Developer: Milestone
Publisher: Milestone
Platform: PC, PS4 and Xbox One
Tested on: PS4
MXGP3: The Official Motocross Videogame – Review
Are you a fan of motocross; racing through dirt tracks, flying over hills, mud everywhere? Then maybe MXGP3 is the game for you! MXGP3 is like the name suggests the third game in the MXGP series. The game is more than real just like the game’s slogan says. In this game they changed to Unreal Engine 4 for the graphics engine and it really does show. The game is available for PS4, Xbox One and PC. This review is about the PS4 version.
Story
There isn’t really a story present in MXGP3 but the career mode does come close. In the career mode you start as a beginner with the motorcycle you chose at the beginning of the game. You pick a sponsor to begin with and after a while, if your reputation from winning races goes up you can pick a sponsor who pays better but also asks you to place better. The better you place in the race the more money you get which allows you to upgrade your motorcycle or just buy a new one altogether. You also get a manager that supports you but his tips always stay the same and he doesn’t have much input other than who you should try to beat and how much points you need.
Graphics
It really was a good choice from Milestone to switch to Unreal Engine 4 because the graphics have improved immensely since their last MXGP game. The terrain looks great and after the first round you can see the ruts left behind from the previous round. When you’re driving through the terrain, mud kicks up and your wheel gets dirtier. There is also the weather, which means there is a random chance to get rain on any track. The rain looks really nice falling down and creating some spots on the screen. The background looks really nice as well. There are people standing around the track they aren’t as detailed as the riders but detailed enough that you can see them cheer and hold up a big #1 finger. Both the bikes and riders are nicely detailed and nice to look at.
Sound
The music tracks are pretty awesome to get you pumped up for the race. During the race there is also some music present but it kind of fades underneath the sound of the bikes. The sound of the motorbikes is pretty accurate but a bit wonky at times. Racing in the rain creates a great atmosphere because the splashing sounds are so realistic, it really does seem like you are driving in the rain and it creates a nice atmosphere to drive in.
Gameplay
MXGP3 is a realistic motocross racing game which allows you to get the real experience of racing in the MXGP championship. You can race at all the official tracks of the 2016 season. Even in Lommel Belgium which is quite nice, seeing it’s so close at home for us.
When you first play the game, you get the option to customise your rider and change his name, number, nationality and skin colour. Than you can choose your motor to start with. Your manager introduces himself and tells you to choose your first sponsor. After that you can start racing right away. Sadly, if this is the first time you’re playing one of the MXGP games there only is a text tutorial so they don’t really teach you how to play the game. You can practise the controls in the compound but it isn’t the same as racing on a track. There are race options that you can change like the difficulty, the physics, brake options, but these are standard on the easiest option. The only thing that makes it really accessible to beginners is the rewind function. The rewind function is exactly like it sounds: when you make a mistake or don’t take a turn the right way you can just press the rewind function and go back until all your problems disappear.
When you play the game you soon find out that being last gives you nothing and even though you start with a budget of 1000 credits, this isn’t enough to decently upgrade your bike or even to customize your rider. The best way to get more credits is by getting better and placing higher. When you start to get better your reputation rises and after a while new sponsors want you. The better you are the more sponsors will pay you.
After you make a bit of money you can start customising your bike. Some parts of your bike can change the colour for free and you can change the appearance of your bike to the sponsors logo or just a colour. There are a lot of parts that you can change and a lot of real life brands to choose from. There are only a few parts that change your motorcycle’s stats, so those are best bought first. You can actually notice a difference when you ride the bike after the customisation. (just make sure you choose the right bike to upgrade.) If you’re a fan of motorbikes than this is might seem like customisation heaven. But if you don’t know anything about bikes than this might be like reading Chinese sometimes because there is no explanation at all. The best way is to go through everything and if it doesn’t change any stats just choose what you like. Of course if you don’t know anything about bikes this is a great way to learn all the parts.
If you beat the career mode, there are some other things you can do besides play career mode in a higher level. You can play the grand prix where you can race on a track of choice with either your own rider or an official rider. There is also the championship where you just play the competition for one track. Then there is also a time attack which speaks for itself and then the Monster Energy FIM MXoN where you race as a nation. If you think you’re ready you can try and beat online players in the multiplayer mode. Sadly, there is no local multiplayer which really is a missed opportunity.
Even though MXGP3 is a pretty fun racing game there are a few issues besides the missing local multiplayer. Milestone upgraded the graphics drastically with switching to Unreal Engine but only did a few things to the physics so there are still some problems with how your rider reacts. When you fall you sometimes just seem like a puppet, the in air controls aren’t great and when taking turns your rider sometimes acts wonky. The loading screens for the tracks are also a problem they take way too long. Even when you play the second race the loading time is still the same and that’s not okay.
Conclusion
MXGP3 is a game that provides a close real life experience of motocross racing. If you know everything about motocross and have played the previous MXGP games then this game will be a breeze for you. But if you have no previous knowledge about motocross you’re really going to have to discover and learn while playing. Even though MXGP3 still has some problems it really is fun to climb up to the top and enjoy the realistic gameplay.
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