If you’ve always wanted to be a world championship motocross racer but don’t actually have the skills to pay the bills – and I’m not just on about the 10,000 Euro service charge it costs to enter a rider into the FIM series – then you’re pretty much gonna be sh*t out of luck, right? Actually not if you’re content to be a cyber racer…
Mud is the official game of the FIM Motocross World Championship and is brand-new on the games market across the PS3, XBOX 360 and PC platforms. Developed by industry leaders Milestone, the game features most of the riders in the 2011 MX1 and MX2 world championships as well as a handful more global stars who rock up in MXdN mode – yep, this game includes that awesome team race n’all – so you can play as Tony Cairoli on the factory KTM, Tommy Searle on the Kwacker or even Alfie Smith and his Aprilia, just in case you ever wanted to know what it’s like to drive a bus around a motocross circuit.
Just like playing Guitar Hero is not an accurate portrayal of what it’s like to get down with a guitar, playing Mud is not an accurate portrayal of what it’s like to race motocross – for that you’d have to do what Thrasher Gunge suggested once in TMX back in the ’70s and sit on your bike while someone chucks horse sh*t in your face as you rip up £20 notes – but it still offers a pretty decent MX fix. The tracks which are nothing like the real versions are fun to ‘ride’, the racing is intense and aside from the ‘scrub’ button which is a little OTT the game experience is generally quite challenging and fun.
There are five modes to enjoy – quick race, championship, MUD World Tour (which is a career path type thing), MXdN and the obligatory FMX Trick Battle mode which I haven’t bothered to play yet. In the online mode only quick race and MXdN games are available.
With 14 models of bike to race from eight manufacturers and 84 riders, 12 tracks and six FMX compounds to choose from there’s plenty to come back for. The level of racing is variable and after a few attempts I’m yet to win a world championship on the hardest level even though some of you gaming wizards out there will probably go and pop one off in your first attempt. Whatever…
Overall, it’s a fun game to play and I love the fact that I can ride as my favourite pro racers from the MX world championships and take out pro racers who I’m not such a big fan of – you know who you are. While the tracks bear absolutely no resemblance to the venues they portray and are a little arcadey at times they’re still fun to rip around and even though I’m not the biggest fan of the scrub button I still find using it a blast. So basically what I’m saying is this – if you want a fun motocross game to play this really hits the spot and you should rush out and buy it now. For more details, screenshots and videos visit www.mudthegame.com.
