- I wasn’t able to review the online functionality of MXGP due to the lack of online players available with the game not being officially released at the time of this review.
Remasters and Definitive Editions have recently caused a stir with the frequency in which older games are being improved on the PS4 and Xbox One. Making the leap from the PS3 and Xbox 360 onto the latest machines, these games often boast improved graphics, all additional content and refined gameplay mechanics. One such game, which has just been released, is MXGP for the PS4 and this title has promised to offer an improved experience, compared to the title’s release on last-gen consoles, PS Vita and PC.
As I played the original version of MXGP for PC, the first thing I noticed on the PS4 version was the vast improvement on the graphics and presentation. The most recent motorbike game Milestone had made was MotoGP 14 for PS3, Xbox 360, PS Vita, PC and the PS4 and the PS4 version of MotoGP 14 was a great game; the way in which the graphics drew you into the experience was an incredible achievement. The latest version of MXGP uses the same Yebis 2 Engine which MotoGP 14 benefitted from and the tracks and riders look sleek and move as you would expect a rider to move.
While the riders, bikes and tracks all look greatly improved, the atmosphere of the tracks can sometimes be a very lonely and uninspiring place. MXGP is a simulation motocross game and has mainly been focused towards people who are huge fans of the two-wheeled mud-fest. There are times when you are racing around the tracks and you would hear no crowd noise and there doesn’t feel as though there’s any urgency at these points as it takes away some of the atmosphere that you would expect a crowd to bring to such a sport. The adrenaline-fuelled races seem lost at these moments as there just isn’t enough going on. I do think it would be a bit much to have a full soundtrack during the races, but I do feel as though something needs to be added to remind you that you are partaking in an exciting sport, rather than a mindless racer.
One of the several features which developers Milestone have improved on has been the physics engine and just how the bikes control. When comparing the PC version to the PS4 edition, I couldn’t find much difference in the way the game controlled. When in the air, the left stick is used to control which direction you are facing, while the right stick controls the gradient of your bike and how you can manoeuvre the bike mid-air to control the landing. In order to go around corners successfully, you will have to be brave and take them at speed, while working out how correctly the on-coming sharp bend has to be. A slightly mistimed corner can result in you whizzing off into the advertising hoardings or dramatically losing your balance. Much like many other motorcycle games, you can start off with slightly slower bikes and work your way up to using the most powerful vehicles available. This is invaluable in career mode as it provides a decent platform to get used to the game and hone in your skills, but some of the same problems exist for me in the PS4 version as they did in the previous version.
In order to have the best possible start to a race, it is required to qualify for an event and this challenges you to set the best lap time in order to gain first place on the starting grid. While that is simple enough, I do find it very frustrating that you cannot skip through qualifying once you have set a lap time which you are happy with. Qualifying lasts 30 minutes and if you’re sitting in first place within the first few laps, then what’s the point of carrying on? Surely it’d be easier to pause the game and skip the rest of qualifying? No.
I’ve lost count to the number of times that I’ve had to leave the game running while I go and do other things because you are automatically allocated last place if you quit qualifying, no matter what time you’ve posted. While I am not an avid fan of motocross, I do prefer to play a little at a time and not get bogged down on doing the same thing for 30 minutes. While I’m confident this is what many of the hardcore motocross fans would want, this is something which should have the options available. Moving away from this problem, the Career Mode does provide plenty of joy, even if lacking difficulty at times, but it’s largely the same as the versions which came before it.
There is a similar career mode in MXGP as there is in MotoGP 14, where your created character climbs up the ranks of Moto 2 to eventually make it to Moto 1. Along the way your character will make rivals through social media and you will have the option to race each event as you wish. If, like me, you only wish to race on any given race weekend then you are able to or if you want the full experience, you can do so as well.
MXGP is a decent off-road motorcycle sequel and is a worthy improvement on the version released on last-gen consoles, PC and the PS Vita. The presentation during the race events are very solid and a great improvement on the poor graphical standard the previous versions suffered from. While this version is a step up, it does continue to suffer from some of the same problems as the previous versions do, such as the atmosphere and long qualifying races. If you’re looking for a great motorcycle game for the PS4 then I’d definitely recommend MotoGP 14 over this, but MXGP on PS4 is a solid racer with plenty of replay value.
MXGP is available now for PS4, PS3, PS Vita, Xbox 360 and PC.