Publisher: Sega
Developer: Artech Studios
Size: 16 megs
No. of players: 2(simultaneously)
Feel the horsepower as you rocket out of the gate and battle through the first turn! Charge down the back stretch, through the whoops and launch over the triples to the checkered flag! Do you have the guts and skill to win on the MotoCross Championship circuit? If not, you'll be left in the dust!(it wasn't too obvious that I just copied that off the back of the box was it? Well, I guess it is now...damn...)
What's it all about?
It's dirt bike racing game played out from a third person view. You'll haul your ass around the track, fighting with other racers, making huge jumps and avoiding the always-depressing puddles of mud in an attempt to achieve at least 3rd place. While racing you can move your biker into positions that will either help you gain speed or make higher jumps, you can punch and kick and even perform the ever-inane "air stunts" that the genre is so popular for. Track design is pretty solid, if just a little similar(I guess there's just only so many ways you can rearrange the same ramps, bumps and turns) and the only real issues are the cheap stunts the developer constantly tries to pull on any of them. First off, because there's no in-game map for the tracks, when some huge ramp launches your ass 8 miles in the air, you simply can't see what's waiting for you when you land.
It's here where they like to put stuff like these bullshit mud puddles that make you fly off your bike(for some reason or another) or a sharp turn on the track, which usually makes you land right in the middle of a pile of tires, hay or some other track marker(and again, makes you fly off your bike). I guess you could get around some of it by not jumping so high...but it's so much fun!

Graphics - Unfortunately, since the game doesn't utilize any of the 32X's hardware scaling for the sprite-based objects(basically everything except the actual track), everything looks super blocky and overly pixelated. Plus, it makes it seem like the game is choppier than it actually is as you've got the polygon-based track moving at a pretty good rate, then these ugly-ass sprites jumping from a larger to smaller size with nothing in between. Past that though, the actual track looks alright, it's got the appearance of real dirt...well, real pixelated dirt I guess. Sadly there are only two variations on the track texture(dirt and sand) so it gets to be fairly dull by around the fifth race or so. Finally, it isn't even full screen. On top of info panel taking up at least 30% of the play area, the game runs in a black frame which reduces the view size even more. You're looking at a first gen, rushed title here folks.
Sound - Music is pretty much what you'd expect of a motocross game: A generic blend of hard guitar and over synthesized crap. Sound effects are pretty sparse, and repetitive to boot. You hear the same "Hey!" sound bite about a billion times a race as every time someone hits you, your guy screams it out. There's also this weird-ass effect, that I can't even find the words to describe, that plays pretty much anytime you land from a jump, bump or whatever.
Control - Odd. You don't really turn so much as the track turns around you...and because of this the control really only seems to come into play whenever you need to move side to side on straightways. When you do move back and forth, though, your biker responds quickly and once you get the hang of making the forced-turns, things get a lot better.

Hello, my little 256-colored beauties!
 AI - Fucking vicious. Imagine a pack of piranhas who haven't eaten in about a week, and then are all let loose in the same tank and you'll start to understand what it's all about. They attack any and everything that gets in their way: You, other racers, hell I even saw one trying to kick one of the track markers once! They are just simply out of control and out for blood. What makes things worse is, once your bike connects with one of theirs, you both *JUST STOP MOVING*. Then, from there you attempt to duke it out with them until someone falls down(this is generally you). During the fight, the other twenty bikers will catch up and it just turns into a huge, pixelated, blocky pile of fists and feet. The one nice thing about that AI is that it's quite human-like, and gets fucked by the same track traps you normally would, and gets the same amount of beatings from the other racers.
Replay value - Moderate, assuming you can get into it in the first place. This is definitely a "Love it or Hate it" sort of title, but if you're one of the few out there that can get into it, you can easily see coming back and playing it quite a bit before leaving to try something else. The seasons are pretty quick, consisting of only twelve races so it's not like it's something that's going to take up an evening or anything like that. After one season though, you may shelve it for a while before coming back to try the next difficulty level. One the other hand, all twelve tracks, three difficulty modes and three bikes are unlocked from the beginning of the game, so you could always just cruise around in "Practice mode"...
Tips for better gaming experiences:
At the start of the race, to avoid just getting your ass handed to you by the unbelievably rough AI either: 1) Simply don't move, just let them all take off and beat the hell out of each other, then hit the gas and fly around the pile of bikes and bodies or 2) Hit the gas and hold Up plus Left or Right to try to zoom straight to one of the sides of the track and out of the way of the ensuing carnage going on in the middle of the road.

Don't bother fighting with the AI at all. You'll barely ever win, and every time you make contact with one of them you both *actually* stop moving(even if you're doing 60mph). This gives the other racers time to catch up to, and beat the living fuck out of you. Simply avoid the other racers, don't worry about kicking, punching, ramming, slamming or anything else...just outrun the bastards, it's the only way.

Try to take forced-turns on the inside corner of the track. This will greatly improve your odds of missing the puddles of mud that are almost always there...

Anytime you're not about to go up a ramp to jump, hold Forward on the controller. This will make your biker hunch down, thus allowing him to move faster. When you're just about to hit a ramp, hold Back on the controller. This will make your biker pull back and allow for much higher, and farther jumps. Keeping both of those tips in mind, you shouldn't have a problem making 3rd place or higher on most races.
My rating: 78(out of 100) - Though the graphics could use some serious work and the lack of any hardware scaling for the sprite-based objects gives the game a real bad first impression, upon diving a little deeper you find a solid, fast and fun racer. Points are lost due the demon-like AI, some laziness on the part of the developer(guys, the fucking 32X HAS hardware scaling!), some dirty tricks pulled with the track design and a lack of variety in graphics and sound effects. Don't let that keep you from trying this 32X gem out though, it reminds me of the old school joy that is ExciteBike...but in 3D..kinda. Good stuff.

MotoKitty's review: Um, I think I'll go ahead and dismantle Bel's 32X tonight and sell it for scrap in the morning. I warned you before, the next shitty 32X game you make me play, it's on!
This guy was lucky enough to get away from the mob...
...this guy wasn't.
Two player mode isn't bad, especially as you get to watch the AI beat the fuck out of your buddy.
A loser is you!
Hello Moto, again:
The developers went on make a PC game called "Moto Extreme", though I can't seem to find *any* screenshots for it anywhere...