I'm really not much of a sports game fan. Usually I either get into a game if it's licensed from a show or movie that I love or if you can kill prostitutes with a baseball bat (admittedly, there aren't a lot of games in the latter category) but maybe I've been unfair. After all, about thirty seconds with Activision's MTX: Mototrax and I was entranced. After all, the motorcycle handles so smoothly and the environment flies by so fast, the feeling that you are actually in control of such a fast paced but grounded vehicle is damn near intoxicating.

The game seems to me nearly endless in its possibilities: You can design a character from a wide variety of heads, outfits and details (mine had a big afro, of course) and then set out on a full career, including professional race circuits, trick competitions and just screwing around. There are also numerous free ride locations that you unlock as you progress through the game as well as one-off races, a custom track builder section, multiplayer and online. Although I wasn't able to evaluate the multiplayer or online components of the game it's easy to see how this fast-paced game lends itself well to those styles. It even includes an opportunity to perform in the X-Games and features appearances from a bunch of real bike celebs including Chad Reed, Davi Milsap, Nate Adams and a bunch of other guys I've never heard of (the booklet does a nice job of giving background into each of these fine fellows' careers.)

I chose the career mode to get a sense of how MTX: Mototrax attempts to be more than just a racing game. I was happy to find that it does indeed try to be a full experience. In fact, my career session started with a pretty open-ended session at Chad Reed's house and property, the first free ride level (I had the option to jump straight to the races but thought I'd warm up here first.) While the house's interior was off limits (so, no Cribs-style drive through) his backyard was filled with ramps and dirt paths that expanded every time I bested him in a race. The easy-going atmosphere here (as well as other smaller challenges) helped get me ready for the real races. And, while you can ride just by jamming the acceleration and steering, this training was useful since there are subtleties to the controls that I didn't quite realize were there at first. You can control "compression" on the bike to gain extra height and distance on jumps and then stick the landing or use it to start a race with an extra boost of speed that often functions as the best way to gain a lead early and keep it.

Wipeouts aren't too common as high-speed bumps that looked to me like they'd lead to fatal accidents in real life only led to minor wiggling. However, a bad landing or (of course) a head-on collision with a tree often led to a nasty looking spill. Still, the game popped me back on the bike each time, something that struck me as a little weird considering how realistic so much else in the game seemed. I feel like a fall like that should signal the end of the race. But it' a minor quibble. Of more concern were the numerous times I stuck a landing only to fall through the earth down into the floating blue ether of video-game limbo. It sucks to actually be winning a race against all odds only to disappear into the underworld. Glitches like that are tough to completely eliminate, I guess, especially since I've seen them in other games and this one is otherwise relatively bug free, but it's annoying.

Another mistake was having the game instantly cut back to the road whenever the bike went in the water or, even more annoying, the blue-foam safety pit. While landing the bike in Chad's pool isn't really necessary (although I of course tried it out), a good landing in the blue foam at the trick practice area would be particularly satisfying. Instead, I was just rewarded with immediately popping back on my bike. Oh well.

Overall, however, the racing is a fluid and fun experience. he bikes are much more frenetic and lively than the cars found in even the best car racing games. There's just something so right about leaning into a turn, nailing a ramp and soaring over a murky river while flipping your legs over the handle bars before executing a perfect landing and continuing on your way. Similarly, the mind-boggling hairpin turns of some of the race tracks become second nature after a couple of practice rounds and the game gets really fun when you suddenly find yourself taking the lead against the computer-controlled bikes.

The graphics are impressive. The environments don't repeat in a boring way and each new location is fresh and colorful. The characters are obviously seen from behind during most of the racing sequences (although once you get good they'll be seeing YOU from behind! Heh heh... eh.) But the character models are pretty good and the bikes also look nice. Textures are detailed and bright and the in-game graphics work nicely. One nice touch is that your character's custom name is on the back of his jersey even during the cinematics. These are perhaps simple details but they help the overall feeling that the game is trying to do the whole biking experience.

The game's soundscape is also really effective in building up a level of excitement. The most prominent aspect of the audio is the music, which features a pretty long list of rock and punk tunes from artists like The Misfits, Pennywise, Slipknot, Metallica, and Black Label Society, although there is more here from Dope and Ill Nino than anything else. I was pleasantly surprised to hear Faith No More's "Digging the Grave" pop up, although I wonder what kind of motocross fanbase that defunct band has. I could have stood to have a couple of different genres selectable in exchange for a few of the Dope and Ill Nino tracks (I'm thinking 180 beats per minute drum-n-bass madness in the style of Grand Theft Auto III's MSX Radio would really cause some mayhem) but overall it's an excellent use of music to build atmosphere.

The other sound effects are all well-done. Ambient noises are realistic and convincing and the voice work from the various bikers is convincing and lively.

An all-around fun experience, MTX: Mototrax is an impressive game. I don't know where it falls on the scale of similar games out there but it's pretty addictive. In fact, I think I'll go play it some more when I'm done writing this review.