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Championship Motocross (PSX) ReviewBackground Info
Presentation/Graphics : 88
The graphical presentation is decent. Bikes and riders are modeled well, but
some of the tracks are bland. Dirt tracks feature little texturing, although
they do have dirt kicking up at times. The track side detail is much better,
with everything from caves, to hills, to beachgoers, to trees.
The movement of the motorcycle and rider is smooth. As the bike sways from
left to right, there are several frames to smooth the animation. If the
bike goes below a certain angle, the rider's leg kicks out to provide some
balance. Jumping through the air nets a fluid motion, and landing gives the
impression of a realistic return to Earth.
Presentation/Audio : 65
What's odd about the sound is that if you catch some big air, the sound
goes away. On the way up, the sound deadens, and it picks up again on the
way down. But for a few moments, you can't even hear your own bike.
Carving out some dirt is modeled well, but that's about it. The game truly
falls short in the audio department.
Interface/Options : 90
While there are no freestyle modes, the game features a variety of special
tricks. Tricks are employed with various permutations of the circle and R2
buttons and the control stick. The tricks serve no purpose except to
possibly cause a crash.
Menus are simple, and vehicle options are explained in the setup menu before
the race. The game manual parallels the game menus, but what else would you
expect from a manual?
Gameplay : 65
The riders, for the most part, are fictitious. By default, you play as
Ricky Carmichael, a two-time AMA champion. You would think with that pedigree
that you'd kick some butt out on the course. Nope. Instead, some guy named
Andrew Mckenzie always seems to lead the races. It took the longest time for
me to get past the 125cc class. No matter how well I raced, I'd always see
that darn Andrew Mckenzie atop the leader board. It took a couple of hours,
but I finally made it through. Once I did, the game's credits rolled by, and
I'll leave it to you to discover who this wonderful rider is.
It was before this point that I thought the AI was cheating. If you don't
set your bike up perfectly, no amount of clean racing will place you at the
top. The lead rider never seems to make mistakes, which are left for the
pack. And if you do happen to pull some quick laps, making up a couple
seconds on the leader, the rewards aren't there. Once you make it to the top,
the second place rider is right on your tail. While you were always a second
or two back, he's always a half second or so behind. It's too difficult to
pull away.
The tracks are uninspired. The supercross style tracks are better
suited for sprint car racing, as they usually only have about a dozen jumps
over the entire lap and few turns. The outdoor motocross events aren't much
better. While some of them have narrow straights and decent hills, for the
most part the racing is boring. The tracks are wide enough to fit a few
semi-trucks, giving no sense of speed and too much passing room.
On the plus side, I really like the physics of the bike. Shifting the bike
from left to right feels realistic. The weight shift necessary to rotate the
bike comes across, and the shift is not instantaneous. Likewise, forward and
backward motion flows naturally. Pulling up on the handlebars at a jump
yields a higher and longer jump, as it should.
The negative side of the physics is the jumping. You'll swear it's Evel
Knievel riding those bikes and not Ricky Carmichael. During a race, the
computer keeps track of your longest and highest jumps. On some jumps, you
can travel 30 meters or more, or nearly 100 feet. Sometimes it's impossible
not to jump a great distance. Some of the AI riders have no trouble staying
low to the ground, but for some reason you get vaulted out of a cannon.
So what you are left with is a mixed bag. Uninspired tracks, an AI that seems
to cheat on the early levels, a tendency to fly, but good handling.
Replay Value : 60
There are other motorcycle racing games out there with much better AI and
track design. While the physics might not be as good in the other packages,
they are more fun.
Overall : 70
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