MX vs. ATV: Alive Preview

Good clean fun.

Dirt and grime, push and shove. Sloughing through the mud while riding on 450cc’s of metal and plastic, digging over the next messy pile of earth and fighting off all comers at the same time. Motocross is not a clean sport, never has been. In this latest title in the MX vs. ATV series, all the grit and destruction is brought to your console. Motocross is, in a word, made Alive.

As with the past titles, Alive allows you to pick your favorite rider, or create your own, and take him through Nationals on the way to being crowned Motocross champion. This time around, however, it will be more physical and realistic. A whole new engine allows the player to have more control over his rider and bike. No more spinning out of control on every little bump and scrape along the way. It is far more easy to, say, regain balance after being hit and still remain competitive. No longer should a player be hesitant to go full-bore into a turn with the pack, as having the skill to make out without bailing will be extremely beneficial.

The tracks have had a makeover as well. Each completed lap will add grooves and divots in the dirt as bike after bike tears up the terrain. Packs of bikes will be scrambling in the mud on the final laps in an environment that left one colleague raving, “That’s awesome!”

Adding to the realism are the actual gear and licensors that will be available. Yet to be announced, everything from bikes to gloves, pads, and helmets will be the actual ones used in professional motocross, and they will be customizable. Exclusive to this title will be the weekly updated DLC. The idea is that there will always be something new available to keep the game fresh and the player interested. Real riders will be available, too, as shown by cover boy James Stewart. (No, not the actor, or the football player, or the kings of Scotland.)

To keep the replay value high, every race will award the player experience points, whether or not it was an official online race, or just a single-player, offline race. Also, experience will be given regardless of place finishing. That way, a rider will get better and better with every race you finish.

A highly successful title already (over 10 million units sold), the latest installment is geared to enlist new players and keep them coming back again and again. Look for MX vs. ATV Alive to drop on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 on May 11.