs. ATV Reflex brought back some of the great memories I had with the genre. I’d like to thank THQ for the opportunity to check the game out in person as I had a lot of fun with the title.
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