Before getting into the meat and potatoes of this piece, lets go over some specifics so you can decide whether or not my pedigree rubs you the wrong way or not. My favorite motocross game to date (and don’t call me a heretic for this) is, by far, Motocross Madness 2 for the PC. While Excitebike 64 was a fine game and had some points of interest, the variety and extended play I got from MM2 couldn’t be denied. What worked for both games, though, is that while they had some fun opportunities for stunts and goofing off, neither forgot that in the end they were still, first and foremost, racing titles. This major distinction is where I believe any review of MX Superfly has to both begin and end. Before getting to the gameplay and the major problems that lay therein though we’ll go over the rest.

Graphically the game is anywhere from adequate to above average. Models are nicely done, the environments can have some variety and look pretty good, and some of the animations for the stunts themselves can be pretty entertaining. Where the graphics aren’t so good unfortunately is in the realm of more common animations. Falls and spills are pretty stiff and even odd to watch as they sometimes don’t even make much sense visually. In the area of frame rate for the most part the game does well, keeping things fluid even with a number of racers on-screen at once.

In the area of sound while I’ve read some positive things here and there about the game I can’t say I was terribly impressed. While you could say the engine noises of the cycles sound realistic it would be a major stretch not to note that most of the time the drone of the engines hits one particular point and stays there. If you’re going up a hill or taxing the engine in real life, there would be a little more varied sounds of response than there are here. Unlike some other reviews out there I can’t spout off the list of artists who contributed to the music tracks with any excitement. The music generally seems appropriate and that’s fine; if you’re concerned with who did the music to the point where it affects you buying a game I’d think you were on crack anyway.

In the area of control some of the cracks in the wall begin to show up. I think two words sum up my feelings about the control in this game: needlessly complicated. OK, so I preload the jump to get higher with the R trigger, hold it down again in the air and hit another combination of buttons for the stunt I want. Before landing I then think to briefly hold down the L trigger so I can release it when I land for a speed boost, and then as I got into a turn I hold down the Z trigger to slide, braking a little in combination with B because it is tight, then briefly holding down the L trigger again as I come out of the turn and releasing to get another boost. This isn’t necessarily a complaint that the game is too hard to control, but at the same time it is tough not to sit there and think that it could have been done in a more streamlined and sensible way. Sadly, with the exception of preloading on the jumps and using the powerslide button in general, it is hard to say you get any major benefit from the rest of the troublesome controls. You can get a boost from playing with the clutch, but it isn’t anything that you’ll be using to zoom by your opponent.

With that comment in mind we get to the gameplay, an area I unfortunately consider to be stuck in first gear. While I’d read elsewhere that the emphasis on the game was catching air and doing stunting and that the pace could seem a little slow, I wasn’t prepared for what the game actually offers. Seriously, with the pace this game plays at it would be tempting to change the celebrity endorser to Hiroshi Yamauchi. When I was starting out I could almost think the lack of sense of speed was related to the low class bikes but as the game went on and the bikes got more powerful, unfortunately it still felt like they had tires made of tar or something. Others may choose to overlook this lack of speed because of the stunt emphasis in the game, but if they just wanted stunts they could have only included the freestyle mode or tried to find a way to make the game more in line with games like Tony Hawk. As a game that is trying to be both, though, the racing in this game just doesn’t cut it.

Getting past the gameplay, there are some mini games spread out here and there that range from relatively fun to relatively awful. Some people may like the diversions, others will probably wish they could just skip them, as the games can get a little dopey. Multi-player can be fun for stunt competition and because of the pacing of the game nobody will complain about slowdown, or at least the won’t be able to blame it on the graphics engine.

In the end, if you’re familiar with the series already and dig the stunt element I suppose this will be a game you’ll enjoy. Even though some of the stunts are novel in their silliness and lack of realism, I fail to see how that would give significant staying power to the game once the honeymoon is over. Unfortunately, for people who are looking for a thrilling racing game with some fun to be had hitting the dirt track… you’ll have to keep waiting as this game is enough to make a racing fan scream.