Edited Date/Time:
Hey guys. I just wanted to give everyone a heads up that despite some reports to the contrary that if you import a PAL copy (from the UK, for example) that MUD World Championship Motocross WILL work on a US Xbox 360. I, myself, took a chance since I could get no definitive answer from anyone and I totally didn't expect it to work but I put it in an lo and behold it worked!
I play on an older Xbox 360 Pro so I was curious if there was something about that model that would play it while other 360s might not so I put it to the test. I know some guys at Gamestop and I asked them if I could take my PAL copy of MUD to their store and make sure it work on a new 360 like the slim model so I could relay that news to you guys. And again, it works perfectly.
I also received confirmation from Milestone Customer support that the 360 version will work on a US 360. I received this though after I already bought it, opened it and took that chance.
I enjoy the game for what it is. I LOVE the fact it has all the real MX1/MX2 riders as well as MXDN and the game has ton of content and lots of authenticity. In addition, the AI is very good and unlike almost all other MX games it has a full legitimate points series with qualifiers and 2 moto formats.
But it does have PLENTY of weak points. No clutch, and very arcade like whips and gameplay in general. The game is good but doesn't have very realistic physics....nothing like MX Simulator of course or not even as good physics wise as Alive or Reflex (though the latter's physics were way too bouncy and lacked any feel of weight, imo.) But t it's credit in MUD the epper echelon riders finish where they should in the races...on the box or near it with the occasional bad race.... which makes the points series very good and that has NEVER happened in any other MX game as all the THQ offerings were just randomness in their rider finishes.
So is it worth getting? Yes, I'd say it definetly is especially since we are MX deprived in gaming. It does a lot of things much better than THQ in the very first offering from Blackbean such as points series, good AI, and absolute stunning rider/bike authenticity. For example, in the very cool photo mode my pics of my favorite rider (KR94...not 70 as is his AMA number) looks PERFECT right down to EVERY logo. And all these bikes and riders and gear are in the game, not some expensive DLC ala THQ. But they need to make the game less arcade, make the tracks replicas other than name only, make the physics at least somewhat more realistic and they will have an EXCELLENT game.
Point being is Blackbean DID at least make a MX game while no one else has. For that alone they get my support. AND this team makes very good racing sims such as the SBK series. For MUD they want a more arcade approach but if we support them yet show them we want more realism they can do it if there is a sequel.
And I know there is a lot of people who play and love MXS and say we don't need another game but I, personally, disagree. I want a game that replicates the real riders in a real points series....like the Madden/NHL2K/NBA2k of MX.....and as brilliant as MXS is it in no way does that since people race as themselves against other real people creating themselves as riders. That's great but I want to play as my heroes such as the AMA/MX1/MX2 guys. As far as the MX1/MX2 guys go MUD offers that in spades but does miss the mark on realism.
My point being is that this developer has a history of making good racing sims. With MUD they went more arcade but they still did a lot that no other game developer has ever done. And though no US release has been announced yet I am hoping they bring it to the US. I do hope everyone does support the game because as I said there is ZERO other game developers on board for MX at the moment other than an AMA SX game that MAY be in development. But my source there can't reveal the developer and says it is still 2 years off and though I hope it happens I have serious doubts. If Blackbean/Milestone take the advice of their consumers they will steer this series in a more realistic direction. But if they get no support for this game (and sales) we will never even have a chance of seeing where it could go.
So, with all that being said here are my thoughts on the good and bad of MUD. For what it's worth, I have played every MX/SX game made dating back to the excellent simulation style Supercross 2000 by EA (one of the best still) it's dismal 2001 arcade sequel which was garbage, Supercross Circuit thru the RC Championship MX and Superfly games, MTX, MX vs ATV, MXS and now MUD.
The good/great:
No question, it is GREAT to play as real riders in their EXACT gear on their EXACT bike in a full qualifier/2 moto format in a full points series on at least real named tracks.
Incredible authenticity with all the teams, riders, bikes, sponsers, tracks, logos of MX1/MX2/MXDN. Even AMA riders like Dungey, Reed and Villopoto and more are in the MXDN event with their bike looking EXACTLY like they did in the Des Nations.
A FULL legitimate points series with qualifiers and 2 moto format
16 riders at the gate. Most ever in a console game.
