Freestyle Motocross: McGrath VS Pastrana (PSOne)
What can I say about Freestyle Motocross: McGrath VS Pastrana? I wasn't particularly stunned by the graphics; the sound doesn't really stand out; the controls are variable, at times responsive and easy to use, and in other situations frustrating. Nothing at all makes this game stand out from other motocross titles and even many other games in general. What I can say about this game is that Freestyle Motocross: McGrath VS Pastrana is a glaring example of video game mediocrity; a good game with very high potential that could have been better if not for some of its glaring and minute flaws.
SOUND:
The music in Freestyle Motocross are decent, although, the game does have a habit of not playing a track every once an a while. The sound effects, however, make up for the games mediocre soundtrack of in-house rock music. Freestyle Motocross features not only atmospheric sounds but also realistic motocross bike engine sounds, but you have to ask yourself, "Are realistic motocross bike engine effects a good thing?" Real life motocross bike engines sound like hundreds of tiny buzzing bees, and the game's engines don't stray far from reality. Be prepared to race though 9 levels with millions of bees buzzing in each ear. On the upside though, the game sports a healthy array of sounds effects that enhance the experience.
WHAT'S NEW:
There are a lot of extreme sports titles already released or to be released, some of them fail, and others never receive the same success garnered by Tony Hawk's Pro Skater back in the glory days of the Playstation. One lesson learned from all of these games: Just because you add "Freestyle" to the title of a game doesn't make a superior far be it a more original game. "Freestyle" Motocross: McGrath VS Pastrana is another case in point of this fact.
To make an accurate judgment of a game you must play though all of the modes and use all of the options that add reply value and depth to the game. Freestyle Motocross features a whopping two riders Jeremy McGrath and Travis Pastrana (both famous in the world of Motocross and Supercross); when you add 3 bikes to the mix things start getting even crazier than before. If you haven't noticed already this is purely sarcasm. There is nothing redeemable about bike or character choices; the meager selection of riders and bikes is only overshadowed more by the fact that the differences in the bikes and riders are almost purely cosmetic. A nice addition to the game, on the other hand, and a very intuitive play option is the ability to change tires to compensate for the terrain on the track.
The AI is a bit easy for a game of this type in the race mode. The AI gets substantially harder when it comes to the freestyle and combo modes. Controls were simple to use except in the oddly designed "Japanese Garden" track, a level in which I spent just about as much time failing off of my bike as riding it.
UPSIDE:
Now don't get me wrong, Freestyle Motocross: McGrath VS Pastrana is a good game, it just has some problems. There are three modes of play, race, freestyle, or combo -- all of which are fun and on par with other racing games of this type. An assortment of tricks and greater control on some of the special freestyle courses highlight the freestyle mode as the superior of three play modes. The tracks are well designed, they have enough shortcuts and other goodies to keep hard-core gamers locked to the screen. The graphics engine used to make this game gives a great illusion of speed, especially when you get up in the higher engine classes and the game also has multiplayer racing and trick modes.
BOTTOM LINE:
Freestyle Motocross: McGrath VS Pastrana is just another motocross game. It may have more modes of play, more options, and it might be a little faster and look a little cleaner but it's just more motocross. If your a fan of the sport and need to feed your addiction or if you just like Acclaim games then this is your ticket to hours of fun and about a half an hour of frustration.
SOUND: 5.5/10
-Uninspired soundtrack; Annoying but realistic engine sound; cool atmospheric sounds.
GRAPHICS: 6.5/10
-Relatively average graphics, better than most other motocross games. They're not perfect but you can live with "some" (a lot of) graphical glitches.
CONTROL: 6.5/10
- The controls are responsive controls and easy to learn, except for in the "Japanese Garden" in which control is frustrating.
REPLAY VALUE: 7.5/10
-Lots of modes, 3 different bikes (ahem), tire choices and multiplayer options allow you to enjoy this game for hours.
FUN: 6/10
-The game is more fun than its predecessors but lacks some key elements that make it an exciting game. The game is just about industry standard in the fun department.
OVERALL: 6.2/10
