Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128164
TekBolt MX--..J3 Dirt Bike Bolt KI t Spy Dynasty $So-1= $4S.95 Spy Optics 1260 Avenida Chelsea Vista, CA 920S3 TekBolt 1 307 South Riverdele Drive Appleton. WI 5491 4 SOD/SPY-EYES Soo/425-o378 \fV\N\N.spyeyes.carn VI/VVW.tekbolt.carn Bolt-Ons The MX-J3 bolt kit is made specifically for late-model Japanese dirt bikes. It features exact factory sizes, including hard-to-find hex flange bolts with 8mm heads, and has highstrength, heat-treated steel fasteners for about a fourth of the cost of their factory counterparts, according to TekBol!. The kit is made up of 170 pieces, and they all come sorted and labeled in a polymer case that will fit in many toolboxes. THQ's MX Superfly featuring Ricky Carmichael for PlayStatlon 2 Glamorous Glasses Spy's new Dynasty sunglass is its newest addition to its girl-specific line and features "all the drama of an '80s prime-time soap opera with a fresh, urban twist." The Dynasty comes in a wide variety of colors and lens types, and Spy claims the Dynasty is a must-have for a girl's summer wardrobe. Product Evaluation $49.99 See your local electronics/video Keep It Corning game retailer. One of the two newest additions to the renewed genre of motocross video games is THQ's MX Superfly featuring Ricky Carmichael. I'm a self-proclaimed video-game nerd - I playa lot of them - but I'm most fond of motocross games because wvvw.thq.com that's my background. There have been a lot of motocross-hased games, starting with Excitebike in the '80s, but with the technology available today, and the power of modern gaming systems, the games have continued ro strive for new heights - and have found a whole new level of popularity. MX Superfly, the sequel to last year's MX20Q2, is no exception. First off, gameplay is reaily, really good on Superfly. You have the options of two different career modes - Freestyle Career and Motocross Career - and you are given an opportunity to advance after proving yourself in the lower ranks just as in real life. Once you get to the 125cc Professional motocross ranks, you face such chailengers as Chad Reed, James Stewart, Danny Smith, etc., as you ride your choice of Yamaha YZs, Husqvarna CRs, or an RM125, a CR125, a KTM 125 SX or a generic Kawasaki lookailke. Once you ge( good enough to put a hurt on your 125cc competitors, you move up to the 250cc ranks, where, at least in my experience, Ricky Carmichael still doesn't appear. You do, however, have to fight off riders such as Mike LaRocco, Kevin Windham, Ezra Lusk and more aboard your choice of Yamaha YZs, Honda CRs, KTM SXs, Husqvarna CRs, an RM250, or the generic green machine. The 250cc season ends with a race at the U.S. Open (sponsored in real life by THQ, not coincidentaily). The Freestyle Career runs in much the same fashion and features some of the biggest names in that genre. One of the things that initiaily seemed ridiculous about the freestyle option is the ahility to pull backflips at will. I just wrote this off as an extreme that's common in today's video-game market but, with the recent riders all currently attempting and pulling off the feat, it doesn't seem so far-fetched anymore. You can, however, also pull 360s, 180s to fakie, forward flips (cailed Suicide Flips), and any other trick and combination you can imagine. Cameron Steele and Davey Coombs serve as commentators in the game, which adds to the realism, and it really seems as though THQ did their homework with this one. There are improvements still to be made, for sure, but this game is definitely one of the best ever anyway. It features a clutch button, a preload button, and all the modern motorcycles (excluding Kawasaki, and one could speculate why), including ail the popular four:stroke machines, and all of this adds to the realism of the game. But the game is still outlandish enough to keep it interesting - jumping over bulldings and buses is commonplace in many of the freeride realms, for example. The game also features a first-ever freestyle track editor, which ailows you to design your own freestyle courses. Overall, it is among the best MX games ever offered, in my opinion maybe second only to Motocross Madness 2 for PG and 989 Sports Supercross for the original PlayStation, but it is by far the best I've played for today's high-powered console systems. Steve Cox 96 JULY 24,2002 • cue I • n __ •