GameSpot editors' review
-
CNET editors' rating:
stars
Excellent
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 12/15/2000
- Released on: 11/21/2000
- Originally published on GameSpot: Supercross 2001 (PlayStation) Review
When it comes to video game renditions of motor sports, whether it's automobile racing or motorbike racing, there are usually two main camps that games tend to fall into - arcade and simulation. Last year, EA Sports released Supercross 2000, a simulation-oriented motorcycle racing game. Although a valiant effort, the game was mostly unplayable, featuring a frustrating mixture of touchy control, cruel collision detection, and dodgy steering. Hoping to put the past behind it, Electronic Arts has gone the arcade route with this year's release, dropping the numbering system and creating a much-improved follow-up effort. A few graphical issues aside, EA Sports Supercross is one of the PlayStation's best arcade-style motorcycle racing games.
The first thing EA did to improve this year's Supercross was to expand upon the game's options and give the player a greater variety of activities to participate in. Unlike last year's release, EA Sports Supercross features several gameplay modes, including single race, time trial, freestyle practice, and freestyle competition. The series championship from Supercross 2000 returns intact, albeit with one major change. Instead of just a single circuit of courses, the series championship now consists of nine different championships: the EA Sports Supercross, EA Sports West Supercross, EA Sports East Supercross, the Thor Championship, the Parts Unlimited Championship, the Wrenchead.com Championship, the FMF Championship, the Scott Championship, and the Etnies Freestyle games. In all, there are 55 events to compete in across these nine championships, and, as an added bonus, you won't be stuck racing indoors for the duration of the game. Whereas Supercross 2000 restricted you to indoor arenas, EA Sports Supercross offers a mixture of 22 indoor and outdoor courses. There are 12 enclosed arenas, four open-air stadiums, two outdoor motocross tracks, and four outdoor, trick-oriented freestyle courses. The game also features 30 actual riders from the AMA's Supercross, Motocross, Arenacross, Freestyle, and Women's Motocross circuits. However, should stars such as Jimmy Button, Jeff Emig, Damon Huffman, and Jessica Patterson not float your boat, there's also a create-a-rider editor. If multiplayer gaming is your calling, you'll be happy to know that all of EA Sports Supercross' modes, except the series championship, can be played by either one or two human players.
While it may be said that there is a lot to do in EA Sports Supercross, it is the game's addictive gameplay that ultimately becomes the true measure of its worth. The control is simple, yet it works. On a basic level, all you really need to do is mash the X button for acceleration and use the analog stick or the D-pad to steer. However, if you really want to master the game and brutalize those corners, you'll have to acclimate yourself to the game's more advanced controls. Borrowing a page from Nintendo's Excitebike 64, holding down (back) gives you more air on jumps, while holding up leans your front wheel forward to enable better landings on sloped surfaces. The R1 button gives you the ability to perform tight turns or steer the bike in midair, while the L1 buttons performs the most important action of all - the power clutch speed boost. Similar to the crazy dash from Sega's Crazy Taxi, the power clutch speed boost gives you a temporary speed increase, and it is your most useful tool in your quest for first-place finishes. When put into the context of the game's hill-laden, winding courses, the tight turn and speed boost features also give the game a rhythm that is simultaneously exciting and unique.
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