Introduction

The ultimate racing experience is back, or is it? Infogrames brings us their latest edition on their popular Moto Racer series. Moto Racer 3 is probably the best Motocross game to hit the PC this year. Can it hold up to Infogrames own Mxrider in terms of gameplay? Is it worth the money? For the most part the answer is yes. Except when comparing to Mxrider, MotoRacer isn’t the easiest game to pick up and play.

Presentation

The menus took me a little while to get used to, however, when figured out they seem to work well. With Race, Cross, Super Cross, Trial, Traffic or Freestyle. Moto Racer 3 features 24 new bikes and 8 different teams to discover on over 16 different circuits, including an internationally renowned stadiums and circuits such as Suzuka in Japan, Eastern Creek in Australia, Sachsenring in Germany or the Stade de France for Super Cross. Despite the game offers plenty of gameplay styles, it doesn’t do any of them particularly well. Personally I like the overall feel of the game much better than that of Motocross Madness.

Graphics & Sound

First off let me state that when I test PC games I use a fairly average PC. I’m Running a Celeron 566 with 136meg of ram, as well as a 32meg Intel direct 3d graphics card. The game suprised me running fairly good, however, there was a lot of noticeable slow down. I attribute this to my PC. That could be a good thing, but I’m willing to bet most of the people who will pick this game up don’t have a top of the line system, just a little forewarning the extras are worth it in MR3. The music is fairly annoying at some times but overall sets the pace. What really angered me was the very lame engine sounds. Trust me I could do better with a function generator and an old speaker, and I have before.

Gameplay

One of the coolest additions was the Traffic mode. Allowing you to zip your way across town on busy streets with cars who always seem to decide to change lanes as your passing. Perhaps that’s real but its really annoying. The game lacks any real good control setup. Where is the leaning? This has been my main gripe about PC games for ages, the controls always suck. At least it’s still playable.

Lasting Appeal

MX fans as well as SX fans can unite into one big block party filled with all of your favorite courses and bikes. The online options really give you more of a reason to play.

Conclusion

Chances are if you have a decent PC you will want to add this to your library. Normally on a console I would say to rent, but as you know that’s not possible with PC software. So download the demo and if you like it. You will enjoy the game for hours to come.