MXGP 2019

Review

The gate is raised at a 35-degree angle towards your front wheel. The butterflies are racing in your stomach as you rev the throttle and prepare to release the clutch. The moment of truth is seconds away, and you, along with the other twenty-one competitors, have the same desire as soon as the gate goes down . . .  to be the first to take the corner, score a HOLESHOT and lead, winning all the races on the way to becoming the World Champion Motocross Rider? Welcome to MXGP 2019 – The Official Motocross Videogame.

MXGP 2019 is a motocross racing game developed and published by Milestone S.r.l. on the 27th August 2019, and is currently available on Steam, Xbox One and PS4.

I really enjoy playing racing games; I am more inclined towards the Formula 1, and cars in general, but on this occasion, I couldn’t resist checking out a motocross game, and I would like to thank Koch Media for providing me with a review key. So in a nutshell, it’s pretty much the first time that I’ve played a motorbike game, which means that I can’t make any comparison with previous games of this series.



The game has plenty of customisation and modes of play. If you are like me, and it’s your first attempt at this type of game, I suggest heading first to the playground, where you can practice, get the feel of your bike and find out which camera views (four in total, including a helmet view) will best suit your gameplay.  There are also challenges you can access in this mode.

The Quick Modes will give you access to the Time Attack (which is to record the fastest lap in every Grand Prix track), play one of the 18 official Grand Prix, or play tracks that have been created by fellow motocross fan through the track editor. You can even create your own championship by selecting 18 of your favourite tracks, including tracks created by other players. I had a quick go with the Track Editor, and I must say it is quite easy to use, with a tutorial to give you a little bit more insight. If you like to play online against other players, you certainly can do that with the Multiplayer mode.

The Season Mode consists of all official tracks. Select the level of difficulty (AI), physics, length of races, and whether you want to play one or two races, or qualification and the race in each Grand Prix. Then you’ll be at your pit, where you can modify your bike to the best of your ability for the track ahead, adjusting the gear ration, wheelbase, suspensions, brake response and acceleration mapping. When you’ve done that, it’ll be all about the racing. 

What a fun this game is! Let me tell you, it’s absolute chaos at the first corner, especially if you didn’t react quickly when the gate went down. You’ll be pushing left and right to find an opening without falling off the bike.  After that, it will be all about managing your bike skills around the track and trying to win. Accidents will be frequent in MXGP 2019 and in my case, I seemed to be really talented at both hitting trees and advertising boards for some reason. Another innovative way to fall off your bike is to land on another competitor, or to just be too aggressive with the throttle in corners. And it gets harder as you increase the AI and physics! It’s also important to stay on the track; if you go off-track for more than 4 seconds, your bike will be put back to the point at which you left the track, and you’ll lose your position (which always seems to happen when you are in front of the pack).  I personally preferred to play the game in the third person view because I could see both the track and the competitors around me better. The helmet camera is excellent! It’s definitely harder than the third person in every way; you have to wipe the dirt off your visor (glasses) every few corners, and it gets worse when it rains.

I enjoyed the different types of environment and tracks the game provided.  You have to find the right bike balance on each of the tracks to win, and for me, that was terrific fun!

The other thing I like about this game is the ability to customise pretty much everything, from the bike components to the outfits and model of bike etc. But you’ll need credits to purchase these things. Fortunately, you earn credits through your sponsor, who you can choose before starting a Grand Prix or season. You’ll be awarded a certain number of credits if you manage to finish the Grand Prix either first, second or third. As you gain levels of experience, you can acquire more prominent sponsorship, and therefore more credits, if you step on the podium.

With great graphics and a funky soundtrack, this game offers excellent re-playability and is a lot of fun!  The only thing that looked strange to me was the number of ruts in corners, and the clutch is hard to use at the start. Apart from that, I’ve really enjoyed the game so far.


Positives

+ Great Graphics
+ Funky Soundtracks
+ Fun and fast gameplay
+ Several modes of play, including multiplayer
+ Track editor
+ Great, in-depth customisation
+ Achievements

Negatives

- Seems to have too many ruts in corners
- Clutch is difficult to use at the start
- No trading cards

Review Summary

An absolute beauty of a motocross video game with great modes of play and in-depth customisation!

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Zeepond Rating: 8/10

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