Very competitive AI that races smart and doesn't take you and themselves out foolishly like some games we know
Top tier riders like Cairoli, Roczen, Searle, Herlings, Frossard finish near the top in most races making the results in a championship season mode very realistic and true.
I turn it off but the music soundtrack is really good.
Cool updated points standings at the end of the 2 motos with the red plate going to th ecurrent points leader. The red plate however is just in the standings not on the actual bikes.
Since the outdoor tracks aren't a mindless jumpfest like the THQ games you can actually race the AI and line choices actually count
Game is fun. I hear online is very good and though I don't play online I bet multiplayer would be a blast.
Lots of content in the game. Very polished and professional layout.
The bike's speeds are pretty realistic.
Rider track scaling looks very realistic. THQ games (until Alive) were all way too big track/jump wise.
360 PAL copy works on US 360 in addition to, of course, the PS3 versions which are always region free.
Photo mode is VERY cool! It is great pausing the game at any time and moving the camera around and zooming in/out and taking pics of your favorite riders.
Racing as AMA riders like Dungey, Reed, Baggett, Wilson, etc in their replica MXDN gear and bike sis way cool. Reed's TWOTWO bike is sweet and so is Roczen's MXDN Fox gear! It is meticulously detailed.
Game seems grounded to a degree and not extremely floaty like many MX games.
Motos are timed plus two laps just like real races.. The max is 7 minutes (real time) plus two laps. This is a good length that gives you plenty of race time without taking up tons of time to play.
You can't just pin it all the time like in the old MX vs ATV games. You must use throttle control and a little bit of braking at least.
Though they are no where near being a replica of the tracks they are named after the tracks are at least much more realistic than the MX vs ATV tracks (minus the excellent Stewart Compound).
The not so good/bad:
The physics are just too arcade. I'm cool with it being even Reflex/Alive like which I call a mixture of sim and arcade but MUD does lean way too much to the arcade with it's one button scrubs and such. But the lack of control and arcade approach makes what could be an INCREDIBLE experience into one that is very good at times but tires kinda quickly.
No clutch. Inexcusable. Needs more advanced controls such as shifting and at LEAST a clutch.
Bike sounds are pretty horrible. Especially compared to Alive or RC's Motocross Matchup. Very muffled sounding.
There is very little pre-loading the suspension and such details of that. Too much just gas/brake.
Tracks (though named after their real counterparts) bear little resemblance.
Hardly ANY vibration which really hurts. I like to feel as though I am on a rough track thru rumble feedback.
Terrain deformation seems pretty much look only. It may affect the bike some but I didn't notice very much.
I miss the camera in Alive/Reflex where you can sort of angle it to the side so you can see front wheel. Also no 1st person camera if fan of that. There are 3 cameras. I use the default middle one.
Very cartoony look.
MUD World Tour is stupid. If you are a MX fan all your time will be in MX1/MX2 Championship points series or MXDN. But in their defense at least they have a real points series.
No race replays. We haven't seen this since Superfly. Sad. Well actually there are some replays after your qualifications but they are behind the running order text.
Other than the Official Mode game does seem to cater to much to kids. I wish I could say I was that young again but I'm not.
And it has talked about before. Yes, the boost after the scrubs are lame. I'm glad you can disable all the text but the boost still occurs. You do get used to it and not notice it so much after a while but I still don't like it at all.
So, those are my thoughts for what it is worth. I'm a huge MX fan of over 20 years and desperately crave an official AMA MX/SX game with all the real riders/tracks/teams/bikes and MUD does at least give us a glimpse of that in the World Championship series. If MUD had Reflex and Alive's physics, controls and cameras to go along with all MUD does do right it would be phenominal. And I honestly am not a fan of THQs games as I hate their track designs, lack of authenticity, AI and lack of making a true points series. But for a sim/arcade game THQ did do a good job physics wise for the most part.
One thing I will note though is that after playing MUD and for that matter Alive or Reflex and then playing games such as NHL2K10, NHL12, Madden or NBA2K12 you see how pathetically behind our sport is in the gaming world. Reflex and Alive have the gameplay down pretty well but gets nothing else right while MUD gets all the other stuff right and loses it on the gameplay.
