There are a few veteran companies that turn out racing titles every year without fail. Some companies decide to take a more staggered approach, trying to innovate between titles a bit more than putting the next year on the box. Phoenix-based Rainbow Studios has brought us a sequel to their 2009 title MX vs. ATV Reflex this year with MX vs. ATV Alive. Alive sports some new tricks, an aggressive pricing model, some tweaked multiplayer, and an RPG-lite career mode in attempts to raise the bar on their franchise. Let
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The folks at Rainbow and THQ can deny this, but you have only to look at the option to download a cheat unlock to get to level 10 for 400 MS points to know that it is 100% true. EA has done it, but we expected more from THQ. Hopefully they learned their lesson and chose to end this as quickly as it started. There are a total of 36 tricks (though they are VERY difficult to pull off at first) in Alive, 12 tracks, 4 short tracks, 2 free ride environments, 5 ATV and bike varieties, 100+ customizations, 9 rider skills, 4 difficulty levels, 13+ full songs, and plenty of real riders, bikes, and ATVs to choose from. It sounds like a lot on paper, but in practice the game feels like you are Bar to Bar
Ron mentioned something called Bar to Bar in his preview for this title, and when I saw it in action I immediately knew what he was talking about. Racers will get up close and personal with you as you race down the track, and even closer when you are on ATVs. Unfortunately, some of the Havok-powered physics are not quite up to par. There were several times I saw racers disappear from the tracks, pass through solid objects, or get stuck on an invisible collision point in the environment. It
Graphically, I was surprised at some of the ways Alive had changed and disappointed in some of the ways that it hadn
Ron Burke is the Editor in Chief for Gaming Trend. Currently living in Fort Worth, Texas, Ron is an old-school gamer who enjoys CRPGs, action/adventure, platformers, music games, and has recently gotten into tabletop gaming.
Ron is also a fourth degree black belt, with a Master's rank in Matsumura Seito Shōrin-ryū, Moo Duk Kwan Tang Soo Do, Universal Tang Soo Do Alliance, and International Tang Soo Do Federation. He also holds ranks in several other styles in his search to be a well-rounded fighter.
Ron has been married to Gaming Trend Editor, Laura Burke, for 28 years. They have three dogs - Pazuzu (Irish Terrier), Atë, and Calliope (both Australian Kelpie/Pit Bull mixes), and an Axolotl named Dagon!
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