Having been a fan of THQ’s decision
to add in ATVs to MX vs. ATV Unleashed, the excitement for the sequel,
MX vs. ATV Untamed, was at an all-time high when I saw footage of the title
in action. Unfortunately, the footage I saw happened to be of the game on the
next-generation consoles (PlayStation 3/Xbox 360) and, to put it frankly, the
same quality didn’t transfer over to the PlayStation 2 version.
Before jumping deep into the review,
let’s tackle the issue of the development of MX vs. ATV Untamed — it
wasn’t handled by Rainbow Studios, the developer of the next-gen and handheld
versions. Instead, THQ opted for Incinerator Studios – a relatively new studio
that formed in 2005 – to take over the development of the PS2 version.
Incinerator Studios doesn’t exactly have a rich history of cohesive work
together with its only previous work being Cars for the Wii and Xbox 360.
Comparing MX vs. ATV Untamed on the PS2 to the Xbox 360 iteration, it’s
clear that the game was lost in translation when Incinerator Studios took over.
To begin, Untamed offers two
modes that are similar to a career mode: X-Cross and Championship. X-Cross pits
players into four divisions; from there they’ll compete in four events, each
with up to three races to participate in. Meanwhile, for Championship, players
will be asked to play through a six-week challenge that has a cumulative
standings board that you need to climb up and earn first place. Of the two,
X-Cross is more entertaining as Championship is dull after the first week of
competition.
This isn’t all for the game modes
that Untamed features; there happens to be a Custom Events mode that
gives players a chance to try out all the events. The list of the main events
include: Supercross, Supermoto, Opencross, Freestyle, Waypoint, Nationals, and
Freeride. If you aren’t into those, Untamed also incorporates mini-games
such as Hill Climb and Challenge Modes. With so many options, you’d think that a
few of them would stick out and earn themselves a golden star, but in the end,
all of them lack fluidity and replay value. Though I’ll give credit where credit
is due, each event offers up to 7-12 tracks to compete on, so there’s a little
variety added in.
Perhaps the most attractive aspect
of Untamed is the long list of vehicles to drive. To start off, there’s
the usual suspects in 250cc and 550cc bikes to ride. Of course, ATVs are
included (hence, the title of the game), but there are only four of them are
available to use. Outside of those two standard inclusions, there are also,
monster trucks, buggies, golf carts, and many more to get behind the wheel of.
With a lot of options to choose from, players shouldn’t become tired of the
amount of choices they have.
As for the controls, the bikes are
on par with how they were handled in MX vs. ATV Unleashed – decent
overall with a few minor exceptions. They’re equipped with power-sliding, a
clutch and, of course, shocks to provide a somewhat authentic experience. On top
of all this, players that are into customizing their bikes will be glad to know
that Untamed allows the player to upgrade several parts on their bike. If
you have always wanted to make sure you have the best suspension or the coolest
grips, then you are in luck since those are two items that of the many are
included. If not for the upgrading, then maybe unlocking sponsored items, such
as goggles, will entice you to log more hours into Untamed.
Now for the most important reason
why many gamers will want to turn off Untamed before they even get to the
meaty portion of the game – it’s the awful music! With the likes of Nickelback,
Mudvayne and The Used, the players will want to mute the speakers as soon as
possible. The licensed music stale and outdated. C’mon THQ, provide gamers with
something more current and fresh!
Lastly, the visuals of MX vs. ATV
Untamed wallow in comparison to the next-gen iterations. Disregarding the other
editions, the PS2 version is still an ugly game compared to other recent
PlayStation 2 releases (Juiced 2 and Need for Speed: Pro Street to
name a few). Why is it so ugly? To keep it short, the environments are
incredibly simple looking, the loading times are horrendous, and the riders are
badly animated. It’s a shame that Untamed didn’t turn out like it could
have.
Review Scoring Details for MX vs. ATV Untamed |
Gameplay: 5.4
The controls aren’t too shabby, but on the other hand, they could have been
a lot better. It’s almost impossible to make a sharp turn around a corner.
Graphics: 4.0
Yuck, just plain yuck!
Sound: 3.5
As if Nickelback wasn’t bad enough, THQ had to go and add several other
irrelevant bands to the licensed soundtrack.
Difficulty: Easy
Besides the few control problems, players shouldn’t have any problems with
the difficulty level.
Concept: 5.5
While the concept of putting together a huge laundry list of vehicles is
dandy, Untamed just didn’t get it right with the gameplay.
Multiplayer: 5.0
It’s not broken by any means, but I am sure many will find that your friends
won’t play this for more than 10 minutes before becoming bored.
Overall: 5.0
The technical departments, the visuals and audio, bring this ship down
before it even left the port. MX vs. ATV Untamed, at least on the PS2, is
no where near a safe purchase – I recommend buying it on the next-generation
consoles if you happen to own either one.
