Monster Energy Supercross 5 - The Official Videogame 5, the tried and tested of the new Milestone game
Monster Energy Supercross 5 - The Official Videogame 5
For some years now, Milestone has embraced practically the entire range of two-wheeled motorsport. The last box that was missing, that of the Superbike with which it took off at the beginning of the millennium, was blackened a few days ago, with the announcement of a partnership that will bring the SBK world championship back to our screens in July this year.Of course, the official game of MotoGP 22 still plays the main role in the offer of the Milanese software house, but MXGP also has a considerable specific weight, being in turn able to count on the license of the International Motorcycling Federation.
However, this is not the only dirt road title that Milestone has in store for its loyalists, because its most extreme variant, the Stars and Stripes Supercross, has been able to carve out a good following also among sofa riders, reaching its fifth edition this year.
Let's find out what's cooking in our tried Monster Energy Supercross 5 - The Official Videogame 5
Finally a tutorial
The main artwork of Monster Energy Supercross 5 - The Official Videogame 5 The press version of the game that the Italian developer shared for the test was rather stingy with content because some of the more juicy modes, such as career, multiplayer and track editor, were disabled. We assume that these limitations are not attributable to a delay in development (the release date is March 17, 2022), but to the precise desire to focus the attention of reviewers on some elements that make Supercross 5 the most accessible of the saga.In the first instance we find Future Academy, that is a series of tutorials edited by the legend Ricky Carmichael. They are divided into three categories: introductory lessons, in which to become familiar with the basic dynamics of physics, advanced lessons where you can learn to master the flow (the "rhythm" fundamental to maintain a good walking speed) and theoretical lessons in which the dynamics of race weekends and championships.
There was obviously the possibility of testing the real game with a race weekend, selecting both the most powerful bikes, the 450s, and the smaller 250, and any of the available tracks. From the first corner Supercross proved to be for the indomitable beast as it has always been: very technical and difficult to master, also due to the "compression" of the circuits that leave very little room for long accelerations and are scattered with more or less accentuated bumps that require constant concentration. It is no coincidence that even a Motocross veteran of the caliber of Tony Cairoli had to train on a specially modified track in order to take part in the Paris Supercross a few months ago.
Continuous improvements
A departure of Monster Energy Supercross 5 - The Official Videogame 5 However, there is good news for newbies to record, namely the ability to customize the driving experience in every detail. While the hard core will have no difficulty in starting right away with maximum realism, where posture management is delegated to the right stick of the controller, those approaching Supercross Energy for the first time will be able to do so thanks to a learning curve. less steep. In fact, the game leaves the possibility to manage jumps and corner entry, that is the two key movements, in an almost completely automatic way. Sometimes these aids give rise to situations that are not very credible, such as instant braking or acceleration worthy of a dragster. We pass over it without too many problems in the awareness that it is only a transitory phase that will lead the player to face the title in its most simulative form.For the rest Milestone continues the chiseling work that , becoming more and more familiar with the Unreal Engine, it is refining its features version after version. Some of the historical defects that plagued the saga have been smoothed out, such as the presence of invisible walls that often ended up sending the centaur to the ground and an artificial intelligence a little too malicious in contacts. Mass management has also improved: the weight of the bike / rider combination is more noticeable and leaves some less space for unlikely acrobatic evolutions a few centimeters from the ground.
Still a few days of waiting
A leap of Monster Energy Supercross 5 - The Official Videogame 5 Graphically, Supercross 5 represents a decent step forward compared to the previous one, while continuing to lend itself to avoidable slips. The work done in particular on the textures, with good detail, and also on the animations, even more credible, is evident. On the other hand, there is a lack of some particle effect that would have made it possible to obtain a more "dirty" visual rendering closer to reality. The outline is also disappointing: the spectacular US arenas were much more alive and majestic in Supercross 3 and it would have been appropriate to restore them. Thumbs down even for the driver editor who continues to be too dated. Finally, among the novelties that will certainly be appreciated, we point out the presence of the local split-screen, thanks to which two people can compete simultaneously on the same console.To try the title in its entirety, as mentioned, we will have to wait until mid-next month: the release is scheduled, as well as on PC (platform on which it was tested), also for Xbox One and Series S / X and PlayStation 4/5.
The new chapter of Supercross presents small, but appreciable improvements to the driving model and artificial intelligence, but the most substantial novelty concerns an aid system able to bring even newbies closer. The graphics, on the other hand, have not made the progress we expected.
