I enjoy a good racing game, though I felt like I needed a change from cars and to try something different. Supercross is something that I have seen on television and heard about over the years but never really gotten a chance to get into it but thanks to Monster Energy Supercross 2 it’s allowed me the chance to look into the world of Supercross and just how radical the sport is. I haven’t played a Supercross game before so this is my first and I have to say that I was impressed with the level of detail that has gone into this game.
Supercross 2 comes with a career which sees you working your way up to the top and becoming the champion of the 250 East, West and 450 divisions of the sport. With the added Fame, Rivalry and experience features, that I’ll cover later on. This gives the player hours of gameplay right off the bat as it becomes your goal to become the champion and get on the podium in every race. I enjoyed making my own rider and having him go from nothing to one of the known racers on the circuit. The gameplay is simple, you ride your motorbike around the different tracks and try and get 1st position. There are other features like time attack and championship that allows you to try and get record times round tracks or just play through a championship with famous riders that people know and love. If you’re rusty like I was when I first started, the game offers a compound mode that lets you ride around a massive area that helps you practice and get used to the gameplay like how the bikes handle, I have to say I did like this mode and found very useful. The two other massive features in the game are track editor and of course multiplayer. The track editor is fantastic and really lets your imagination run wild when making your own tracks. It’s easy to use and allows you to knock out tracks in no time. It wouldn’t be a complete racing game if it didn’t offer online multiplier, where you can put your skills to the test against your friends and prove to them who the real champ is, while writing this review I couldn’t come across any online players, whether this isn’t available I’m not sure but I was only ever allowed to try and invite people to race with me instead of going into an online lobby.
Some big features in Supercross 2 are the three main milestones in the Career mode and the customization that you’re allowed to do on your rider and motorbike. First we’ll cover the customization, this allows the player to edit just about everything to do with their rider and bike which is insanely good, you have to earn more in the game by completing races and by completing contracts but this allows you to buy new gear for your rider such as gloves, boots or even different components on your motorbike. Making your avatar your own with the different hairstyles and facial features really helps in making a unique character that you can use as yourself or represent you in the game. The number of elements that you have to play with is brilliant and you can also save presets so if you fancied a change you could save one style and just make another. Coming back to the three milestones, in the career it’s not all about winning. You go to manage your fame, establish where you stand with rival riders and trying to earn the most experience you can so that you can unlock in-game content such as new bike parts and new attire for your rider. This is all done really easily and makes for an enjoyable gameplay experience.
You maintain your fame by attending media days which has you meet fans or journalists, rivalry is something you can do before race days which lets you pick riders and either race one on one with them or challenge them to a time trial, this builds up a rivalry with them and shows the competition level between the different riders and by completing races, training and all other things you gain experience which levels your riders up and unlocks more content for you. For me, the big selling point was the training options that are in the game such as the compound area, the training in the career and the track assist line that shows you how to take the track. Without these, I’d be lost and wouldn’t know what I was doing but with these elements in the game, it offers new players to pick up the control and adapt really easily and have to say pays off really well. It also has a rewind feature that if you do make a mistake like I did many times in a race, your ability to rewind gameplay and then continue as if nothing has happened. It has come in handy so many time while I was getting used to the gameplay and I try not to use it as much anymore because after a while it felt like I became dependant on it. Though you don’t have to use it, it’s a useful feature to have just in case you do royal muck up.
Graphically the game captures the sport perfectly and with the added customisation for your bike and avatar, you can really make your rider stand out. The detail for the game is heavily focused on the track, rider, and bike which is fine but I can see a detail drop with some of the background elements in the game but in all fairness, you’ll be too busy concentrating on the race at hand to worry about them. The audio in the game is what we’d expect from this type of game, the sounds of the bikes are realistic and the arenas you race in have the atmosphere to create that real life feel. Though in areas of the game the audio bugs out, I have heavily noticed this in loading screens, menus and certain maps. It can be irritating when the audio is stuck looping or just jumps for no reason. Hopefully, this is fixed with a patch and doesn’t stay in the game for long after launch.
Supercross 2 comes with enough replay value to make it the ideal racing game. Once you have completed the career you are able to make your own tracks, play multiplayer and keep honing your skills in the compound area, if you fancy a challenge, you can race with all the assists off and make the game as realistic as possible which I will work my way up to eventually but all in all I like that the game allows me to take baby steps and work toward getting better at the game. Not to mention there is a lot of things to unlock so this will encourage the players to want to unlock things by playing the various modes. For those that might like racing games where you have 100 of different vehicles at your disposal and loads of different tracks this might not be the game for you, yes you have the different bike models but there is only a selection of them and once you have done the career once through on each division you will have raced on every track. Even though the tracks are different they still feel the same and some can even be tedious when it comes to the sudden corner after a jump or not being clearly laid out on the route to take. Though if your into supercross you will probably be used to this and know the tracks, but you have the option to practice a track before racing on it so you can adapt along the way.
Closing Statement
Overall Supercross 2 was a good starting point for anyone wanting to get into Supercross or even fancying a change when it comes to racing game. It has a few hick ups here and there with the audio playing up but other than that it was a solid game. With the help of the training system and compound it makes the game enjoyable for veteran and new plays alike to pick up the control and truly enjoy the game. It can feel repetitive at times but overall it is a fantastic Supercross experience. I love the customization options and the ability to gain fame when playing the career mode, with the addition of a track editor it makes Monster Energy Supercross 2 feel like a complete game. For these reason I’m happy to give the game a score of 7/10
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