Freestyle Motocross: McGrath vs. Pastrana: A Great Finisher Company: Acclaim The graphics in Freestyle Motocross: McGrath vs. Pastrana are not so hot, but the frame-rate stays nice and fast, and that?s what really counts in a racer. Pop-in is very minimal, and the graphics get the job done. As far as sound effects go, there aren?t too many too speak of with the exception of the totally obnoxious sound of the bikes themselves. It was enough to make me pull my hair out, and sounded like an electric duck. O.k., I?ll be the first to admit I do not participate in motocross on a regular basis, but if they actually sound like this, I don?t think anyone would. I could be wrong though. Ahhh, gameplay. MVP is chock full of it. I am reminded of an older GT Interactive game called Streak in a way. The gameplay is fast and furious as McGrath and Pastrana (and a few other punks) battle it out in the dirt. Modes of play consist of Single Event, Championship Series, Time Trial, and Multiplayer. Single Event allows you to brush up on individual tracks in Freestyle, Racing, or Combo style to maximize your practicing options. Now, if you really want a challenge, try Championship Series, where you battle it out with five other racers for the title. Time Trial and split-screen Multiplayer are self-explanatory, and provide a nice change of pace. The tracks such as Loch Ness, Volcano, and Tombstone are varied, and each have several shortcuts that shave off a bit of the track to let you sneak past the competition. Sweet. This game looks like it is coming along nicely and is a fun racer that should please motocross fans out there, as well as those who simply enjoy a good race in general. Well, it?s certainly not an easy game. Whether you choose to play as McGrath or Pastrana, the other guy will put up quite a fight. A.I. is pretty decent here. In certain tracks, there are areas where you are almost bound to fall into the water, and while I did see the other guys fall in pretty often, I NEVER saw Pastrana take a dive (I was McGrath, of course). Ugh. Overall, it provided quite a challenge. Fairly simple stuff here. Use your D-pad or Left stick to control your bike, with X as the gas. There are several tricks you can perform for points in Freestyle such as the Candybar, the Can Can Left and Right, and No Hands and No Feet. Personally, I had a hard enough time staying ahead in the race, so I preferred to play in the Racing mode instead of Freestyle and just concentrate on winning the race. After you choose which mode you want to play in, you can then choose which circuit you?ll play in (and most have to be opened up after winning races). Then choose your bike and rider. Now, you get to tweak your bike?s options like exhaust and tires to maximize your performance. The defaults work quite well however, if you are lazy. :) Overall, Freestyle Motocross: McGrath vs. Pastrana looks to be shaping up nicely, and I think it will make the bad boys of Motocross quite proud. -Psibabe, GameVortex Communications AKA Ashley Perkins