[XBox] MX Unleashed opinions?

[Simon]

I've been having a blast with all the driving games and wanted more of the same, and MX Unleashed caught my eye. Fred Meyer also has it on sale for $34 right now.

I've never really played any bike games but it looks very cool. Anyone like it and think that I might like it too?

[Andy]

I picked it a up a few weeks ago - finding it a liitle tough to advance at the moment, though I haven't spent much time with it. even so it is great fun

of the few bike games I've played I'd rank MX Unleashed with the best of them (being Excitebike 64 and Midtown Madness 2 - it comes from the developer of the latter)

[Simon]

I did a trade-in deal at Gamestop this morning and picked it up. After twenty minutes or so I really like it, and I bet I'll enjoy it even more once I know what I'm doing. I can't wait to open up the other vehicles.

[EngineNo9]

I really had a blast with this one.  I was a fan of the Motocross Madness games, and this one picks up where they left off and improves quite a bit.  

Besides the control being easier with the gamepad (IMO) I found the difficulty to be much more manageable and always allowed me to make progress of some kind.  My favorite improvement (besides the fun extra vehicles) is definitely the objectives added to the freestyle maps.  Just a great, fun game.

[stiffler]

Glad to see the positive feedback, as this is a game I really want to pick up.

One question: Does it have a sandbox or free-ride mode?  As much as I liked Motocross Madness, I didn't play much of the actual "game" part.  I just had a ton of fun riding around.  That's pretty much what I am looking to do here.  For some reason I have never been good at the racing in motocross games so I want to make sure I get something out of it.

[Simon]

stiffler, MX Unleashed has a great sandbox mode which was something I wanted too. The one I have open has objectives you can complete (stunt and race type stuff), houses you can leap over, big rigs you can ride up on, other racers, and it's huge. There are more free ride maps you can open also.

I played again last night for a couple of hours and am really enjoying this game.

[Bullwinkle]

Actually, unlocking the other vehicles doesn't seem to be of much use except for in the sandbox mode (or if you're a completist nut, like me).

Agreed, this game is a blast.  MTX Motocross came out at the same time and has since come down in price.  Originally, I opted for MX Unleashed only.  I've since picked up the other one, and it is also quite good.  Very different in style and control (neither bad though [though I enjoy MTX's metal soundtrack far less]), but also quite similar in structure (regular race modes and a freestyle mode that has various objective hotspots).  If they both come down in price enough, and you can pick them up for the price of one, it may be worth it.