How many swear words do you know? Think about it for a while, then write them all down in a list. You'll need them for reference purposes you see, because no other form of language will be needed when playing MTX Mototrax. First of all you'll be screaming your lungs raw with them, holding clumps of bloody hair in your fists, then you'll be screaming them with joy. "Well [insert expletive] me, I [insert expletive] did it!" you'll holler.

MTX Mototrax, starring Travis Pastrana (the Tony Hawk of scramblers if you will), is as frustrating as it is likeable. It's a muddy game of timing that requires as much knowledge of keeping rhythm as it does racing. You see, with MTX you're required to jump jumps, and ramp over ramps just as much as you're expected to be strangling the throttle. Badly time a jump and rather than sailing over it, you're likely to ram straight into its side. It's all very well going fast, but if your timing isn't 'sponsored by Accurist', you might just as well sit in the sidelines twiddling your thumbs. You have to pull back on the suspension (easily achieved by clicking back the A button) as you ride up a slope, then release it as you hit the apex. Often you descend into the approach of another jump so you're already popping the suspension again before you've landed. If you can't handle this, then that's it, bye bye. The AI racers hardly ever screw up, and so will overtake given any opportunity.

This means you're often left playing a frantic game of catch-up that can become tediously frustrating. Nail it though, and you're a king, soaring through the sky, and riding the ripples like the boyfriend of a Trisha guest. It's exhilarating, and damn good fun.

Better still, MTX allows both Live play (up to seven players), and fully customisable tracks. With the simple track constructor, you just lay down the course, add the appropriate bumps, then give it a bash. You can even upload it and challenge your mates online. This adds a longevity to the game that puts it a nose ahead of its rivals. The gameplay itself, when stripped down to its essentials, is also that much better. The game looks the business, the bikes themselves handle brilliantly, and there's a beautiful sense of speed that graces even the most muddy sections of each course. In fact, there's little to dislike once you grasp the (nearly) insurmountable challenge of each undulation and hill. Except perhaps the nu-metal soundtrack from the likes of Slipknot that feels like you're having needles driven into your ears.

Turn the music down, pull on one of the many sponsor-splattered helmets, check your emails to see if you're being offered deals and extra cash, then go get the best bike money can buy you. You'll be needing all the help you can get if you're going to tame this beast of a game.

1. Ace sense of speed
2. Very rewarding once mastered
3. Loads of tricks

1. It's hell to get to grips with
2. Too few courses
3. Awful soundtrack

Power
Sixty FPS, no slowdown, detailed courses, and blistering speed. Uses everything the Xbox has.

Style
Doesn't quite capture the sense of mototrax because it all looks too clean, but hell, it's a fine racer.

Immersion
Master those courses and you'll be climbing the career ladder like a window-cleaning spider.

Lifespan
Complete the careers, then there are 150 tricks to learn, clothes to unlock, freestyle journeys to play

Summary
Better than many mototrax games, but one that will take its toll on your patience and better-natured self.