But any way if any of you have any questions just fire away and I will try to answer but I do encourage everyone to support the game even if you don't like their approach. They did do a lot of good in this game but there is also a lot bad but they DID try and I think with time they could really improve things if they want to.
I play on an older Xbox 360 Pro so I was curious if there was something about that model that would play it while other 360s might not so I put it to the test. I know some guys at Gamestop and I asked them if I could take my PAL copy of MUD to their store and make sure it work on a new 360 like the slim model so I could relay that news to you guys. And again, it works perfectly.
I also received confirmation from Milestone Customer support that the 360 version will work on a US 360. I received this though after I already bought it, opened it and took that chance.
I enjoy the game for what it is. I LOVE the fact it has all the real MX1/MX2 riders as well as MXDN and the game has ton of content and lots of authenticity. In addition, the AI is very good and unlike almost all other MX games it has a full legitimate points series with qualifiers and 2 moto formats.
But it does have PLENTY of weak points. No clutch, and very arcade like whips and gameplay in general. The game is good but doesn't have very realistic physics....nothing like MX Simulator of course or not even as good physics wise as Alive or Reflex (though the latter's physics were way too bouncy and lacked any feel of weight, imo.) But t it's credit in MUD the epper echelon riders finish where they should in the races...on the box or near it with the occasional bad race.... which makes the points series very good and that has NEVER happened in any other MX game as all the THQ offerings were just randomness in their rider finishes.
So is it worth getting? Yes, I'd say it definetly is especially since we are MX deprived in gaming. It does a lot of things much better than THQ in the very first offering from Blackbean such as points series, good AI, and absolute stunning rider/bike authenticity. For example, in the very cool photo mode my pics of my favorite rider (KR94...not 70 as is his AMA number) looks PERFECT right down to EVERY logo. And all these bikes and riders and gear are in the game, not some expensive DLC ala THQ. But they need to make the game less arcade, make the tracks replicas other than name only, make the physics at least somewhat more realistic and they will have an EXCELLENT game.
Point being is Blackbean DID at least make a MX game while no one else has. For that alone they get my support. AND this team makes very good racing sims such as the SBK series. For MUD they want a more arcade approach but if we support them yet show them we want more realism they can do it if there is a sequel.
And I know there is a lot of people who play and love MXS and say we don't need another game but I, personally, disagree. I want a game that replicates the real riders in a real points series....like the Madden/NHL2K/NBA2k of MX.....and as brilliant as MXS is it in no way does that since people race as themselves against other real people creating themselves as riders. That's great but I want to play as my heroes such as the AMA/MX1/MX2 guys. As far as the MX1/MX2 guys go MUD offers that in spades but does miss the mark on realism.
My point being is that this developer has a history of making good racing sims. With MUD they went more arcade but they still did a lot that no other game developer has ever done. And though no US release has been announced yet I am hoping they bring it to the US. I do hope everyone does support the game because as I said there is ZERO other game developers on board for MX at the moment other than an AMA SX game that MAY be in development. But my source there can't reveal the developer and says it is still 2 years off and though I hope it happens I have serious doubts. If Blackbean/Milestone take the advice of their consumers they will steer this series in a more realistic direction. But if they get no support for this game (and sales) we will never even have a chance of seeing where it could go.
So, with all that being said here are my thoughts on the good and bad of MUD. For what it's worth, I have played every MX/SX game made dating back to the excellent simulation style Supercross 2000 by EA (one of the best still) it's dismal 2001 arcade sequel which was garbage, Supercross Circuit thru the RC Championship MX and Superfly games, MTX, MX vs ATV, MXS and now MUD.
The good/great:
No question, it is GREAT to play as real riders in their EXACT gear on their EXACT bike in a full qualifier/2 moto format in a full points series on at least real named tracks.
Incredible authenticity with all the teams, riders, bikes, sponsers, tracks, logos of MX1/MX2/MXDN. Even AMA riders like Dungey, Reed and Villopoto and more are in the MXDN event with their bike looking EXACTLY like they did in the Des Nations.
A FULL legitimate points series with qualifiers and 2 moto format
16 riders at the gate. Most ever in a console game.
Very competitive AI that races smart and doesn't take you and themselves out foolishly like some games we know
Top tier riders like Cairoli, Roczen, Searle, Herlings, Frossard finish near the top in most races making the results in a championship season mode very realistic and true.
