Microsoft Motocross Madness

Microsoft Motocross Madness

CW EVALUATION

Moto-computing!

DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, install Microsoft's Motocross Madness video game on your computer. In fact, don’t even take the CD-ROM out of the package. And for heaven’s sake, don’t actually play the game. But if you do, be thankful that your computer doesn’t take quarters-if it did you’d soon be broke. If your PC interests lie in gaming and you dig dirtbikes, you’ll play this game until you’re deep in the throes of carpal-tunnel syndrome.

The arcade-style game features five different racing modes: Supercross, National Races, Baja, Stunt Quarry and Moto Tag. Choices for point of view include first-person, third-person and the “Thrill Cam,” which shows the most exciting view of whatever is happening at the time. Plus, you can play alone or against an opponent via a Local Area Network (LAN), your modem or the Internet Gaming Zone.

We admit that we spent a lot of time testing this game, all in the name of professionalism, of course. In fact, we wasted a perfectly good weekend in the Stunt Quarry alone. There, we pulled Nac-Nacs that would shame SX champ Jeremy McGrath. And did we mention all the other possible tricks within the game? On-screen, you too can do Barneys, Heel-Clickers, Bar-Hops, SaranWraps, Skurfers and more. The better the stunt, the higher the score.

We also wiled away countless hours in Baja, which is sort of like racing Paris-Dakar, only without the dysentery. Essentially, this is a GPSguided steeplechase through terrain that you-yes, yow-design.

The ability to create your own course, by the way, is one of Motocross Madness’ standout features. From coarse, grainy sand dunes to rolling bluegrass hills, the terrain can be easily modified in all areas of the game. And the environment is so life-like that you might start looking over your shoulder for the protesting Sierra Club weenies.

Just as in real off-roading, however, a bit of trick hardware is needed before laying down a cool roost. In this case, you need a Windows 95 or 98 Multimedia PC that is powered by at least a Pentium 133 processor. A DirectX 5.0-compatible 3-D graphics accelerator card is also necessary. We slipped a Diamond Multimedia Monster 3DII video accelerator into our PII 266 MHz system, and enjoyed an ultra-smooth frame rate, even with the graphics set at the highest resolution.

MOTOCROSS MADNESS

Microsoft

$45

So, boot up your computer, take handlebar in hand (almost literally, if you have a motion-sensing game pad) and roost, baby, roost! Jump cavernous gaps, holeshot a supercross, climb sheer-faced cliffs and scream over blind rises, all without concern for life or limb. With Motocross Madness, you are McGrath, and he is you.