Video Game First Look: MX vs ATV Legends 1

We take a look at the latest release from Rainbow Studios and THQ Nordic.

Our resident game guy, Grant Dawson, runs us through a First Look at MX vs ATV Legends. Going over the features and changes found in the newest release in the series.


MX vs ATV Legends is the latest entry into the legendary series and follows 2018's MX vs ATV All Out. I'll be the first to admit that while I am a fan of the MX vs ATV series...I have not been super impressed with any of the entries in the series in a very long time. I'm still stoked that the series is around, and I know there are some folks that have loved the last few entries, but they just weren't my cup of tea. With that in mind, I fired up Legends with relatively conservative expectations, and I have to say that so far they have been well exceeded. I have only had a limited amount of time with the game, but at this point I'm willing to say that it is my favorite MX vs ATV game since Reflex. Below, you'll find a video that gives you a look at the early part of the career mode, the different types of races you can participate in, and what the bike/rider customization is like in this entry. Below the video you'll find some additional comments on different parts of the game.This isn't a full review of Legends, but rather some notes on the features and game modes that also includes some of my initial impressions. 

 

Career Mode

The career mode of Legends does feel very MX vs ATV-esque. It isn't as in-depth as other sports series like NBA 2K, but we also can't really expect that sort of career mode out of a motocross game. You essentially have a farm as a home base which you can explore in your free time and ride on the practice tracks that it contains, and then you will also interact with multiple different characters, who are members of your team, as you progress through the mode. It just guides you through multiple different series and invitationals, taking you from amateur races, through the 250 class, and finally into the 450 class. It's nothing crazy, but I still have very much enjoyed my time playing the career mode so far. Not every career mode needs a million cut scenes and quick-time decisions. The A.I. will still go full kamikaze on occasion and take you and multiple other riders out randomly, but overall I found the A.I. to be pretty solid and it actually gave me a bit of a challenge early on in my career. I also haven't really encountered any serious bugs with this mode so far, which is always a plus for a brand new game these days. 

Physics

Ah yes, everyone's favorite thing to talk about when it comes to MX vs ATV games. I will say that some of you are still not going to be satisfied with the physics in this entry. However, I do think this physics engine is the best one since Reflex. The air physics still seem a little more stiff than necessary, and while the whip physics aren't horrible..there's definitely still room for improvement on that front. I really don't have any issues with the ground physics, though. Throwing whips is cool, but feeling nimble and actually being able to attack corners how I want to is a bigger deal to me. And in this entry, I feel like I am in full control when it comes to maneuvering my bike in corners and down straights. I also haven't unlocked a fully upgraded bike, yet, which may have impacted my experience to this point. 

Customization 

Honestly, this may be the only part of this game so far that feels like it has come up short as of the initial launch. The bike customization is fine. We have all of the usual options that you'd expect from an MX vs ATV game, and things will be much improved in this area once we're able to get the OEM DLC. The part that has fallen short for me up to this point is the rider customization. There's only a handful of choices for each category, and while we do have some notable brands included, I really think there should be more options than what we have at launch. Maybe there are some gear DLC packs that will come out later on, but as of now the selection is definitely a little mediocre, especially when it comes to the goggle selection which only has five brands. 


Tracks

Legends contains 19 Supercoss tracks, 20 motocross tracks, six UTV national tracks, four rhythm tracks, 14 trails tracks, 13 invitational tracks, and of course the Rawlings Farm for freeride. That is a huge amount of content for players to experience. And as with all MX vs ATV entries, the tracks included with the base game are realistic to a point. They are definitely influenced by tracks that exist in real life. However, they also contain some sections that include jumps that are so massive they could never be on a real track, as well as some sections, like a section of one track that takes you through some desert tunnels, that I wouldn't necessary consider realistic. However, I really enjoy that aspect of things. It does help if you do a practice run around a track before going all out as some sections will deceive you into thinking it's a full send jump when it's not, and vice versa, but once you get the flow of these tracks they are extremely enjoyable. I think the track design team nailed it this time around, and of course we'll also get the AMA licensed tracks at some point which will be very enjoyable as well. 

Other Modes

Aside from the career mode, we also have individual modes for Supercross, motocross, rhythm, trails, invitational, and freeride. Honestly, all of these modes are pretty solid. The motocross and Supercross modes do benefit from having a great lineup of tracks, but the remaining modes all deserve some play time as well. The rhythm mode is their take on Red Bull Straight Rhythm, and while this is probably my least favorite mode of the bunch, it is still enjoyable if you're looking for a quick race and I could definitely see it being a blast if you're playing online with some buddies. The trails mode is another one that I think will be best enjoyed online, but it is a fun change of pace that fulfills that waypoint-like mode I get the urge to play occasionally. Finally, the freeride mode may be my favorite mode in the game. I have absolutely enjoyed just riding around the huge playground-like map of Rawlings Farm and exploring. I've typically never been a player who would explore compounds even if they were included in a motocross game, but you can tell they put in some real effort to make sure that players will want to spend some time in this mode. 

Overall

Like I said earlier, this isn't a full review of the game. These are just some of the things that I felt were worth mentioning after playing the game for a few hours. As you can probably tell, my first impression of the game is very positive. There are always going to be little things here and there that we think could be improved, but so far I think this is a very solid entry into the MX vs ATV series and should be worth a purchase for most fans of the franchise. You can pick up the game today on Steam, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. 

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