Game Review: Mud Fim Motocross World Championship

THERE seems to be a number of dirt bike/motocross type games around at the moment, TRIALS EVOLUTION and MAD RIDERS to name but two, and now there is MUD FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP developed by MILESTONE and released by BLACK BEAN.

OK not the shortest title of a game I have seen, but this is one of those so-so kind of games, you know it`s kind of OK but not going to blow your skirt up.

With 5 different modes there is plenty of choice and with a couple of on-line modes and a 12 player Xbox live ® multi player, MUD FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP is not exactly short of ideas.

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The problem is that the gameplay itself is pretty dull and uninspiring with 12 locations, 84 bikers ,14 different bikes and a host of other features ,this game is crammed with interesting things, it’s just the actual game itself is lacking.

The career mode (MUD WORLD TOUR) is just a series of events which are basically the same, you have a race, then a sort of time trial, then a one on one and then a stunt section, you gain points for each section completed which allows you to buy either more race levels, upgrade your rider or purchase a better one, plus plenty of other upgrades available to buy as well.

The problem with games like this is that you can`t have an experience like you can with DIRT, and a steering wheel, there are bike like controllers out there but they are difficult to find.

The controls are simple left stick for balance/steering, right trigger for acceleration and left trigger for braking so you can get stuck in straight away.

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You can boost your energy with a drink which is available at the touch of the (X) button, but I personally didn`t see the point of this.

You will notice that there is an option called SCRUB which is accessible with the (A) button , this works when you approach a hill, you hold the button down just before take-off this makes your bike flip sideways (SCRUB) and if you release at the right time, and land without crashing you get a temporary speed boost.

Motocross of Nations is another mode which is again a combination of MX1 and MX2 class bikes on 12 different tracks, with the official championship mode bringing together two different classes of bikes the MX1 and MX2 so you can race on a number of different tracks all over the world in both classes.

Finally we have the trick battle mode, with riders performing tricks to gain points at a variety of locations.

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Now you would think with all that content MUD FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP would be a really interesting and fulfilling game ,,unfortunately it just isn`t the case, I found myself tiring of the experience fairly quickly, it just doesn`t have that buzz that other simulation games have , maybe it’s because it doesn`t quite know whether it is an arcade or simulation game, I get the feeling that it`s stuck between the two and not sure which way to go.

Summary

MUD FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP isn`t half bad , with plenty of content and a good on-line play element , it`s just feels lacking and a bit dull, the graphics are good I just didn`t feel like I was interacting with the game, if you are a big MUD FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP fan then you will appreciate this game because all the big stars and teams are represented here, but if you are looking for an experience like DIRT then this isn`t the game for you.

I give MUD FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 7 out of 10

• MUD FIM Motocross World Championship

• Developer: Milestone

• Publisher: Black Bean

• Xbox 360®

• Playstation 3®

• PC

• Release date: 4th May 2012