MOTORM4X is an off-road racing game which emphasizes the driving aspect in the detriment of full speed races so common these days. It's all about the control of your vehicle on high-difficulty off-road surfaces. At the moment the game features three environmental areas: Alpine (alpine pastures and green forests), Arctic Circle (snow and ice), and Canyon (rocky surface with sand banks).
In the demo tested here we were able to drive only on the so-called Canyon (at least this is how we called it) area full of rocks and red sand. Although the game uses two high-tech graphics engines (Vampire Graphics Engine and Ogre Engine), we weren't extremely hypnotized by the graphics of this area. Probably it's simplicity is the case, but as we saw in the official InGame videos, the other areas look much better. Using the SPEEDTREE license, areas like Alpine and Arctic Circle feature hundreds of different trees which can increase the complexity but also the beauty of the area. Anyway, the core of this game is not the graphics, but races and the handling of the car. Physics are amazing being based on the ODE (Open Dynamics Engine), an engine that can simulate rigid body dynamics. The engine is an open source project and has been used by many developers already. ODE is useful in simulating vehicles, objects in virtual reality environments and virtual creatures.
Two cars are at your disposal in this demo which can be purchased in the garage section area. The cars can upgraded, from engine to the body outfit. The upgrade system is not very sophisticated, but every change of the car can be easily remarked while driving it.
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An interesting original addition are the gas canisters and the bull-bars. While driving in free mode or in a race, the car consumes gas. By buying canisters, you can refuel while in the race (of course, by losing some time). Bull-bars have a good effect in protecting the body of the car and in reducing the repair costs. Yes, there is a damage system implemented in this game. Not very fancy from the visual point of view, it can radically change the handling of the car, and even totaled it if you don't pay attention to the outside temperatures. Ok, hold on! There a lot of new things here. So let's clarify the last feature.
The game features weather changes which automatically changes the outside temperature. You can monitor this on the left corner of your screen. High or extremely low temperatures can cause the engine to overheat extremely fast, so the only thing is to pay attention not to force the engine too much especially in Drag Racing events and in Offroad Formula events.
In a big environment you need something to guide you to the racing events. That's why the game comes with a Navigation System and a virtual map that can help find the best route to the next event or back to the garage. If you don't want to lose time by driving from one point to another, you can use the ability to jump directly to the event if you have previosly visited it. As a bonus, the developers introduced also a freview. By pushing the default 'E' button, you can exit the car in first person. In this way you can analyze the technical situation of your car, or even the surface you will drive on.
The demo gives you the chance to try out all the major racing events such:
MOTORM4X is a game that offers a realistic experience despite its not so fancy graphics. I hope in the full version those three areas are enough to satisfy our thirst of climbing rocks and hills. Anyway it will be a unique game with a big emphasize on free roaming and non-linear tree career. Off-road racing is back!