It's not quite as exciting a prospect as Aliens vs Predator or Freddy vs Jason, but it works better than both of them. You literally have two games for the price of one with MX Vs. ZTV Unleashed - now that's value for money folks!

The history, if you are unaware, is that up until now THQ have made MX games and ATV games, both of which were good and this year they've merged both of them together to form one monster off-road game. And it works perfectly. It's pretty obvious they've put the titles together, because they'd come pretty much as far as they could with the franchise. Had they released two separate titles this time around, us reviewers would have been down marking them and moaning that they were rehashes of the same game. This is an excellent way to shut us up!

Are you listening EA? What about Tiger Woods vs NHL? You've pretty much milked them as far as they'll go; it'd be great challenging a golfer that's just beaten you to a game of ice hockey and smashing his face in! Don't get me wrong, they've not just simply put two games into one package - they've tinkered around with the engines to make the overall control a lot more responsive and satisfying, giving you the option of racing both types of vehicle in certain modes too.

I was initially a bit disappointed with the presentation but then I realised I'd played last year's releases on Xbox; after renting them on the PS2 so I could make a comparison, it was clear that the graphics have definitely improved since last time. The vehicles look great; the tracks look good and even the mud looks nice. Well, as nice as mud can look.

The controls are initially awkward, as there's a lot going on here, so brace yourself. Racing around the track isn't simply a case of accelerate, brake, turn, accelerate again - it goes a bit more like this: accelerate, ooh there's a jump coming up, pre-load the suspension, release the suspension, fly twenty feet up into the air, try to pull off a mental stunt, line yourself up for the landing, accelerate, brace yourself for the corner, release the accelerator, apply the clutch, lean back to transfer your weight to the back wheel, turn to exit the corner and accelerate away. Phew! It's as tricky to play as it is to read and initially you'll be overwhelmed by the detail. Persevere though and you'll not only be winning races but looking cool as you like whilst you do it. The closest thing I can compare it to, even though it's a different game altogether, is the Tony Hawk series. What initially seems impossible slowly becomes second nature. The list of stunts has been improved from simple grabs and kicks to include the tricky but rewarding 360 twists.

As complex as they are, if you're a seasoned played and enjoyed the previous titles, you'll absolutely breeze through this if you don't play it on hard, so don't be a wuss and just go for it. The fact that the medium setting is actually quite easy is no bad thing, as you can work through it and slowly improve your technique as you go if you're a newbie. They've balanced it out quite well. Which vehicle do you choose? Both! They offer a different approach to each race and have very specific strengths and weaknesses; the bikes are faster and handle better but can be taken out easily if they get in the way of the more sturdy ATVs. Not only do you race against these two opponents singularly or grouped, there's also a few races with Monster Trucks, Carts and more thrown in for good measure, plus special stunt stages.

The sound is pretty poor, but then if you've seen MX or ATV on television, you'll be aware that this is accurate; they sound pants anyway. There's a rocky soundtrack for you to bounce your head along to whilst you play from names such as Papa Roach and Nickleback. It's all a bit too American for my tastes but it's easily turned off (or you can cherry pick your favourite tracks).

I'd like to comment on the AI of the competition but there's just so much to concentrate on whilst you're playing that you don't really get chance to notice what the other riders are up to. Until you fail to pre-load a jump and one of them clips the back of your head as he flies past. I never found myself screaming at the T.V. in frustration because of them, so I'm assuming they're pretty good.

The only negatives I can throw in this game's direction are the tutorials, which are a 'show and tell' affair rather than actually training you, a step back from the last MX outing. And it's a shame that there's no network play support as it would be great to show off your moves online.

Even without those two additions, MX Vs. ATV Unleashed is immense. This game is bigger than Barry Bethel's belly before he went on the Slim Fast Plan. The list of options and challenges seems almost endless. Even if this isn't your cup of tea you should consider a purchase, as it's a great one to dip in and out of whilst you're waiting for the next big release to come out.

Reviewed by Mark Hayhurst for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).