At a recent Activision press event, MTX Mototrax was in the spotlight as the local press gathered for free beers and good old-fashioned motocross racing fun (kids, don't try this at home).

We were excited to check out what Activision is touting as "the most comprehensive motocross game to date". Basically, it's three games in one: Racing, Freestyle and Free Ride.

Associate producer Kragen Lum feels this gives the player a more complete, realistic experience. "The Racing mode gives players the fast-paced, competitive action that fans of racing games are looking for; with multiple race series, plus the ability to gain sponsorships and upgrade their bikes and gear. The Freestyle mode gives fans of trick based games what they like most with great trick controls and animations. The Free Ride mode will please those players who like to explore, interact with other characters and complete objectives within massive, open environments."

Kragen continued by saying, "All of these fully developed game modes are built into the MTX Career mode in a way that allows the player to choose what events they want to do at any given time and gives the player the ultimate motocross experience."

MTX Mototrax is also the first game in the motocross genre to enable online play. MTX: Mototrax is online for PS2 (up to 4 players) and Xbox Live (up to 8 players). Online gameplay is full screen, with high-speed racing action at 60 frames per second, definitely making this game absorbing for us. If you have been spending your nights racing your friends in Project Gotham Racing 2, imagine how much fun you'd have taking your pals on custom-created tracks. Supposedly you can even trade these tracks with other players, but we did not see that with our time on the game.

What if you are new to online games? Kragen lends some advice. "Playing online is fun, and setup is easy. MTX has great, fast-paced racing online, as well as Freestyle Battle and King of the Hill games. Get a Sony Network Adaptor or Xbox Live Kit and a copy of MTX: Mototrax and start playing."

Even we could'nt resist the temptation to see who was "king of the motorcross mountain." Activision set up a racing competition for all the guests. While I have to admit I am the worst driver you will ever meet, one of our guys came in 4th place. True talent.

MTX: Mototrax will be available on the Xbox and PS2 in March 2004.