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Monster Energy Supercross 3 The Official Video Game review

February 19, 2020

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Monster Energy Supercross 3

Italian based developer Milestone is well known for their racing games including the MotoGP franchise. And, their first release of the new decade is Monster Energy Supercross 3 The Official Video Game. I’ve played the previous two games and to be honest, they really didn’t catch my interest.

So, going into Monster Energy Supercross 3, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. While the game is far from perfect, I can honestly say that this year’s release is the best one yet.

Monster Energy Supercross 3 The Official Video Game Details

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Switch and Stadia
Reviewed On: Stadia
Developer: Milestone SRL
Publisher: Milestone SRL
Genre: Racing / Sports
Modes: Single-player, multiplayer
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)

Monster Energy Supercross 3

Official 2019 AMA Monster Energy Supercross season

Make no bones about it, Monster Energy Supercross 3 is a racing sim and not an arcade racer. The game’s career mode is based upon the official 2019 AMA Monster Energy Supercross season and Supercross fans will recognize familiar faces from the sport. This year’s character creator allows you to finally create and play as a female rider.

Monster Energy Supercross 3

When starting out, you are given the option of which coast in the USA to race in, your class of bike, your company sponsor, and decide to join an already established team or not. From there, you race across a variety of official tracks and stadiums where you’ll earn XP, which allows you to unlock outfits and gear. There are quite a bit of items and gear to unlock, so expect to do a lot of grinding to unlock it all.

Additionally, there are contractual obligations that you must complete as you work your way up the ranks. There was, however, something quite odd I discovered about Career mode. Depending on what team you choose to ride with, dictates the ability to customize your gear. Some teams allow you to customize more than others.

Monster Energy Supercross 3

Improved gameplay

Gameplay wise, Monster Energy Supercross 3 features a broad range of improvements. The game’s physics has been greatly improved. Bikes feel, control and act like they have actual weight to them. Furthermore, your bike’s weight distribution and momentum is more important that it ever has been and is key to your success.

The game’s tutorial mode gives you a basic idea of what you need to do to control your bike. Needless to say, it takes some time to get the feel of things. When I first started playing, it wasn’t uncommon for me to over-steer and send my rider flying off the bike. Things get frustrating very quickly and if you don’t have patience, it’s very easy to walk away from the game. Luckily, the game features a rewind option so help compensate for the steep learning curve.

Monster Energy Supercross 3

Turns and corners must be taken with finesse and care. Going into a turn full throttle is never a good idea. It almost always results in sending your rider flying off the bike and your competition soaring past you. The best advice I can give you is to take it slow at first and take your time to get a feel for things. Expect to invest the first hour or so learning how to correctly control your bike, take corners, and make landings.

Upgraded visuals

Milestone has done a great job in upgrading the visuals this year. The stadiums are near perfect replications of their real-life counterparts. Pyros and fireworks are brighter and more vivid than ever thanks in part to the advanced particle effects. As good as the atmosphere and stadiums look, character models and faces aren’t on the same level. Overall, Milestone has done the best they can with the Unreal engine.

Enthusiasts will notice that each dirt bike has their own unique sound, which are based on each bike manufacture. Ralph Sheheen and Ricky Carmichael return to provide a somewhat limited amount of commenting. As the action heats up on the track, the crowd reacts with oohs and ahhs to get your adrenaline pumping.

Monster Energy Supercross 3

Dedicated multiplayer servers

This year, Milestone has made some major updates to the multiplayer game modes. Updates include dedicated servers, which ensures a consistent online experience and a lobby system. There is a lobbies list to see multiplayer games that you can join and an option to create your own lobby both publicly and privately.

For those looking to make videos of their run, there is a Race Director mode with a bevy of options to configure. Moreover, there are three online mini-games: Knock-out, Checkpoint, and Treasure Hunt. Each offers a fun and entertaining way to enjoy playing online with others.

Monster Energy Supercross 3 features a deeper and feature rich track editing and creation tool. The included tutorials make the track editing mode an easy way to create or edit tracks and share them with the community. I had quite a bit of fun creating and editing tracks, which adds a fair amount of replayability to the game.

Monster Energy Supercross 3

Monster Energy Supercross 3: The Official Video Game will please AMA Supercross fans

Without a doubt, Monster Energy Supercross 3: The Official Video Game will please AMA Supercross fans. With official teams, dedicated online servers, a powerful and fun-to-use track editor, female riders and improved gameplay—there is not much more fans could ask for.

Although there is a steep learning curve, the game’s instant rewind feature helps alleviate this. Casual racing fans might want to think twice about Monster Energy Supercross 3—it’s a racing sim inside and out.

+ Meaningful gameplay improvements
+ Feature rich track editor
+ Dedicated multiplayer servers

– Steep learning curve
– Grinding to unlock gear can become repetitive