iPhone Reviews 2.0

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2XL Supercross is a motocross game by 2XL Games. $7.99

This is a modified post from Razorianfly

2XL Supercross is the first game to be released on the App Store by 2XL Games. 2XL Supercross is brought to you by the people who made Motocross Madness, ATV Offroad Fury and MX Unleashed. The tracks are created by Motocross champion Stephane Roncada.

Being one of the few games that have recently been released over $4.99, 2XL Supercross brings the first 'true' motocross game to the App Store.

2XL Supercross is just an amazing game which shows a bright future on the App Store. The game is set in different Motocross stadiums around the USA as you try and beat every track. The game is just amazing in the graphics department looking like it is a game off a console. These by far are the best graphics on the App Store. The game features motorbike sound effects and noises from the crowd. These sound realistic and highly detailed, one of the better games in sound.

I was slightly disappointed with how the game is set up. There are 3 race modes which you can choose to race the 12 tracks and 1 training ground. There however is no career mode, which I would have liked to unlock the tracks instead of its current process. Once I started playing though the racing itself made me forget all about this little let down.

The way to play 2XL Supercross is to try and come in the top 2 of each track to unlock the next track. There are twelve original tracks to unlock. There are some differences between playing this game on the iPhone/iPod Touch 1st Gen and the iPod Touch 2nd Gen. On the iPhone/iPod Touch 1st Gen you are only racing two other riders so unlocking tracks is alot easier, but the game isn't as fun. On the iPod Touch 2nd Gen you are racing four other riders so unlocking tracks is harder but the game provides you with more of a challenge. This is due to some frame rate issues and having less riders will keep performance levels even on all devices.

Practice mode is exactly that, practice at a course. You can practice any course but I generally only use this mode at the Training Grounds. This is as close as you can get to a free ride mode as there is no time limits and no need to rush, a great time to appreciate the graphics in the game. I found this a perfect time to hone your skills with tricks, which I will go into later, and if you are changing your bike, again I will go into that later. While this mode won't be used much on the actual tracks, if at all, it is great for people who want to much around in the Training grounds.

Time Trial is also a fairly self explanatory mode. After choosing your bike and track you are then in a race against time to try and get as fast as possible. There are no other riders and an unlimited number of laps to do. After completing your first full lap then a ghost of your previous time will ride around the course also. This is good because it gives you something to aim for and a knowledge or where you should be on the track to beat the time. This is a good way to practice tracks without the need to worry about other riders wrecking your ride.

The final and best game mode is the race mode. The race has the most options to customize the race. You can choose your difficulty level and how many laps you must complete. The tracks start off very easy with not many corners but as you progress the tracks become longer and more challenging. The objective of the races are to finish in the top 2 which unlocks the next track, but I try and finish first before moving on. These races are alot of fun as there can be hits and crashes that happen between the riders. While there should also be another mode with a career and storyline, maybe to win a world title, these are all very fun modes.

On the tracks there are three main parts to the tracks. They are small bumps, corners and big jumps. On the larger jumps you have the opportunity to do tricks. Currently there are only two different tricks to do. One of these is a tail whip and the other one is a backflip. I will explain how to do them in the controls. These two tricks show how more tricks could be implemented, maybe like the tricks in Vans Sk8. A trick track would be really awesome for 2XL Supercross.

Finally there are three different types of bikes that you can choose. The bike categories are 125cc, 250cc and 450cc. There are so many bikes in each category but all that changes is the color. The bikes have slightly different results on the tracks. I found the 125cc to be slower but better at corners while it was reversed for the 450cc. This is a great way to provide variety in the games.

I'll put it out there right now and then, this is the best game graphically at the date of review. The amount of detail in the tracks and riders is extraordinary. The game is really smooth with no glitches or lags what so ever. I have never had 2XL Supercross crash on me because of their decision to keep the game to a standard that can run on the particular devices. The game looks like it has been ported from a PS3 with the quality of graphics. Not many games at $8 can state that 280/300 or so reviews have given it five stars, and this is one of the main factors.

2XL Supercross features both great music and amazing sound effects. On any of the menu screens and while the game is loading you will find yourself listening to music that you may find at a Crusty Demons event. There are multiple tracks that play in a random order so it never gets repetitive. In the game itself there are bike and crowd sound effects. The crowd will cheer when you overtake someone and boo if someone overtakes you. They are always on your side. The bike makes realistic noise for a real life motocross bike. Being realistic meaning that the sound actually changes depending on what you are doing. For example while in the air or taking off the jump the sound disappears just like it would in real life. The other bikes have their own sound as well and can be heard behind you or in front of you depending on where they are.

The controls for racing are very simple. There are different set ups that you can use so I will go through them each. The one I use is where you have a green button to go and you either let go to slow down or press the red button to brake. To turn you tilt the device left or right and to lean forward or backward you tilt it forward or backward. There is a preload button that if you press it before jumping then you get more air and is helpful when trying to do tricks. There is also an option to use these controls but without the preload button. The other two options feature a slider on the screen or an analog stick to control the steering. All these controls are available in either left or right handed.

To do tricks I found quite challenging. There are to tricks, a tail whip and a backflip. To do a tailwhip while in the air you must tilt you device quickly to either the left or right and back again to land in a straight line. I found this challenging and usually get side on before landing and stacking it. The other more challenging but cooler trick is the backflip. While writing this review I actually managed to pull two while doing a lap of the hardest course, Las Vegas, and I still don't get how they work. Basically you need alot of airtime to complete a backflip. The instructions say to tilt forward before quickly tilting back and the backflip will happen itself. I have yet to find the way to do them except trying that and getting the occasional backflip. These tricks are really fun to try and land but I would like to see more tricks, maybe using the finger swiping method used in Vans Sk8: Pool Service.

This is one of the very best on the App Store. 2XL Games are the first to bring a Motocross game onto the App Store and with quality like this there may be no need for anymore. This is a super game with the great graphics, sound and really fun gameplay. Any Motocross fans or even anyone who has seen or heard the word Motocross should buy this game, thats how good it is. Don't let the price turn you away, if over 90% of people in the US who have put a review on the App Store give it 5 stars then there has to be something good about it.

I can't recommend this game highly enough. It shows what we have to look for when superb racing games like Need For Speed (Out Autumn 09) and Real Racing (Out April 09) and released. Buy this.. NOW

Gameplay- 9.5/10
Graphics- 10/10
Sound- 10/10
Overall- 9.5/10

I would recommend this game if you enjoyed- Motochaser

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