I turn it off but the music soundtrack is really good.
Cool updated points standings at the end of the 2 motos with the red plate going to th ecurrent points leader. The red plate however is just in the standings not on the actual bikes.
Since the outdoor tracks aren't a mindless jumpfest like the THQ games you can actually race the AI and line choices actually count
Game is fun. I hear online is very good and though I don't play online I bet multiplayer would be a blast.
Lots of content in the game. Very polished and professional layout.
The bike's speeds are pretty realistic.
Rider track scaling looks very realistic. THQ games (until Alive) were all way too big track/jump wise.
360 PAL copy works on US 360 in addition to, of course, the PS3 versions which are always region free.
Photo mode is VERY cool! It is great pausing the game at any time and moving the camera around and zooming in/out and taking pics of your favorite riders.
Racing as AMA riders like Dungey, Reed, Baggett, Wilson, etc in their replica MXDN gear and bike sis way cool. Reed's TWOTWO bike is sweet and so is Roczen's MXDN Fox gear! It is meticulously detailed.
Game seems grounded to a degree and not extremely floaty like many MX games.
Motos are timed plus two laps just like real races.. The max is 7 minutes (real time) plus two laps. This is a good length that gives you plenty of race time without taking up tons of time to play.
You can't just pin it all the time like in the old MX vs ATV games. You must use throttle control and a little bit of braking at least.
Though they are no where near being a replica of the tracks they are named after the tracks are at least much more realistic than the MX vs ATV tracks (minus the excellent Stewart Compound).
The not so good/bad:
The physics are just too arcade. I'm cool with it being even Reflex/Alive like which I call a mixture of sim and arcade but MUD does lean way too much to the arcade with it's one button scrubs and such. But the lack of control and arcade approach makes what could be an INCREDIBLE experience into one that is very good at times but tires kinda quickly.
No clutch. Inexcusable. Needs more advanced controls such as shifting and at LEAST a clutch.
Bike sounds are pretty horrible. Especially compared to Alive or RC's Motocross Matchup. Very muffled sounding.
There is very little pre-loading the suspension and such details of that. Too much just gas/brake.
Tracks (though named after their real counterparts) bear little resemblance.
Hardly ANY vibration which really hurts. I like to feel as though I am on a rough track thru rumble feedback.
Terrain deformation seems pretty much look only. It may affect the bike some but I didn't notice very much.
I miss the camera in Alive/Reflex where you can sort of angle it to the side so you can see front wheel. Also no 1st person camera if fan of that. There are 3 cameras. I use the default middle one.
Very cartoony look.
MUD World Tour is stupid. If you are a MX fan all your time will be in MX1/MX2 Championship points series or MXDN. But in their defense at least they have a real points series.
No race replays. We haven't seen this since Superfly. Sad. Well actually there are some replays after your qualifications but they are behind the running order text.
Other than the Official Mode game does seem to cater to much to kids. I wish I could say I was that young again but I'm not.
And it has talked about before. Yes, the boost after the scrubs are lame. I'm glad you can disable all the text but the boost still occurs. You do get used to it and not notice it so much after a while but I still don't like it at all.
So, those are my thoughts for what it is worth. I'm a huge MX fan of over 20 years and desperately crave an official AMA MX/SX game with all the real riders/tracks/teams/bikes and MUD does at least give us a glimpse of that in the World Championship series. If MUD had Reflex and Alive's physics, controls and cameras to go along with all MUD does do right it would be phenominal. And I honestly am not a fan of THQs games as I hate their track designs, lack of authenticity, AI and lack of making a true points series. But for a sim/arcade game THQ did do a good job physics wise for the most part.
One thing I will note though is that after playing MUD and for that matter Alive or Reflex and then playing games such as NHL2K10, NHL12, Madden or NBA2K12 you see how pathetically behind our sport is in the gaming world. Reflex and Alive have the gameplay down pretty well but gets nothing else right while MUD gets all the other stuff right and loses it on the gameplay.
But any way if any of you have any questions just fire away and I will try to answer but I do encourage everyone to support the game even if you don't like their approach. They did do a lot of good in this game but there is also a lot bad but they DID try and I think with time they could really improve things if they want to.
