PixlBit

I always download every Games with Gold freebie on Xbox every couple of weeks and give them a try. Sometimes I find something I like and stick with it for a while. MX vs ATV Alive, out originally in 2011, was one of them.

 

This trailer makes the game look like Road Rash. You can bump other riders who then have to lean the right way or crash but it wasn't a major part of the racing. More often than not, bumping another bike makes you swerve and lose valuable race time anyway. I also could never quite figure out how to execute stunts. They seemed superfluous anyway because your main objective was to win the race.  

I don't know why they call it MX vs ATV because you can't race one against the other. You can only either race MX bikes or ATVs, not both at once. Anyway, this was surprisingly decent. It's almost simulation style and difficult to control but it was actually closer to an arcade experience. It took me only a few races to get the hang of the controls. You steer with the left stick and lean with the right. Leaning is key to taking turns fast but it takes a careful touch that takes a while to get.

I played solo against bots through the four tracks and the two free-roaming environments available to start. If you get to level 10 you unlock more tracks. I got to level 7 before tiring of the game, however. If only they had more tracks open to start or some kind of career mode, I might've stayed with it longer. 

I tried the online multiplayer thinking it wouldn't be active but it was! Mostly for MX bikes though, less so for ATVs which are a little harder to control anyway. I played many races against real players and came in 2nd several times. There's always that one expert on the field that's really hard to overtake. One mistake and you are done for, but I wasn't really upset by not getting first, I just liked the challenge.

One down side, the online still only has four different tracks to race. I've read that originally the game came out at a lower price point but with much paid DLC. I wonder where the DLC is in this free version? 

So, I got a bit bored with it after a while and didn't even get enough XP to unlock new tracks. Ah well, it was fun while it lasted. It was free after all.