MTB Freeride 2

Riding a bike can be both a relaxing activity and an extreme sport, depending on your preferences. Naturally, there are all sorts of bicycles to choose from, each one of which is designed to deal with a specific type of terrain. Off-road bikes require sturdier components in order to navigate tough environments, while street bikes have a leaner design for extra speed.

MTB Freeride 2 is an interesting simulator that allows you to ride a mountain bike as you try to reach the bottom of a mountain without falling off or hitting various obstacles along the way. It’s easier said than done, on the other hand, because the road is full of rocks, trees, as well as abrupt valleys that force you to try daring stunts in order to remain on the bike.

There are multiple tracks to choose from, and each one of them is fairly challenging. Unfortunately, there’s not much variety in the landscapes, even if the actual tracks are different, because all you see are trees and rocks around you. It’s also a bit too difficult to control the bike, mainly because the input appears to be amplified a bit when it shouldn’t be.

Every now and again you come by specially designed ramps that allow you to cover great distances through the air, at least as long as you manage to land perfectly. It’s actually very difficult to do so, mainly because the controls are annoying and even the slightest mistake in the landing angle causes a crash. Hence, most of the time you might be more inclined to avoid the ramps instead.

Lastly, it’s worth noting that the graphics are fairly impressive, even if the level design is repetitive. The first-person point of view is very engaging, and the bike is quite detailed as well, although it would be nice to have more models to choose from. The actual simulation is a bit of a letdown, mainly because it doesn’t feel at all like your bike is designed to handle such environments.

In spite of its shortcomings, MTB Freeride 2 is still a fairly fun game, especially since there are not many like it out there. However, it still needs more content, a better simulation engine and a lot more refined gameplay mechanics.