Playing MX vs. ATV Reflex over a more focused off-road racer like Pure or Dirt 2 is akin to eating at an all-you-can-eat buffet chain instead of an award-winning local restaurant. Sure, it gives you plenty of options, but with rare exceptions, you’re also getting diminished quality.

It’s not so much that the third core entry in Rainbow Studios’ racing smorgasbord is significantly damaged. It’s more that other recent genre leaders have injected much-needed bursts of style, gloss, and innovation into the mix, while MX vs. ATV still seems as straightforward and familiar as ever. Reflex maintains the series’ primary hook from previous entries, which is the ability to command a variety of distinct off-road vehicles — including MX bikes, ATVs, sport buggies, and trucks — in numerous race, freestyle, and free-ride events. By and large, the game plays solidly across modes and vehicle classes, but not all of the new feature additions count as improvements.

For example, we appreciate the ability to avoid a crash by flicking the right thumbstick after a shaky landing or collision. But using the same stick to shift your body weight on smaller vehicles actually complicates the control scheme to some extent, taking away from the franchise’s trademark “rhythm racing” approach. We eventually got used to it, but the tutorial isn’t nuanced enough to really detail its use, and we still recall several races where we struggled to keep our rider upright or our vehicle facing forward. Likewise, pulling off tricks with movements of the right thumbstick seems like a sound decision, but it’s far too easy to queue up more tricks than you’ll ever have time to land. At least the persistent track deformation is one very cool new touch.

And after getting swept away in Dirt 2’s and Pure’s campaigns, we were pretty underwhelmed by Reflex’s MotoCareer — a no-frills, menu-driven event trek that lacks atmosphere and personality. Add in merely adequate visuals, a repetitive metal soundtrack, and limited vehicle customization, and it’s tough to find anything that really stands out here.

Except for the online, that is. Whether we were playing one of the entertaining mini-games or tooling around in Free Ride with 11 other riders, we really enjoyed the experience and didn’t experience a hint of lag. It may be the only part of MX vs. ATV Reflex that seems more timeless than retread, but it’s just enough to salvage this otherwise unremarkable racer.

On Xbox 360

+ Online play is a lot of fun.

- Control changes are very much a mixed bag.

- Lacks the style and excitement of genre contemporaries.

? Is it time for a complete series reboot?

6.0