➤ MXGP 3, review 🎮

Three years after the release of the progenitor, the house of racing titles Milestone has brought a new graphics engine to its production dedicated to the motocross world championship. Following the major improvements of the previous chapter, MXGP 3 marks the definitive abandonment of the engine owner of the house, in favor of the eclectic and always surprising Unreal Engine 4, probably the most versatile engine in existence and that never misses an opportunity to get noticed, with some shadow, even in this incarnation. The year away from MXGP 2 is therefore justified in view of a significant graphic restyling, but a lot has also been done on the physics side. We managed to get our hands on the Xbox One version, will Milestone be able to improve even more?

New face, old ways

Speaking of the menus it is immediately evident the need for a decisive updating for the Milestone productions on the presentation side, even if being engaged in multiple racing projects it is understandable that an optimization is implemented in a practical sense, but the menu setting reminds too old efforts of the team and the not very pleasant impression is that of playing the same title with a different skin. If this is a negligible detail, it is not possible to overlook the by now stale career structure, more closely linked to the productions of the previous generation, whose inadequacy is expressed in the usual sequence of static screens on the inevitable contracts proposed to our pilot, as usual completely customizable.

The identity with our dirty centaur is forced from the beginning, so as to represent an avatar to be enhanced through the internal credit system; any improvements to the bikes are paid in virtual currency that can be earned during the races. The internal economic system is already well defined, so much so that a DLC is available to multiply the credits to accumulate and speed up the upgrade operations, but the game puts everything in the hands of the user without resorting to these practical shortcuts. Without the detail of a career that is more dutiful than inspired, in terms of content there is very little to complain about MXGP 3, the modes are really many and include the Grand Prix and championship (independent of career), time trials, different modes and support for online races. Particular among the most obvious, considering the license, is the presence of all the liveries, riders and circuits of the official MXGP and MX2 championship. Make way for the various Cairoli, Lupino and Maddii as regards our team, and obviously there is no shortage of houses. The music produced internally by Milestone is adequate and energetic, which knows well the range of users the product is aimed at, with a playlist full of dubstep and various electronics.

Full of fun

What is most striking about MXGP 3 is the impact on the real mud, unfortunately on Xbox One following long loading, with an immediately satisfying driving system expertly calibrated by Milestone. The customization possibilities offered to the player are many, involving the same physics, the artificial intelligence of the opponents and the inevitable rewinding to correct mistakesHowever, remember that the difficulty is set by default to a very easy level, and all aids are activated. The settings are automatically carried over to all modes, so without a quick visit to the race options the game will feel overly permissive and accessible.

By setting the simplified physics to assimilate the dynamics, the effect generated is that of great fun and spectacle, so much so as to evoke fascinating ghosts from the past, such as SEGA's Enduro Racer. Despite its inevitably "simcade" nature, Milestone racing is not to be underestimated in its dynamics by deactivating the aids and setting the difficulty in realism mode. In this case, the game can become quite challenging, with the crashes of the rider no longer representing sporadic events, but without reaching heights of realism capable of affecting the fun. This means that, even in pro mode, some unavoidable contact will be forgiven, a compromise that we are not sorry but that could generate disagreements. The handling of artificial intelligence is less exciting, with pilots having a tendency to maintain a calculated distance. This implementation is resolved in the classic climb, with the first places obviously at a safe distance and more difficult to reach.

Xbox One achievements

MXGP 3 features the classic 1000 player points, divided into 36 objectives. The former can be conquered with relative ease simply by trying the various modes, an opportunity that will allow you to quickly accumulate over 100 points. For the remainder, a greater amount of time and work will be required, considering the need to develop the career mode, and more. Good luck!

In the mud, for the third time

We had high expectations for the visuals of MXGP 3, but the technical build on Xbox One, the version we tested, is a lukewarm shower despite the complete switch to Unreal Engine 4. The image is noticeably dirty and blurry, probably due to a very aggressive level of blur, and also on the resolution used, which seems lower than Full HD, at the cost of losing many details. The interaction with the environment is barely acceptable, a detail that does not surprise much with this graphics engine, but we can see all too well that the developers have tried to avoid sensational road exits and impacts with billboards that do not move an inch. , bringing the pilot back to the track with excessive severity. A detail that also has a negative impact on the game, since it is enough even to leave the circuit a little to see oneself brought back and lose precious seconds. Last but not least, the framerate proves to be rather unstable during the most crowded races, also thanks to the use of particle effects, also dropping a lot from the base 30 frames per second, already not very exciting in a racing of this type.

The shades are excessively dark and oppressive, so much so as to force a gamma adjustment, fortunately with good results. Race weather is fully customizable, but rain making is the least effective, with a simple independent layer applied to the screen. The audio is also unconvincing: the yield between the type of 2 and 4-stroke motorcycles is well defined, but the sounds are tiring in the long run and the audio mixing is not optimal, with the environmental effects excessively in the background. Fortunately, the most important aspect is the most important aspect, namely the yield of the mud, convincing in its dynamic deformation and threatening when enriched with appropriate shaders. Technically speaking, we can say that this transition to the Unreal Engine was a must, and the detachment from the internal Milestone engine is immediately noticeable, with a more realistic rendering, but on consoles the technical limit cannot be ignored, fueling the wait and the need for more powerful hardware, such as the Xbox Scorpio.

Comment

Tested version Xbox One Digital Delivery Steam, PlayStation Store, Xbox Store Price 49,99 € Resources4Gaming.com

7.8

Readers (22)

7.3

Your vote

MXGP 3 continues the solid discourse of the previous chapter, focusing on the complete transition to the Unreal Engine, which allows a more realistic and up-to-date performance. Unfortunately, at least on Xbox One, the graphics tradeoffs are noticeable, with an unstable 30-frame frame rate, and a very blurry image. For the rest, what stands out most is the spirit of a surprisingly fun title, considering the niche to which it is aimed, which perhaps deserves to be discovered even by non-motocross enthusiasts and which only lacks on the audio side and the management of collisions, which not everyone will agree. The official licenses and the large amount of content are a nice added value for the longevity of the game. Consider the vote closely related to the console version.