**Now that we have the incredibly long title out of the way, I should start by saying that I have not played any previous games in the series so if you are looking for comparisons to the other two games, then this is probably not the review for you.**
Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 3 combines great graphics with the realistic game play of a dirtbike that is unlike anything I have played on the Switch before. The controls are touchy and frustrating to the point of almost rage quit. Fortunately the game is addictive and the fast paced game-play and with well detailed graphics, this is one game I have been carrying around on the Switch that runs well in both hand-held and docked mode connected to a TV.
The biggest thing that stood out to me about this game is the controls, I have not played a BMX game before so my knowledge of controlling cars and trucks was completely flipped on its head. Having to incorporate things like body weight and balance with the control sticks as well as acceleration and braking. Keeping the bike balanced as you race and skid around muddy tracks is something that didn’t come naturally to me. There is also a handy rewind feature Forza style which makes tragic mistakes and accidental slips of the thumbsticks much easier to bare. Alot of my early hours with this game were spent rewinding back just to make it through the tutorial (noob alert!)
The game is officially licensed and due to this includes all players and tracks from the North American championship. There 17 tracks on offer cover most of the official championship. The details of the grandstand are incredible. The cheers and screams from the crowd are well detailed and add to the atmosphere of the race. Now I did play this on the Switch so the graphics aren’t as up to scratch as the new gen consoles, however this looks spectacular on the Switch’s screen. The uniforms of the riders flap in the wind and ripple on their bodies depending on what the speed of the bike is. The bikes also look incredibly realistic with a customisation of both the bike and your avatar available. You can fully customise your character including choosing their full name and nickname to be printed on their gear. According to enthusiasts this is the first time you can choose to be male or female in the game series.
The game offers four unique modes including single race, online, career and track creator. The best of these modes is easily the track creator. It combines an easy to follow UI that can be inspired by existing tracks or create one of your own choosing. While this is all well and good, the trouble really begins when you try and load it. The loading times are long, like crazily long, I was aware that I was using the Switch but it seemed to carry the same long times when I was in both docked and handheld mode. I’m not sure if this is the same on other systems but if it is, it is definitely a detriment to the game. The other modes are fairly standard for a racing/sports title and I had no notable issues when trying to connect to play online.
Monster Energy Supercross 3 is a complete marvel, and I was very impressed to see how well it runs on the Nintendo Switch in both handheld and docked mode. The graphics are impressive and look amazing on the Switch’s screen. The gameplay is challenging and will do its best to keep you fiddling around with how you race, normally this could be madenning but thanks to the game’s rewind feature, it alleviates this issue a fair bit. Having a track creator mode does add some creativity to the game and fans of bike racing will relish in the hours of gameplay on offer here.
Monster Enery Supercross 3 is now available on PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.
