MX Vs ATV: Reflex

We’ve no right to patronise any game studio, really. Sure, some might be better than others, but even the ones that have never made a game we liked still have way more talent and expertise than we’ll ever have. But it’s difficult not to sound patronising when saying that a game is a ‘good effort’, and ‘nearly there’ and we hope Rainbow Studios has ‘better luck next time’. So, sorry if we sound like a parent teaching a five-year old to ride a bike without stabilisers, but that really is how we feel about MX vs ATV Reflex. Rainbow has made a number of significant advances over the humdrum Untamed, but in doing so seems to has bitten off just a little more than it can chew.

Mud and dirt are both types of ground.

Each of the ambitious new features, namely the Rider Reflex control system and the deformable track terrain, is quite impressive in its own right, but almost as soon as you start playing, they clash horribly, thanks to a physics engine that, quite frankly, is really letting the side down.

We’ve seen deformable track terrain before in Sega Rally but, while it was a cool effect there, it never really felt like it made that much difference. After all, when you’re in a 300 horse power machine that weighs over a ton, you pretty much plough through mud no matter how lumpy it is. But in a lighter vehicle such as a bike or buggy it’s going to make a big difference and make a game like MX vs ATV much more interesting, right? Yes, in theory. Oh, you can tell their heart was in the right place…

The deformation itself is very convincing, with track getting realistically carved up by vehicles and fallen riders alike. The tragedy is that the all the more good work the deformation does, the more it shows up the serious weaknesses in the vehicle physics which, put simply, are just far too sensitive and go completely haywire in rough conditions. This is compounded by the Reflex system – whereby you steer with the left stick and shift your rider’s weight with the right – which feels just right on relatively smooth, regular terrain, but the effects of both steering and weight-shifting suddenly become inexplicably strong when your wheels leave the track.

Wait, wait. He sto' ma baaak! He sto' ma baaak!

So if you’re bouncing along on irregular terrain control becomes unpredictable and frustrating. One split-second you’re powersliding smoothly, the next you’ve whipped the back of your bike around 90° out of nowhere. It’s more than enough to make you want to play MotorStorm or DiRT instead.