Moto X Mayhem: Entertaining physics based dirt racer which is surprisingly rewarding to see the rider fall off his bike.
On first glance, this physics based accelerometer game is much like the other dirt bike games out there on Google Play. That is until you make a mistake, causing the rider to propel himself off the bike and smack into the rocky terrain. You’ll see that the rider is modelled using the physics engine as well, making his limbs and torso move individually. As a result, the rider will fall off his bike differently every time he mis-times his jump. I frequently found that instead of feeling annoyed about failing a level, I was actually quite entertained to see how the rider would dispel his kinetic energy in what would be undoubtedly pain. Sounds horrible!
Gameplay: The aim is to get your rider from the left side of screen to the right side in the fastest time possible. On the way you will need to navigate across treacherous hilly terrain without falling off your off road vehicle by controlling the acceleration and balance of the rider. Touching the right side of the screen controls the bike’s gas, left side is the brake and tilting the phone itself will tilt the rider accordingly. This is harder than it sounds as I found the game controls a little insensitive to the extent that I wasn’t sure the accelerometer was even working! It does however get better when you get used to the tilt delay. If you do find the accelerometer controls too insensitive however, you have the option to use other control schemes that purely rely the touch screen. A nice little feature if you don’t want to look stupid on public transport.
With only just 7 levels, Moto X Mayhem’s duration is on the short side. The double whammy is that the replay value for the 7 levels is also not there as there is little incentive for you to replay each level. There is a worldwide leader board where you can submit your best times however unless you put in some serious time and effort, you will not even get near the top 10. It would be nice if there was some sort of star rating for each level so that you know what time you need to aim for.
Another missing feature is a terrain preview either before the a level starts or a mini map at the top right of the screen. As it is difficult to know what angle to position the bike after big jumps, I was often guessing where the ground was only to find out that it wasn’t there at all!
There’s no free lunch – The free version not surprisingly comes with adverts. However I felt that the advert placement was a little too intrusive to the overall experience. You are forced to wait five seconds every time you complete a sub level, on average every 30 seconds, which really ruins the pace of the game. Unfortunate as I felt that the game’s core mechanics are fun and entertaining.
Verdict: 2.5 A seemingly promising and entertaining dirt bike physics game on first impressions which is ultimately let down by in just too many areas as time goes by. If the developers address these small issues, we would have a gaming gem to add to our games library.
Moto X Mayhem Promotional Youtube Video
Moto X Mayhem Tips from Android Games Review
- You can calibrate your accelerometer’s mid point in the options if you are struggling with the tilt controls
- As a rough rule of thumb, you should tilt backwards after every jump and tilt forwards when climbing up steep terrain
- Try to keep your bike at a 30 degree angle (with your back wheel lower than your front) on blind landings
- It’s easy to forget that you also have brakes to your bike, remember to use it when you enter caves as you can often hit your head if going to fast
Moto X Mayhem QR Code
(Click on the images below or scan the barcode with your Android phone to goto Google Play)
Developers: Occamy Games
