PlayStation Championship Motocross Featuring Ricky Carmichael

by THQ

Product Details

• ASIN: B00001XDK8
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,618 in Video Games (See Bestsellers in Video Games)

Product Description

GameSpot Review

If you're into dirt-bike racing games on the PlayStation you're probably well aware of the fact that there hasn't really been a strong title in the genre. Jeremy McGrath was OK, but it failed to capture the feel of the sport. Moto Racer's dirt bike tracks were good but too limited. And of course there was VMX Racing, which was a complete joke. Out of the lot, Championship Motocross Featuring Ricky Carmichael is a step a above the competition in just about every category.

Championship Motocross Featuring Ricky Carmichael is a 3D motocross game that gives you a realistic interpretation of the sport. Championship Motocross features five different modes of play: championship, quick race, two player, time attack, and practice. Championship mode lets you progress through each race in the hopes of being crowned the dirt-bike-racing champion of the world.

The game features three teams for you to select from. Each team can choose from a 125cc, 250cc, or a 500cc bike. Each bike is rated in engine power, power band, top speed, weight, jumping, cornering, rough terrain, and suspension. Picking the right bike for each track is essential. In each race, you are up against seven other riders who, of course, all want to be in first place as well.

You compete on a total of 12 different tracks. Five of them are motocross tracks, four are supercross, and three are enduro-based courses. To vary the racing experience on the tracks, you can select three different weather settings: overcast, rain, and normal. You can also race the courses mirrored.

The control is fairly responsive and intuitive, although the designers left a little play in the control so that you get the feeling that the bike's going to pop out from underneath you at any moment. The only real trick when playing is not to go too fast into a turn. Using the power-turn button when coming around a tight corner really helps, although if you power-turn too much you'll end up going the wrong way. There's really no secret to winning any of the races in the game - all you have to do is pick your line and try to get around the corners as tightly as possible. When coming off any of the big jumps in the game, it's actually quite fun to pull off tricks in the air, although if you're like me you'll have to keep in mind that races aren't won on style. After you catch some air, a little distance indicator will come up and discretely let you know just how far and high the jump was. Each course has its own records in four different categories: fastest course time, fastest lap, longest jump, and highest jump. These course records can be saved to a memory card so that you can continually try to improve on them.

Visually, Championship Motocross looks decent. It doesn't suffer from too much pop-up, and the 3D models of the riders and bikes look good, as do the spectators, tents, cars, hay bales, and other ambient objects on the sides of the tracks. The animations of the rider performing tricks, leaning, sticking his leg out in a turn, and other various movements look fairly realistic. The game has a good frame rate and moves at a brisk pace - it really gives you a good false sense of speed. All this, along with the occasional rooster tail of mudflying off the tires, gives the game a good look that matches the controls well.

The sound effects for the bikes and the announcer are fairly good and add to the game's feel. In addition, the game features a loud rock soundtrack that can be almost overwhelming at times.

Championship Motocross Featuring Ricky Carmichael, with its control, visuals, and overall feel is the best motocross game for the PlayStation. For fans of the sport, this is the one to get, although if you're not a fan of the sport, Championship Motocross Featuring Ricky Carmichael probably isn't going to make you one. --Ryan Mac Donald
--Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why it's worth every penny you spend on this game., June 18, 2001

By A Customer

When I first rented this game I had low expectations of it because of the new 2001 Carmichael which is a total disapointment. Unlike it's sequel this one is the best because the tracks are pretty close to real and the pop-in does not make you sick (unlike the 2001 version which is simple you could beat it in one day, that's if you didn't die of bordom!) Anyways, the game physics are top notch, the tricks are pretty wicked even though there isn't any points for doing the tricks. But hey it's a 1999 game. Anyways the A.I. in the game is top notch! If you're the kind of guy who likes to play easy games then play 2001 version. This one I actually had to use their "Practice" mode and it helped me alot. The game isn't hard to the point that the comp smokes you every race. You just have to learn to configure the bike to each course. Once you beat the 500cc class you get rewarded with a preview and "Mirror Mode" which is very nice, it gives the game more replay value. I'm still playing this game cause' it rocks both multi-player and single-player. In other words instead of going NEW for the 2001 which sucked. Go for the classics. (Even though the MX 2002 looks pretty hot when it comes out I'm jumpin for it.) To wrap this up BUY this game it might look simplistic but it's fun till' the 30th time you play it!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Dirt Bike Game Yet, April 17, 2000

By A Customer

Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This game has the feel of real riding. The control, graphics, sound, and music are great. It's not to terribly hard, but it's not too easy either. And racing against your friends is a blast. If you've tried the other motocross games out there, you have got to try this one, it's the best one yet! The others fail in comparison to this one.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ricky Carmichael championship Motocross, November 28, 1999

By A Customer

Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

I gave this game a four because it does not allow the user to create their own tracks and it does not have real bikes. For instance, they should have Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki, but they have Hamaha or something like that. I think the game play is GREAT! I find myself playing this game over and over again. Allowing users to create tracks would add to the longevity of the game. In my opinion, this game has the best game play of all the motocross or supercross games out there. If you rent this game, you will end up buying it.