Monster Energy Supercross 5 breaks stronglifts rocks and dirt and smashes you into the world of two-wheeled stunt racing, whether you’re ready or not.
This is what I found out by previewing the adrenaline-pumping title Milestone, ready to transform us into real Supercross centaurs step by step, fall after fall, jump after jump. Those who are already familiar with the series know well what will be in their hands in this fifth chapter, an enhanced version, improved and full of new features compared to previous titles. For everyone else, it’s time to put on your helmet and understand what you’re made of.
The preview version made available focuses on a limited number of modes, useful for getting carried away with the means and understanding the imprint of this chapter. The first few moments are useful for creating our alter-ego, customizable for aesthetics as we like (being able to also opt for a male or female build, defined as “Type 1” and “Type 2”) before putting a nice helmet on his head . Having chosen our reference bike, let’s start with the tutorial in which to impersonate one of the drivers of the circuit – perhaps a champion like Eli Tomac – absolutely unaware of the terrible figure we will make him do.
Jokes aside, Monster Energy Supercross 5 from the very first moments it communicates quite clearly to our fingertips accustomed to arcade racing or track simulations that there is a new imprinting process to go throughwhich requires you to master the control of not only wheels on the ground, but bikes even before, during and after the jumps: The balance of the bike is everything and alone makes the difference between a clean ride or a ruinous series of falls, even if the controller in hand may seem to have made no mistakes.
Initially the learning process for newbies is really harsh, almost frustrating, so much so that even achieving a “perfect start” might seem like a featbut it is enough to moderate the throttle when not necessary, let go of the bike a little and understand how to shift the weight of the body to start overtaking rivals in corners and ring double and triple jumps.
Let’s go to Supercross School
To refine the (immature) skills acquired in the tutorial, the mode has been introduced Futures Academy, which offers us a series of skills tests built on the basics and aimed at making us drivers worthy to participate in the titled competitions. A necessary step also to familiarize yourself with terminologies such as “Holeshot“(Starting overtaking the group to be in the lead after the first corner) or”Scrub”(Aerobatics in flight that reduces the fallback time of a jump), certainly not on the agenda for non-fans.
The tests are short and relatively simple, but not necessarily very easy to assimilate – or rather, some are more difficult than others, especially those that require repeated precision and at the same time to stay under a time limit. Once we got out of the “tiger den”, however, we inevitably learned something, even if we don’t realize it. If, on the other hand, you are still hesitant, it is possible to opt for a more prudent choice when the degree of simulation of our experience is proposed to us.
Definitely not very simulation is the functionality Rewindnow a rather widespread feature in racing, which also finds space in Monster Energy Supercross 5: a bar on the screen, divided into three sections, shows us how many of these rewinds we have available and, once used, they can be restored performing spectacular tricks and actions during the race – a do ut des that rewards the most reckless centaurs.
Of course, the ultimate goal is to achieve absolute simulation and total control of the vehicle, but before this it is possible to tailor the control system to our preferences, making many functions automatic (or semi-automatic). Being able to intervene conveniently from the menu before the start of each event, it is very simple to study the best configuration from time to time.
While waiting to test the main game modes, this preview build offers us the possibility to race on all the tracks of the game creating single events as we please. In addition to the official circuits of the Supercross world championship, we also find original Milestone tracks and fun tracks “Compound”, Located outdoors and with slopes that are often wider than the internal ones.
450, 250 west and 250 east: it’s up to us to choose the bike and rider and opting for direct Main Event or switching from a more articulated elimination and repechage structure. All this can also be done in local multiplayer, via split-screen! A real godsend for competitions side by side.
A Setup Designed for the Track
Monster Energy Supercross 5 does everything it needs to do competently and properly, aiming at simulation without forgetting the concessions due to those who cannot feel tension, gravity, weight and mud on their skin. The scalability of the experience allows access to more people, with the possibility that this product will enter our circles of friends to become that product, at times demanding but still fair, extremely different from the usual and initially capable of leveling the skills of the participants and then accompany them in constant growth.
As for the purely aesthetic aspect, at present we have a product built on in our hands Unreal Engine 4 which shows an extremely honest result, without overdoing it. The cleanliness and clarity of the menus make navigation easy and level the qualitative perception of the product, while once on the track the game engine is stable and capable of offering an “Ultra” detail rich in subtleties, offering refined effects (such as deformation heat near the mufflers) and excellent management of motion blur on individual bikes.
A functional sector that turns off a bit on pre and post-race shots, including celebrations, always very similar, but the atmosphere is however adequately recreated and the stability of the framerate much appreciated.
What to ask Monster Energy Supercross 5 before its actual release? The product at present works, has fun, but obviously winks mainly at fans of engines, scratching wheels and living earth. It is difficult to strike at love at first sight if there are no prodromes, but the quality seems to be there and is made available to everyone thanks to the very functional approach and the scalability of the experience.
There is curiosity to understand how the career will be structured and how enjoyable they will be the new Compound open mapswith a particular focus on at the two times – novelty of this episode – which will be usable in all game modes. All this while waiting to find out what the current and old gen console versions will look like. After this preview, however, you should have a little familiarity with the vehicle: ready for the race?
