Moto Racer 4 is the latest game in the Moto Racer series, which has been on hiatus since 2001 when Moto Racer 3 was released. Does Moto Racer 4 do the series justice?

Motocross racing can be one of the most incredible events to watch. Listening to the revving engines, watching the rides blaze by at high speeds, and launching high into the air is enough the easily leave the viewers in awe and excited for more. This may be the case for Motocross racing, but Moto Racer 4 doesn’t give the same level of excitement.

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When you start Moto Racer 4 for the first time, you’ll notice that realism isn’t the game’s goal. If you’ve ever played the motorcycle racing games at the arcades, or the old school N64/PS1 racing games, you’ll feel right at home. Speed boosts are offered at the start of the race for perfectly timing the moving bars, performing wheelies also gives you a speed boost as you attempt to blaze past your competition; or slam your motorcycle sideways to push them off the track! Throughout the races, you can perform tricks in the air that add gain points which can be used to upgrade you rider. These tricks, while intended for the dirt track racing, can be performed on the road races; but aren’t easy to pull off. While these elements are exciting for the first few maps, it sadly goes downhill from there.

The game’s campaign takes players through various courses earning stars to progress to the next event. To earn stars, you must complete various styles of events that you must race opponents in multiple race events, beat the clock, or just simple single races. Before each race, you must select how many stars you think you can earn; 1 = 3^rd place, 2= 2^nd place, and 3 = 1^st place. While this itself may not be a problem, it’s what happens if you don’t reach your goals that you set. The game will start taking away stars from you if you don’t reach your goals! The game makes it even worse with the fact that if you quit, or restart the race, you’ll still lose points; you better go for the win, or you’ll lose stars.

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Moto Racer 4 does little to impress with the game’s lackluster visuals. While certain parts of the game look decent, the overall presentation of the game looks like a last gen game; and a decent one at that. Various elements on the sides of the road can be driven through, while we thought it was for a shortcut it led to us dropping off the map. Other times, we would drive into invisible walls.

Moto Racer 4 provides a decent racing experience that has potential, but is littered with numerous flaws that make the game unenjoyable. While running a race from time to time is enjoyable, after a few races the game becomes stale. Whether the unfair difficulties on the harder difficulties, the game taking stars away from not achieving the place you claimed you’d get, or the bland and lifeless environments make progressing through the game unenjoyable. After almost 16 years since Moto Racer 3, Moto Racer 4 feels like a step back for the Moto Racer series.

THE BREAKDOWN

PRO’S

• Racing elements are fun in moderation, providing elements reminiscent of N64/PS1 style racers.
• In game music adds to the fast-paced intense racing.

CON’S

• Moto Racer 4 looks to punish you every step of the way, instead of rewarding you.
• Visuals look like those found in last gen games.
• Lack of detail in the maps does little to make each map stand out.