There’s no question that THQ and developer Rainbow Studios strive to add some nice, new features to each installment of the MX vs. ATV franchise that they’ve created and cultivated. And having the Xbox 360 as a canvas enables the gamemakers to push the envelope in a lot of different ways.

That continues the case with their latest, MX vs. ATV Reflex. The biggest improvement in this just-released game is the inclusion of terrain deformation (TD). While other games have offered some level of TD, though mostly as a cosmetic feature, Reflex makes it an active part of the track—much as it is in an actual motocross race. Riders have to pay attention to the ruts and rises, so the tires don’t get caught or to prevent the vehicle from tipping off balance. In Reflex, you also need to pick your “line” to minimize the potential hindrances (such as getting bucked off a bike that hits a deep divot) and maximize the benefit you get from TD (such as being able to carve a tight turn at speed by using a rut to channel your bike around a bend).

As you start a game, you’re urged to personalize the game by changing your rider’s features (though it’s not as versatile as a Tiger Woods PGA Tour game or even THQ’s own most recent WWE titles), as well as customizing the rider’s number and name that are affixed to the back of his jersey through your “Motocard.” There are also, as you’d expect, a series of simple tutorials that will give you the basic skills and lets you prove you can match the directions before moving on to the next module.

Outside of the driving, perhaps the most fun, which you’ll experience right off the bat, is hearing David Lee’s voiceovers as he narrates the instructional text and introduces you to each venue and race type. He’s the familiar voice you hear on national motocross commercials (among many other ads and radio/TV-station “bumpers”), and it adds an aire of authenticity to have him booming out of your speakers when you play Reflex.

The trick system can get pretty radical.

Most of the tutorials provide a bit-by-bit elaboration on the “Reflex” in the game’s name. It describes the use of the Right Stick to move the rider’s body on the vehicle: side to side to enhance turning, as well as forward and back to change the loading on the ride’s wheels, which can add more air to a jump or provide better traction on an uphill climb. Combined with the Left Stick turning, Rider Reflex enables you to manipulate the navigation that much better.

It wouldn’t be an MX vs. ATV game without a lot of tricks, and Reflex is no different. You simply pull on the Left Bumper after getting airborne, then hit three directions on the right stick to generate a trick. It’s pretty simple in theory, but you have to time it right for the situation you’re in (such as for how much air you have versus how long you want to hold a trick or how many tricks you want to try to pull off). Putting three motions into generating a single trick means that Reflex has an extensive trick list for you to run through.

The gameplay modes are the key to any riding/racing/stunt game, with the main one in Reflex being the “Motocareer.” This takes you through a number of series comprised of many different events. The Free Ride section has you seeking out various “Discovery Points” within the designated map area; accomplish maximum altitude in Hill Climb events; nail takeoffs and landings in order to hit a number of targets in Target Practice; and get from Point A to Point B in as fast a time as possible in Trailblazer. Other series throw you into a bunch of tracks for lap races, while still others test your freestyle trick ability against a timer.

Success in Motocareer earns cash and unlocks new venues and events, as well as giving you the ability to purchase new rides in different categories, ranging from MX bikes to ATVs to trucks. Unlocking the elements in Motocareer then makes them available in Reflex’s Arcade mode, which is billed as the game’s “pick-up-and-play experience.” Arcade offers gameplay in a variety of events, such as Free Ride, Waypoint races and Omnicross (racing against different vehicles types in the same race).

Multiplayer has also been expanded with the ability to have up to 16 riders in the same venue. The addition of Playlists facilitates gathering a bunch of people in the same event or simplifies the seeking of a desired event in which to participate. THQ and Rainbow also continue to improve the online component in its MX vs. ATV games, and Reflex shows how smoothly it can go when it’s designed well.

Again, the Xbox 360 makes a great canvas, and some of the locations where you can drive are stunningly beautiful and lifelike. Add in Terrain Deformation, and you really get to experience the on-the-fly changes that a race track or off-road course goes through during such grueling events with many riders and powerful motorized craft. The game is highly dynamic and doesn’t play the same from one event to the next. You have to react to the changing environment, which is how it should be.
The audio isn’t as inspired. As noted, the voiceover elements are very cool, but the in-game sounds aren’t as diverse. You get realistic sounds, but the limited palette of noises can limit your immersion. For instance, there’s pretty much only one driver grunt noise, which comes when another vehicle hits you or you bail on a ride. Also, motor noises don’t have enough variety, so much of the change from having your tires buried in the dirt or soaring through the air is pretty binary. That makes the experience a little less vibrant and exciting.

The gameplay really is a lot of fun, but it seems to be trapped between an arcade style and a simulation style. Obviously, THQ and Rainbow want Reflex to feel realistic and test the player’s skill at piloting some fast-moving rides, but they also want to appeal to a large audience—many of whom just want to, for the most part, pull the throttle to get moving, hit a stick to turn when needed and just cruise over the terrain. By trying to cater to both, it doesn’t do either really well. While the series keeps getting better, there’s also a fair amount of frustration that crops up, especially when you get into the more difficult events. Add to that some inherent problems, and the action and enjoyment are diminished that much more.

One key problem is the swimmy control of vehicles, which are getting closer to reality, but still don’t feel like they have enough weight. If you hit a rut in the course of a turn on a real dirt bike, you probably will have to make a number of adjustments to stay upright and on course, but in Reflex you sometimes find the bike radically turning in one direction, far beyond how much you feel the bike should pivot. Certainly as you’re getting used to it, you’ll often find yourself ping-ponging back and forth across the width of the track…and beyond, when you wipe out. In other cases, I’ve gotten an ATV trapped against a boxy hay bale, unable to get free of it for a few seconds, which would be hard to fathom if you were on a real high-horsepower ride.

Careful…Mr. 916 might take a sudden right turn into you.

That issue also ties in to the frustration you’ll have when you’re in a race with AI riders, who will do the craziest things. If you’re in the middle of a race and have a chance to look beyond your ride, you’ll often see an AI driver crash in the middle of a straightaway or go sailing straight through a turn and into the crowd. Unfortunately, that craziness extends to either side of you, so if you find yourself near another rider or two, there’s a good chance one of them will take out your back tire or soar off of a jump and knock you off of your bike. The beginnings of races are crapshoots, and while I’m sure THQ and Rainbow wanted to impart the dangerous, unpredictable nature of racing, but no one wants to play a game that doesn’t give them a chance to play. Indeed, when you’re gun off the start gate toward a holeshot win and an AI rider zooms across a straightaway on a 45-degree line through you and your bike, as you’re waiting for your ride to reset on the course (many places back in the pack), you won’t be thinking how realistic Reflex was being when that happened.

Finally, if you’re susceptible to motion sickness from gaming, Reflex will offer you many moments of discomfort. Some of it comes from the camera, which doesn’t firmly lock behind your rider and sometimes gets squirrely as it tracks the action. It also happens when you happen to get the random pre-start pivoting of the camera as it views the girl holding the 30-second board. The absolute worst—which happens frequently in the later races—comes when you wipe out and, right after your rider resets, the camera quickly swings around from its current position to get in behind the vehicle. This often 90-degree sweep can twist your stomach pretty good and give you a bad bout of nausea.

In one regard, I’m happy to see THQ and Rainbow chugging away on new versions with many improvements. On the other hand, I think that some of these might be from trying to do too much. And still another opinion might be that some of these glitches are obvious enough that they should have been ironed out or at least minimized for the final release. Reflex isn’t quite where it should be, but it’s getting better. Here’s hoping that the next one is a more polished, cherry ride, because fans deserve that—and the franchise will certainly garner a much bigger user base if that can be accomplished.