MX 2002 Featuring Ricky Carmichael

"This is what happens when you land on your head after a Hart Breaker"

In a long standing tradition of bringing X-Games type sports to the video game world, MX2002 falls short of all the expectations that you would hope to see in a title that has been so highly hyped up as this. Taking control of one of several big names in the Moto-cross world, or creating your own rider, MX2002 blends together a variety of options that include trick style and racing into one disc.

-Visuals 8/10-

Clean and crisp, MX2002 blends together good looking tracks and locations as well as tricks that are sure to excite the gamer into seeing just what else your rider can perform. Dirt trails from braking hard and turning flow up, bikes leap through the air, and the riders lean into each and every curve.

-Audio 5/10-

Filled with plenty of teeny-bop music that is sure to make anyone sick, it's akin to having to listen to an entire Blink 182 concert over and over until your head explodes. After the first few minutes of having to listen to the tinny engine rumble, and then to the music over and over, you'll find yourself with a headache. There is no announcer here, which would have been a good addition and probably could have taken away from the fact that all you have to listen to is that music that can bore into your head like a dull drill bit.

-Control 5/10-

Experts only. Each move has to be done with a finger twisting control sweep that includes holding one button and then hitting another. A problem with this is the fact that the tricks do not come off with any sort of fluid motion and unless you're pounding on the buttons {which doesn't help anyway}, you'll be lucky to pull off any of the high-end moves that the game supposedly features. In race, the different buttons require you to hold one down and then release for a speed boost, hold the brake down while going around the corner, hold a different one down and then release it before you hit a jump...

It's too much button pressing...

-Game Play 5/10-

Your basic racing format with a trick option thrown in. You start at the beginning of a season with a created player, and race your way through the standings to open up new racing options and a different engine class to race in. With this in mind, be aware that the computer is a cheap, cheesy, cheating interface, and constantly knocking you off your bike if you so much as turn slightly sideway off a jump.

The other option that you have is the X-Game style Moto-Jump, in which you race towards a ramp and attempt to pull off some killer moves. While the fun is there, it lags when you are damned sure you've thrown off a combo, and your rider doesn't do it until you're almost hitting the ground. With that in mind, you'll find that the tricks are all monotonous after the twenty times you see them, and extended combinations are damn near impossible to pull off without plenty of practice.

Challenges make up another feature of the game, in which you are expected to pull off certain tricks during certain races and under certain conditions. Unless you go and look at the Challenges you won't have an idea of what you need to do or how you have to meet them. Multi-player is really pretty lame, in which you either race, or you do tricks. There isn't much else to it, and it may seem fun.....for the first twenty minutes.

-Overall 5/10-

MX2002 is one of the worst games that I've seen come across the PS2 in a long time. With horrible control, lame music, and a game play factor that is akin to what you step in while walking in the backyard if you have a dog, this title is sure to collect dust on anyone's shelf. MX racing fanatics may find joy in a mere three day rental, while hardcore gamers should look elsewhere for their dirt bike racing fix.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 08/31/01, Updated 08/31/01