MX 2002 featuring Ricky Carmichael

I bought this game the other day, and I am very impressed with it. It is certainly the best MX game I've played on any system, and I think it's far better than a certain Microsoft game on the PC. The controls are simple to learn, and initially you'll find yourself racing round the first few tracks without any problems. Once you move up to the pro circuit, however things get gradually more difficult, and you'll find yourself needing to use the clutch and powerslide buttons to improve your lap times and win the races. Thankfully, the game throws up optional tutorials throughout the career mode to ease the player in gently. The difficulty curve is almost spot on. The races themselves are great fun, and the dozen or so tracks are as varied as bumpy dirt can be. The game is also very forgiving. As long as you don't stray from the track too far you're alright, and if you do fall off the game puts you straight back on your bike and even gives you a flying start, so you don't lose too much time. As well as the races there is the freestyle mode which includes Step-Up and Bus Jump modes, both of which need to be unlocked in the career mode. There are also dedicated stunt tracks to crash on. As well as this, there are also a number of challenges hidden away in the options menu, some of which are simple, others are almost impossible. Completing these challenges gives a little video clip of various loons pulling tricks and crashing into the ground. The only downside is that the 2 player mode is not as strong as it could be. The 2 player races only have you and a mate on the track, and no other riders. It's still good fun though, and the 2 player freestyle mode is great. This is a great game, and should satisfy any extreme gaming needs until Mr Hawk graces us with his presence.

The first thing you notice about this game are the awesome graphics. The track surface looks very real, the bikes are a good resemblance and the riders kits are authentic.Everything is sharp and clear.
Gameplay is excellent, although turning takes a little getting used to in order to produce fast lap times. Quite often it is necessary to use the powerslide button around the tighter corners. The game also features preload and clutch buttons. The preload button is a great idea enabling you to 'preload' the suspension just like in real life, to gain extra lift over the bigger jumps, however when in the air you will have to be extra careful with the joystick control as bike movement is very sensitive and you can end up in trouble.
Unfortunately the clutch button appears to have no purpose at all except for making the engine rev with no increase in acceleration.However this does not detract from the gameplay.
Carrer mode has you start as an amateur with the ability to choose your riding gear, with your name and number on the back of your shirt which is fairly cool and work your way up to the pro circuit 250cc. Its a shame there are not more supercross tracks as the ones that are in it are excellent, especially when you finally unlock Las Vegas as this is quite technical and a challenge to produce consistently fast lap times.
If Freestyle is your thing then there is plenty here to keep you happy with about 28 tricks to perform, step up and bus jump challenges and a variety of different locations.
Overall an excellent game worth buying especially if you are a MX fan, the biggest letdown being the engine sounds which are hardly realistic, maybe a few more CPU riders and more tracks, but these can be forgiven as the rest of the game is so good.

This is the greatest game of all time.The bikes look good and sounds absoloutly ideal. You will have endless fun on this game. Also the career mode is great fun and challengin. gd multiplayer game also.