Having been a fan of THQ’s decision to add in ATVs to MX vs. ATV Unleashed, the excitement for the sequel, MX vs. ATV Untamed, was at an all-time high when I saw footage of the title in action. Unfortunately, the footage I saw happened to be of the game on the next-generation consoles (PlayStation 3/Xbox 360) and, to put it frankly, the same quality didn’t transfer over to the PlayStation 2 version.

Before jumping deep into the review, let’s tackle the issue of the development of MX vs. ATV Untamed -- it wasn’t handled by Rainbow Studios, the developer of the next-gen and handheld versions. Instead, THQ opted for Incinerator Studios – a relatively new studio that formed in 2005 – to take over the development of the PS2 version. Incinerator Studios doesn’t exactly have a rich history of cohesive work together with its only previous work being Cars for the Wii and Xbox 360. Comparing MX vs. ATV Untamed on the PS2 to the Xbox 360 iteration, it’s clear that the game was lost in translation when Incinerator Studios took over.

To begin, Untamed offers two modes that are similar to a career mode: X-Cross and Championship. X-Cross pits players into four divisions; from there they’ll compete in four events, each with up to three races to participate in. Meanwhile, for Championship, players will be asked to play through a six-week challenge that has a cumulative standings board that you need to climb up and earn first place. Of the two, X-Cross is more entertaining as Championship is dull after the first week of competition.

This isn’t all for the game modes that Untamed features; there happens to be a Custom Events mode that gives players a chance to try out all the events. The list of the main events include: Supercross, Supermoto, Opencross, Freestyle, Waypoint, Nationals, and Freeride. If you aren’t into those, Untamed also incorporates mini-games such as Hill Climb and Challenge Modes. With so many options, you’d think that a few of them would stick out and earn themselves a golden star, but in the end, all of them lack fluidity and replay value. Though I’ll give credit where credit is due, each event offers up to 7-12 tracks to compete on, so there’s a little variety added in.

Perhaps the most attractive aspect of Untamed is the long list of vehicles to drive. To start off, there’s the usual suspects in 250cc and 550cc bikes to ride. Of course, ATVs are included (hence, the title of the game), but there are only four of them are available to use. Outside of those two standard inclusions, there are also, monster trucks, buggies, golf carts, and many more to get behind the wheel of. With a lot of options to choose from, players shouldn’t become tired of the amount of choices they have.  

As for the controls, the bikes are on par with how they were handled in MX vs. ATV Unleashed - decent overall with a few minor exceptions. They’re equipped with power-sliding, a clutch and, of course, shocks to provide a somewhat authentic experience. On top of all this, players that are into customizing their bikes will be glad to know that Untamed allows the player to upgrade several parts on their bike. If you have always wanted to make sure you have the best suspension or the coolest grips, then you are in luck since those are two items that of the many are included. If not for the upgrading, then maybe unlocking sponsored items, such as goggles, will entice you to log more hours into Untamed.

Now for the most important reason why many gamers will want to turn off Untamed before they even get to the meaty portion of the game – it’s the awful music! With the likes of Nickelback, Mudvayne and The Used, the players will want to mute the speakers as soon as possible. The licensed music stale and outdated. C’mon THQ, provide gamers with something more current and fresh!

Lastly, the visuals of MX vs. ATV Untamed wallow in comparison to the next-gen iterations. Disregarding the other editions, the PS2 version is still an ugly game compared to other recent PlayStation 2 releases (Juiced 2 and Need for Speed: Pro Street to name a few). Why is it so ugly? To keep it short, the environments are incredibly simple looking, the loading times are horrendous, and the riders are badly animated. It’s a shame that Untamed didn’t turn out like it could have.

Gameplay: 5.4
The controls aren’t too shabby, but on the other hand, they could have been a lot better. It’s almost impossible to make a sharp turn around a corner.

Graphics: 4.0
Yuck, just plain yuck!

Sound: 3.5
As if Nickelback wasn’t bad enough, THQ had to go and add several other irrelevant bands to the licensed soundtrack.

Difficulty: Easy
Besides the few control problems, players shouldn’t have any problems with the difficulty level.

Concept: 5.5
While the concept of putting together a huge laundry list of vehicles is dandy, Untamed just didn’t get it right with the gameplay.

Multiplayer: 5.0
It’s not broken by any means, but I am sure many will find that your friends won’t play this for more than 10 minutes before becoming bored.

Overall: 5.0
The technical departments, the visuals and audio, bring this ship down before it even left the port. MX vs. ATV Untamed, at least on the PS2, is no where near a safe purchase – I recommend buying it on the next-generation consoles if you happen to own either one.