Preface: I come from a deep motocross background
After playing this game for a few days, I can, without a doubt, say that this game is the most realistic motocross game out right now. Unfortunately the bar isn't set very high, considering the only competition to this game is previous titles from the same developer.
Despite how realistic everyone says the rider physics are, how authentic everyone says the track and bike physics are, and despite the fact that they (the devs) call this game a "simulator" in the opening credits, the idea that this game represents a realistic take on motocross is laughable at it's very best.
Every single AI rider will attempt to s.crub (Why the ♥♥♥♥ is this word censored, Gabe?) seemingly every small bump they ride up to, no matter how much time they lose wobbling off a small jump that didn't require them to scrub any speed at all. If you hit a rider, expect him to stay upright while you go flying. If another rider hits you, expect him to stay upright while you go flying. If you hit the yellow dirt, rather than the brown dirt, expect to get thrown off your bike. How depends on the angle you approach the white dirt at speed. But as soon as you hit it, you either start floating while flailing your arms while your bike sinks into the ground, or you literally fall right through the bike and start ragdolling all over the place. It's just infuriatingly stupid.
The very last race I ran, a rider came down on top of my bike and literally rode a third of a lap on top of my helmet. When he finally dismounted... I crashed. He didn't I mean, FFS?
Also, "career mode" is nothing more than a continuous championship mode with the choice of bike livery between seasons. There's no depth or fun. You don't feel like you're building or contributing to anything. You just simply race, go back to the silly appartment, rinse and repeat. Oh, but you can pick your helmet (I'm rolling my eyes).
Want to know what pisses me off even more? The fact that they force you to use mouse and keyboard in menus unless you want to guess which buttons do what. For a game that is a true to life ♥♥♥♥♥♥ console port, you'd think they'd at least have some decent controller setup and support.
And multiplayer... ♥♥♥♥ing multiplayer. I can't comment on it because it just plain doesn't work. I've created an account, I've activated it via email, and even visted their website using it. But any time I click on multiplayer, it tells me I need an activated account to play.
The one redeaming quality this game has is that it's track deformation isn't matched in any game, any genre, anywhere. There are more fun racing games. There are more fun motocross games, for that matter. There are certainly more realistic racing games, even with bikes, despite the unfortunate fact that there are no MX game competitors.
Do I reccomend this game? Only if you REALLY REALLY REALLY need to ride a dirt bike in a game. Otherwise, spend your money on something less half-baked.
PS: the graphics don't look nearly as good as the screenies. The graphics suck. Expect terrain LOD popping at all times as well.