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While our console brethren are currently enjoying something of a motocross racing renaissance, dirt-bike offerings on the PC have been scarce. Fortunately, Microsoft has returned with a white-knuckling sequel to its two-year old Motocross Madness, and despite the obligatory minor quibbles, the game exceeds its predecessor in every department
You get to choose from one of seven indoor and outdoor events, including past favorites such as the stadium-based Supercross, the open-ended Stunt Quarry, Baja racing (outdoors with waypoint gates), multiplayer Tag and, of course, Nationals, which is more controlled outdoor track racing.
The two new modes - and arguably the meat and potatoes of Motocross Madness 2 - are the Enduro and Pro-Circuit races. With the former, imagine the outdoor Baja race, only with dynamic traffic to contend with in settings such as a trailer park, ski resort, jungle, or farmland. Pro-Circuit is the single-player career mode, where you must successfully win races in all of the aforementioned race types and earn prize and sponsorship money to pay for entry fees, bike repairs, new gear/bikes and even medical bills (and once you see the new crash animations, you'll see why you may need a doctor).
Graphically, the game is absolutely stunning, with highly detailed riders, environments
and thousands of 3D objects peppered throughout the landscapes. There are cars,
spectators, buildings, low-flying airplanes, ski lifts, trees, hay bales, and
much more. Resolutions top 1600x1200, and though a 3D accelerator card is not
required (as it was with the first game), it's highly recommended. Even more
impressive is the fact the framerates don't take much of a hit.
Speaking of "hits," the animations are so lifelike you'll either cringe or laugh your ass off when you see one of your opponents gets squashed by a bus or slammed by a freight train in the Enduro mode.
Regrettably, there are only a small handful of bikes to choose from, from manufacturers like Honda, Yamaha, and KTM and a handful of fictional brands, sporting engines ranging from a modest 125cc to the powerful 600cc. Worse still, I felt very little difference between the bikes, even when I tweaked a few settings in the garage. Other beefs: with the handling, at times I wasn't sure how much the designers were trying to make an arcade game or a simulation. Certainly, 500-foot high jumps and 180-degree turns at more than 100 mph is hardly realistic, but at other times you'll crash far too often by landing a tad off-center, or be thrown out of a Supercross track due to a slight change in rhythm.
Engine sounds are awesome, but the gameplay could use some music. I felt an emptiness while playing, especially while outdoors enjoying the Stunt Quarry or Enduro modes. Microsoft could've at least given us the option to play our own CDs or import MP3s or WMA files.
These relatively minor shortcomings aside, Motocross Madness 2 is hands down one of the best solo or multiplayer arcade racing offerings of the year thus far.