''Motocross Madness'' is a

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

racing video game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic rac ...

developed by

Rainbow Studios Rainbow Studios is an American video game developer based in Phoenix, Arizona, best known for developing offroad racing games, such as '' Motocross Madness'' and the ''MX vs. ATV'' series. It was established by Earl Jarred in 1986 under the nam ...

and published by

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

. A sequel, ''

Motocross Madness 2 ''Motocross Madness 2'' is a motocross racing video game that was developed by Rainbow Studios and published by Microsoft Studios, Microsoft Games. This sequel to 1998's ''Motocross Madness (1998 video game), Motocross Madness'' was released in M ...

'', was released in 2000. In 2013, a sequel for

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...

was released, titled '' Motocross Madness''. In the game, one can earn money by utilizing "career mode", but play for fun in Baja, Stunts, Enduro, Supercross, and National levels as well.

Gameplay

The game is known for its realism, including terrain, audio, and "bone-chilling" motorcycle wrecks. If the player is in Stunt mode and goes out of bounds after climbing a large cliff, an "invisible slingshot" will cause the player and the bike fly across the map while a funny sound plays until both objects hit the ground. The "invisible slingshot" effect was also used in the game ''

ATV Offroad Fury ''ATV Offroad Fury'' is a 2001 racing video game developed by Rainbow Studios and published by Sony Computer Entertainment exclusively for the PlayStation 2 in North America and Europe. A sequel, ''ATV Offroad Fury 2'', was released in 2002. Ga ...

'', also created by Rainbow Studios.

Development

The game went gold on July 24, 1998.

Reception

The game received favorable reviews according to the

review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...

Sales

The game sold 35,922 units during 1998. These sales accounted for $1.54 million in revenue that year.

Awards

The game won ''

Computer Games Strategy Plus ''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 1 ...

'' 1998 "Racing Game of the Year" award. The staff hailed it as "perhaps the best motorcycle racing game of all time." ''

PC Gamer US ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...

'' also named it the best racing game of 1998. The game was a finalist for the

Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is a non-profit organization of video game industry professionals. It organizes the annual Design Innovate Communicate Entertain summit, better known as D.I.C.E., which includes the presentation ...

' 1998 "Sports Game of the Year" and "Outstanding Achievement in Software Engineering" awards, both of which went to '' FIFA 99'' and ''

Metal Gear Solid is a series of techno-thriller stealth games created by Hideo Kojima. Developed and published by Konami, the first game, ''Metal Gear'', was released in 1987 for MSX home computers. The player often takes control of a special forces operat ...

'', respectively; and for ''

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

''s 1998 "Driving Game of the Year" award, which ultimately went to '' Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit''.

References

External links

* {{Rainbow Studios 1998 video games Extreme sports video games Microsoft games Microsoft franchises Motorcycle video games Multiplayer and single-player video games Off-road racing video games Racing video games Video games developed in the United States Windows games Windows-only games Rainbow Studios games