Doesn’t quite stick the landing
I had a genuinely surreal moment when I was given MX vs ATV Legends for review because I recalled playing a game by a similar title year and years ago. Sure, enough the last time I played an MX game was when the original MX vs ATV Unleashed released back in 2005. So, imagine my surprise to see that not only had they made a sequel but had spawned an entire franchise out of these games; I wish I could say that I had a pleasant homecoming with my return to the racing series but alas.
MSRP: $39.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, PC
Price I’d Pay: $29.99
From someone who hasn’t played a motocross game in ages, MX vs ATV Legends doesn’t seem to reinvite the wheel here, the overall number of available vehicles is quite good and the thrills of racing and pulling off tricks high in the air certainly remains intact. The big feature for this year as I understand it is the campaign mode, it feels almost akin to a Forza Horizon-lite type campaign. And what I mean by that is the developers have clearly taken inspiration from Forza Horizon 5, but the open world presented in MX vs ATV Legends is nowhere near as detailed or interesting to drive through. The career mode is passible, and a good way to learn the handles of players’ vehicles but other than that there is no real narrative to be had. Which isn’t a bad thing, as players haven’t responded well to racers that tell fleshed out stories; Need for Speed: Payback comes to mind. But I enjoyed taking my racer on their journey, even if the open world didn’t have much to do in-between actual events.
I must say that I had a blast in almost all the events I played in during my time with MX vs ATV Legends. The sheer excitement and thrills I got from taking a motorbike up a ramp as I tried to land as many tricks as possible before gravity pulled me back to earth; man, it got me every time. Gravity that is, I am terrible at landing tricks on these bikes, now if this was Tony Hawk…well I’d be just as bad, but I have a great time trying. Honestly, I had the most fun racing the dune buggies, they are tanky beasts and being able to ‘trade paint’ with opponents as we jockey for position was a constant thrill. The ATV’s end up somewhere at the bottom of my list, just because the controls on them felt so jerky it was difficult to control.
My biggest issue with this game wasn’t the lackluster graphics, or the basic career offering; it was the online component. In a racing game where being able to play against other humans is arguably the most enjoyable it’s a high crime not having a functioning multiplayer component functioning upon release. I preface with functioning because while the game does have a robust multiplayer offering in terms of races and events, I was only able to play 4 out of my 6 attempts to completion. I was loaded into a hub world by myself on one attempt, I was kicked from a match, DURING the race on at least 2 tries and had a ridiculous amount of lag on the others before just deciding to quit. Now all of these things can be fixed with patches, but when a game already doesn’t look as good as a high majority of the other racers out there, there is no real narrative and its prone to glitches and issues; it really becomes a hard ask to have fans wait for the fixes.
I wish them well, and truly hope that the fans of this long running franchise get the game they ultimately deserve because as it stands this just feels like it could have been so much better with a bit more time in the oven. MX vs ATV Legends is by no means a horrible game, as I said the thrills of the motocross racing and stunts is a high point, as is the racing of the dune buggy but the graphics and all of the issues with multiplayer really sully the experience, especially for someone who has been away from the series since the beginning.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
