Developer: Rainbow Studios
Publisher: THQ Nordic
Platform: Xbox One, PS4, PC
Tested on: PS4
MX vs. ATV All Out – Review
We have already had a few encounters with the MX. vs ATV series, and for the most part these games received mixed reviews, as they are often great on paper, but lack the proper execution or finishing touches to truly stand out in the racing genre. This time MX vs. ATV All Out promises a lot of new features, but we immediately noticed that it was a step back in terms of customization. Only its performance and options could have made this title more viable, but it seems our hope was pretty much all in vain. Nonetheless, there are a few redeeming qualities for fans of the series, or arcade lovers alike.
Story
This title comes without a story whatsoever, as you’re thrown in the game, having to drive from one tutorial to another to discover how the game works. There is no real career mode to be found, safe for the events you can enter. Of course a game such as this requires no story to be fun, and perhaps a storyline could have interfered with the raw arcade fun.
Graphics
We wouldn’t immediately call MX vs. ATV All Out an ugly game, but rather one that is released in an unfinished state. The vehicles and riders look decent, and the environments are not half that bad, at least for the portions that are rendered. You’ll quickly notice that this game has a lot of popping, frame drops and it even feels like some effects were totally forgotten. You don’t see any dirt flying away in your tracks, even though your vehicles get slightly dirty. Hell, tracks hardly appear when riding through the dirt and it feels like they are made with a paintbrush, rather than your vehicle. Last but not least, you’re pretty much Jesus on a motorcycle/ATV/UTV as you can drive over water, without even making a ripple appear. All of these issues make it feel as if the game was simply pressed out to keep a license for the franchise, or that it was just released for the fans, to be a cash grab, at least when looking at the graphical prowess of the title.
Sound
What the graphical quality of the game lacks is made up with the superb soundtrack, which is something that is often overlooked in games nowadays. You’ll be treated to some good old fashioned rock, which even includes songs from The Offspring, which were quite popular in the days of Crazy Taxi and other arcade titles. Of course the engine sounds and so on sound fairly realistic, so there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the game’s sound design whatsoever.
Gameplay
MX vs. ATV All Out is foremost an arcade racing game, with a few realistic aspects to them in terms of customization. Other than that, it’s pretty much: go nuts, drive around the hub, play events and tinker around with your driver, and to a limited extent with your three types of vehicles, namely your bikes, ATVs and UTVs. After you pass a series of tutorials, which don’t really check if you perform the right input, you’re as good to go as it’s going to get. The tutorials don’t really prepare you for races with other drivers, which is a bit sad, as driving against other riders is the equivalent of driving against a brick wall, which is quite weird when you hit a motorcycle with an ATV or UTV.
There is not that much to the actual game, safe for the different tracks you can race on, perform tricks and so on. If you’re a single player kind of guy/gal you can simply aim for the different events or the single races, whatever floats your boat. You can then earn money for different outfits for your rider or new vehicles, which can be fine-tuned to a certain extent, which means things like suspension and the engine, but the game doesn’t really thread any deeper than that.
Handling in the game is pretty much what you’d expect from an arcade title such as this, which means that things are quite loose, and intended for you to perform tricks midair. This makes the game fairly enjoyable to play with, but you’ll need to learn to get the hang of it when it comes for perfect landings and actually pulling off decent tricks. Only the UTVs feel a bit rough around the edges when it comes to handling and making them appealing to race with. Nonetheless, the game is mostly played with motorcycles and/or ATVs.
The biggest issues with the game are the rather long loading times, the fact that everything is stuffed in the slow loading pause menu and that there’s a lot of lag when playing. The lag is very noticeable in the events where many riders are onscreen, and thus it will make things harder to handle, or to stay on your bike without landing poorly. The events with UTVs are sometimes inexplicably hard, as even on the beginner setting the AI doesn’t really make any mistakes, safe for the final two riders. All of this combined can make the game a lot more frustrating than it could have been.
Conclusion
MX vs. ATV All Out is filled with ambition, great ideas and fun gameplay elements, which all fall flat because they either haven’t been designed properly, are left in an unfinished state or are riddled with performance issues, which hold everything back. If you’re in the mood for a light racing game, with fun vehicles and a lot of action, this one might prove to be fun if you can pick it up during a promotion and after a hefty amount of patches have been released. If you’re looking for a well executed and finished game, steer clear from this one.
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[…] MX vs ATV is a series that has been going on for quite some time now. Today we are taking a closer look at its newest installment on the current and next generation where you will race in three different categories. These categories range from the well-known MX motorcycles that are both nimble but hard to master, four-wheeled ATVs that are heavy but fun to drive, to the newest addition: UTVs. Will you finish on stage each time, or will you throw in the towel and take the bus from now on? […]