MX vs. ATV Alive Update 3

Earlier this year, before the Phoenix Supercross, we got a chance to test out the new MX vs. ATV Alive while it was still in development. Then, just before the Dallas Supercross, we got a chance to briefly play the final version that was also being demo'd at the race. Have they made a lot of progress since the first time we tried it? Yes. Is this a full-on review? No. But we did get a chance to sit down with Elliott Olson, the Lead Designer at THQ Digital Studio Phoenix, and get a few more answers about what's new and different this time around.

If you've been paying attention, you've heard about the addition of James Stewart's compound to the game, which is something the THQ crew are really excited about, as Elliott explained. "This is the first time anyone's been able to access James' house. You can freeride, play around on it, and you can race his outdoor tracks. Either the full loop as a track or the south track as another one. If you freeride, you can get a glimpse of what it's going to be like for Supercross in Alive. It's really technical. You have to figure out how to seat bounce yourself through, or use the clutch and really downside the jumps. People are going to be in for a treat."

So how do you score the Stewart compound? "The deal with the Stewart compound is we have this big downloadable content (DLC) plan where we said there was going to be a lot of cool free stuff, and a lot of cool paid stuff, well, if you buy the game new, it doesn't matter if you preorder it or not, if you basically buy the game new in the first run, you're going to get a code in the box, or if you buy it online it'll be on your receipt. You just basically plug that in, and you can download the compound for free. You get to freeride for free, plus you get to race it for free. It's just an example of what we're talking about. You're not going to get crappy stuff for free and good stuff you have to pay for. It's all legitimate. So preorder or buy it new in the first couple runs, and you're good to go."

One of the beefs with previous version of the game were with online connections. Elliott had some good news there, as well. "With online, a lot of work went into fixing the connection issues of matching people up so that you don't get stuck in races by yourself. We also ended up bringing in the servers on our end. So if we have to update the playlists to try to tweak something, the access is on our end. We don't have to wait a week or two or try to get somebody else to do it. There was a lot of work that went into trying to address people's concerns that comes up a lot, even down to like how you have contact with people, and bump into people on the haybales and all that stuff, we went through to make sure that it's the same online as it is offline. So the whole experience not maybe going to be better, it's way better. It's good."

If you get tired of racing the big tracks, and just want to get aggro on smaller tracks, there are a new breed of singletracks where you can sharpen your bar-to-bar skills. "There are a few short tracks in the game. Some of them are like your backyard singletrack kind of whooped-out highway tracks, and then there's another one kind of like an arenacross track, so they're all very different. It's just all about riding people hard to get to the finish line first. It's not about going as fast as you can go. It's a survival kind of a thing. In the end it's actually really, really fun, because you get in some really heated battles with people, trying to push them out in corners. Then you've got to wait and thread the needle at the crossovers. It's just a different way to take a break from racing or freeride and just kind of get funny with people. It's kind of awesome."

They've also been working to evolve the game so that it's more like a true sports title, including adding in more real elements like brands (Suzuki has already been announced), and Elliott also mentioned that there's also been a push to add more actual riders. "For pro riders in the game we have over 50 of the top guys in MX and ATV. There are no unknown guys. All the Lites guys will be on 125s and 250Fs, and the 450 guys like Metcalfe and Stewart will show up when you get to that level. Speaking of Stewart, we talked a little bit before about him being involved in the game, and his compound and stuff, but actually while you're going through the game he's kind of your mentor and he has these videos where he talks you through your play. But eventually you kind of become his nemesis and on his level, and you're going to have to be him. He's James Stewart, and he's fast, right? So it's going to be a challenge and once you beat him there's some cool stuff that goes along with that reward. Definitely be on the lookout for having James on the line when you get to the 450s, because he's going to be really quick."

Here's a new trailer with James Stewart talking about bar-to-bar action.

Oh, and one tip for you guys...we hear that the hop-ups (pipes, suspension, etc.) have more of an affect on the bike's performance than in past games.

The countdown is on to a May release. When this hits the stores, will you be the FMATC (Fastest Man At The Controller)?