The off-road racing genre saw a successful year in 2007, with releases like MotorStorm and DiRT. With MX vs ATV Untamed coming out at the end of the year, it certainly won't get as much attention. Despite this, the game is solid and offers a few things you won't find in other games of the genre - it doesn't break new ground by any means, but it'll give you a good bang for your buck.

The core of Untamed revolves around the X-Cross tournament, where you participate in the many event types. Amongst these are the freestyle events, which seem to be the weak point of the game; although you're encouraged to pull off crazy twists and turns in the air, be prepared for a rough landing - if you don't maneuver yourself into just the right position as you land then you won't be pulling many tricks off. This forces you to try a slow-fast method; holding down the accelerate button won't do you any good if you want to perform some insane stunts, which really hurts the game. On the one hand you don't have the speed that you're hoping for from a racing game and, on the other, performing cool tricks can be difficult.

The freestyle events are the only ones where you won't find yourself actually racing. The rest are only separated by who you're racing and where, whether it be indoors or outdoors. New to the series is Endurocross, but it's not a welcome edition - logs, water pits and boulders stand in your way as you drive through an arena. This may sound like fun, but "frustrating" is the more appropriate word. After completing an event, you are rewarded with money that you can use to purchase different vehicle parts and the like, but this really doesn't do much good. New parts don't improve your vehicle's performance - it's all for show. The only difference you'll see will be in the color of your vehicle, and that doesn't make much of a difference! In the end, the customization options seem out of place and unnecessary.

Fortunately, the actual racing is satisfying for the most part. Although you won't be blazing through at lightning speed, the bumpy nature of each course actually provides a nice challenge. Making the decision to slow down or push on the gas is a critical one and you have to time your jumps properly as well. Also, the AI provides more than enough competition at the moderate difficulty levels, so despite the lack of simplicity when it comes to tricks, the competitive thrill of racing is definitely there. As the game's title implies, you're racing with various MX dirt bikes and ATVs. Also included in the game are monster trucks and dune buggies, among other vehicles, so there's no shortage of variety. The controls of each vehicle add uniqueness to the proceedings, whether it's the lightweight feel of a dirt bike or the bulkiness of a large truck. The handling forces you to adjust accordingly, adding an interesting aspect to the gameplay.

If you're going to have a mediocre-looking game, I guess a racing game is a good fit, since you don't have to sit back and watch the scenery (you'll be too busy staying focus on your game!). MX vs ATV Untamed is full of bland textures and boring colors at every corner; the outdoor environments are slightly better seeing as how they're bigger, but that's not saying much. Also, there are some slight frame rate issues, especially when all of the vehicles are bunched up together. The visuals aren't bad, it's just you'd expect much more from a game that's been released on the PS3. If you didn't know better then you might think you'd popped a PS2 game into your shiny new PS3 by mistake, and you didn't fork out your hard-earned cash on Sony's new powerhouse for last-gen graphics. In the audio department, there's not much to say either; the sound of the engines is fitting and the game features a decent soundtrack. That's about all you can ask for when it comes to sound in a racing game.

One of the most appealing things about MX vs. ATV Untamed is the amount of replay value it offers. The X-Cross Tournament has a lot of events to complete and there's also an event series that gives you challenges. The online play is what provides the most fun though, due in large part to the mini-games. Some of these mini-games include Graffiti, where you must perform the best trick on a jump to "own" it, Tag, where you must collect a ball and keep away from your opponents, and Snake. The obvious highlight, Snake plays just like the classic videogame; your bike leaves a trail as you ride and you must box in your opponent. The cleverness of each mini-game is a nice surprise and playing them online with others is a blast.

Nothing about MX vs. ATV Untamed really sets it apart from other off-road racers. Sure, it offers a lot of gameplay modes and vehicles, but you can get that in a lot of games in the genre. But don't let that keep you from checking it out; the mini-games are a great highlight and it won't feel like you're wasting money with the variety of gameplay modes on offer, even if the visuals simply aren't up to scratch with what the PS3 can handle. Fans of the series and genre alike are sure to enjoy their time with this game, just don't expect it to look like MotorStorm and you'll be fine.

Reviewed by Anthony LaBella for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).