Work originally began on Motocross Challenge way back in 2004 as the part-time project of three individuals with a desire to create an homage to the classic Excitebike and Motocross Maniacs titles. Unfortunately, various publishing pitfalls and shifting markets prevented it from ever arriving on its intended platforms, the GameBoy Advance and subsequently the DS. By early 2007, with no hope of a retail release in sight, developer DHG Games decided to put the project to rest and give away the completed game for free via their website. While not standing to profit from all their hard work, at the very least a small amount of players among the homebrew community would have the opportunity to enjoy their creation using a GBA emulator or flash cart.
Fast-forward to 2010, where it’s relatively easy publishing a game to Apple’s App Store, and Motocross Challenge is being given a second chance at life. It’s a touching story of perseverance, but ultimately what matters is if the game itself is any good. Thankfully, it most definitely is, and five or six years ago it likely would have been a top selling GBA game. It still holds up really well today, and a lot of effort has gone into enhancing the game for the iPhone. But like many ports it does suffer from some of the common drawbacks that can befall a game when transitioning to a non-native platform.
The most glaring of these drawbacks is the immediately noticeable screen overlay. Since the game was originally designed for the GBA, it retains the aspect ratio and resolution of that system’s screen. What this means is that the entire game is presented in a smaller window within the touch screen, with a virtual button overlay made up to look like a nondescript portable gaming system surrounding its border. It doesn’t necessarily look bad, and it functions properly, but you’ll have to be accepting of the fact that there’s not an option for a full screen mode. If you can get over this aesthetic hurdle, an highly entertaining gaming experience is waiting for you.
Much like the recently released Giant Moto, Motocross Challenge really nails the look and feel of its inspiration but offers a much more complete package overall. Graphically it looks like the high quality GBA game that it is, with impressive pixel art and colorful scrolling backgrounds. There’s only one option for controls, but it works really well. Separate A and B buttons grace the right side of the screen for gas and nitro, and up and down arrows are set on the left side of the screen for controlling lane changes and performing tricks. Tilting the device affects the angle of the bike and allows for full frontflips and backflips if you can catch enough air. Once comfortable with the controls, it’s simply a delight to play and actually feels like a natural evolution of the Excitebike formula.
There are 10 distinct track locations spread across 30 different events which include standard races against three AI opponents, time trials, and trick attacks. The trick attacks are especially enjoyable, and have you completing as many in-air stunts as you can during one lap. I’ve replayed these multiple times trying to improve my score just because it was such a blast. The campaign is broken up in a way that there’s almost always a few choices of which events to partake in. In general the game is a bit on the easy side, but difficulty does ramp up nicely towards the latter half. The entire game can be completed in only a couple of hours, but that doesn’t diminish how absolutely fun it is to play through. In addition, OpenFeint integration provides leaderboards, challenges, and achievements that extend the replay value a great deal.
The road Motocross Challenge traveled before finally arriving on the App Store was a tumultuous one. What was originally planned to have sold for $20 or $30 on Nintendo’s handheld a few years ago can now be had for an introductory price of just 99¢. Despite a couple of funky aspects due to the translation to this platform, the core experience remains incredibly fun. It’s obvious DHG Games is a talented developer, and it would be interesting to see what they could do in creating a game built specifically for Apple’s device. Until then, Motocross Challenge is by far the best option available for scratching that Excitebike itch.
App Store Link: Motocross Challenge, $0.99
This screams for a tap to Dodge/boost attack mechanism.
Like the cursor to the gun flashes a from green to red, when red tap to shoot for more damage than normal.
And also an example of the dodge would be a cursor appearing on the cannonball the cats shoot when they get halfway to you, tap to shoot the cannonball out of the air and avoid damage.
Am I alone in thinking the art looks really trashy?
Man the combat speed needs to be at least 2x the current speed.
What's with that huge pause between enemy turn and move selection?
I agree, it's painstakingly slow.. The art style is nice, but I'm a dog person, cats really aren't my favorite animals, playing a game full of them just doesn't appeal to me :/
I like that. A lot.
Something different here...
The idea is great, but the half-assed art kills it for me. Pass.
There's nothing half-assed (or trashy, whatever that means) about the art. It may not be to your taste, but that doesn't mean it's poorly done.
I agree that the combat looks slow, but that's not a deal-breaker for me.
BTW, Peter, this looks to me like a straightforward turn-based RPG. I don't get why you would call it a "strategy" game.
If it's like Mecho Wars (which it seems to be) it is a TB strategy. To be fair, this does have a lot more RPG elements, so I think you could call it either way.
You thinking that the art is good is no more valid than me thinking the art looks trashy.
The art style is consistent and clear, the line-work is confident, the colors are well selected. From an art director's perspective (which is what I do for a living), I say it's well crafted -- in other words, not trashy. Of course, within the range of well-crafted artwork there's plenty of room for different of opinions.
From that video, it's clear that Steam Pirates plays nothing like Mecho Wars. This is clearly an RPG.
You know what, squarezero, you are absolutely right, that shouldn't be there.
From what I can tell that little slip was a product of me writing when I should be sleeping, so I'll fix that up pronto ;)
I guess that's what I get for not paying attention to the video. I was probably too insulted by the baseless attack on David Bowie...
By definition, trashy means lowbrow, or second rate. I think it meets those conditions.
I disagree with you on that only well-crafted artwork is good, but there isn't any point in discussing that. Differences of opinion exist, and I respect yours.
I agree that good art doesn't have to be well-crafted: that's what punk is all about. Also, I may have misunderstood what you meant by trashy. I still disagree with your assessment, but I understand where you're coming from.
Why isn't the top headline the new super quick hook video. Super quick hook> this.
I really like the art. I think its amazing. I also find it humorous that so many people are art critics. Link your deviant art page maybe, with your animated artwork if you have something better.
Looks like a compelling game from an independent developer. Good job guys, and ignore the naysayers.
I don't need to be a better artist than them to criticize it. That's sort of like saying I can't criticize a brain surgeon for killing their patients because I couldn't do a better job.
It's actually a good thing to criticize games, especially in the iPhone market, where part of the draw is how devoted the developers are.
I noticed one thing on this preview video, as Director of the game, I feel like I should of told the person who takes the videos, that to jump on a platform you press above the platform not below it.
This really makes the game look terrible, while the controls are so easy, you press where you want to go, if you press under a platform you will go there, above you will jump onto it...
so yeah this video makes controls look terrible
Have you got any official gameplay videos as yet Luc?
Game looks great BTW.
The pauses in combat need to go away. People need to execute their moves immediately. No need to see the name of the move and then a two second pause and the move. Just have people do their moves.
I really love the gameplay video.
It looks so great!!!
Looks like a must by by for me.