Game Review #472: Monster Energy Supercross - The Official Videogame 3 (Nintendo Switch)
Reviewer: Brad “The Waffinator” E.
Developer: Milestone
Publisher: Milestone
Category: Sports, Simulation, Platformer
Release Date: 2.4.2020
Price: $49.99
Buy Monster Energy Supercross - The Official Videogame 3 from the Nintendo Switch eShop here.
Careers, and Free Riding, and Time Trials, Online?
A big genre that I have always been a fan of is racing; and if you want to get into Specifics, I have always had a soft spot for motocross games. Maybe it has to something to do with Excitebike for NES being the first game I ever played, or the thrill seeker in me, I don’t know. So, when I had the opportunity to give this game a go and share my input, I jumped all over it. Monster Energy Supercross - The Official Videogame 3 has so many options to explore and choose from… where should we begin? Should we talk about the career mode? The free riding? The time attacks (time trials)? The online? I know… let’s dive into it all!
In Single player you have a few game modes to fill your motocross needs. You have Career mode, where you are taking your rookie and custom made rider from the bottom to the top. You make a character as soon as the game boots up, and from there, you go to career and try to make a name for yourself. After the first race you will get to choose a sponsor, and from there, you get to race away—while sticking to your sponsors contract obligations. I had to go with my favorite energy drink, and chose Monster Energy as my sponsor.
You have other modes to play in single player as well; you have Time Attack, which is like any other time-trial-style mode in any game: you race the clock for best track times. You also have a Free Ride mode where you can just ride away and pretend you are riding a bike in an open area. This is good for practicing your motocross skills, as you can also race in there, if you choose to do so. There’s also a Challenge Mode where you can complete challenges for rewards.
The game offers an online mode and local multiplayer mode. These I can’t dive too into, for like a lot of Switch games, it was hard to find any online races. In fact, I sat there for about 20 minutes trying to find online lobbies, with none to be found. I know I am awful at this game, but I still would have loved to play some Knock Out, where the person in last place gets knocked out of the race after the lap is done, repeating until one person remains.
Create Your Own Track
Even with all these options to keep you busy, there’s more! You can even make and create your own tracks to play on your own, or you can even upload them online for others to download and give it a go. The track creator offers a very well made tutorial to help you get the hang of how to make tracks! I can’t wait to make my own and have the kid give it a try! You also get to edit your custom-made character, and as you progress, you can unlock more and more customized options, allowing you to add more to your character after the basic creation.
Audio & Video
The visuals are pretty well amazing in handheld mode, making it fun to play on the go. Each track has a cool little intro with pyrotechnics and announcements, and when you finish the race, it does a cool slow-motion shot of you crossing the finish line, giving it a nice little touch to the finish. The soundtrack to the game is very upbeat, and fits the game; it makes you really feel like you are a part of the race. My favorite though is hearing the sound effects of the bikes. It really makes me miss dirt bikes for real, for the sound effects are very lifelike.
You Lost Me at Controls
The controls of the game… this is where I get turned off. I remember playing motocross games back in the day and it being a lot easier. I can’t tell you how many races I have restarted, to still finish last because of all the crashing and never seeming to time the turning and braking correctly for corners. The controls definitely take some getting used to, and I feel they are a bit on the rougher side. They could have been a little more user friendly, especially for newbies to the series, like myself. Another thing the controls lack that I miss from a lot of older-style motocross games is being able to do stunts or tricks. I’m not saying it is essential, but being able to pull off a Superman or criss cross once in a while would have made it a bit more enjoyable.
Wrapping Up
Overall, Monster Energy Supercross - The Official Videogame 3 offers a lot of options, from creating a character, to editing the character, to making your own tracks, or playing Career Mode and making a name for yourself. I am definitely really enjoying this title, and will keep playing until I can get those controls down. I did notice that using one of the 100 riders VS your own created character and using their presets did make the racing a bit easier. But overall, between the visuals and the upbeat music tracks, this game is very enjoyable and one not to be overlooked.
Score: 8.5/10
Buy Monster Energy Supercross - The Official Videogame 3 from the Nintendo Switch eShop here.
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*A game code was provided for review purposes