Gameplay

Flying High

There are many ways to describe what Motocross Madness 2 plays like, but to sum it up, there's one word: fun. The game is quite realistic in its physics engine, and more importantly - the physics engine is predictable enough to allow for the clumsy controllers we must use to simulate riding a bike. However, the game's fun comes not from any inherent realism but from the designer's decision to not let realism interrupt the player's fun.

Yeeha!

Check those trees in the background

You will routinely make insane jumps, deliver spectacular crashes to the audience and pull off impossible landings. You can install the game, setup your controller as you wish and play. It's easy to learn and fun whether you win or lose a race - the simulated pain of crashing your rider and bike never seems to get old. Yet, for those who truly want to excel, you can. MCM2 has enough tricks that you need to learn that a skilled driver will easily be able to outdistance a rookie. Even slight differences in skill will show - someone who measures his jumps better in Supercross will gain a noticeable lead by the time a 5 lap race is finished.

Dunlop? No, not product placement! =P

5 point landing - feet, hands, face

Players need to learn maps properly if they wish to succeed, since the strategies you use in approaching the map will determine your success - provided you can pull it off. To pull it off, you need to learn the tricks of the trade and practice them well.

Eating Someone Else's Dust

It is precisely those qualities lent to MCM2 which allow it to excel as a competitive game for multiplayer. The racing is fast and furious but there is enough strategy and skill involved that the better player will shine through - and the only way to get better is to be smarter and practice more.

At least there isn't virtual pain yet

Start yer engines!

The standardized maps make it a priority for players to learn them to glean every advantage and learn the best strategies. The various bikes and their displacements give players a choice of weapon to use in any duels that might come up. To help separate the best from the rest, Microsoft has reserved all rider numbers below 100 to the best players on the Zone. So if you think you're MJ and want #23, you'd better prove it, otherwise you're just chump 840 (like me.) Sadly, the netcode isn't the best in the world but it's not bad enough to disrupt play too severely.

Modulated

There are 6 different play modes in MCM2 - Baja, Stunt, Supercross, National, Enduro and Pro Circuit. Baja is basically a race in the wild, Enduro is an endurance race and Stunt is trying to accumulate points for stunts within a timelimit. Supercross is an indoor regulated track while National tend to be outdoors but still man-made. Pro Circuit is career mode, a simpler version of what you may find in Gran Turismo.