Desert Moto Racing is a single-player extreme motocross racing game set specifically in the desert. It features two racing modes that will test your skills with the virtual motorbike.

The Art of Motocross

Motocross racing is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trial competitions held in the United Kingdom. Since then, motocross has also given birth to several various types of bike racing. These types include the Freestyle which concentrates on performing acrobatic stunts while jumping instead of racing and the Supermoto, which is motocross bikes racing on tracks consisting of three sections. There are also the flat dirt, dirt obstacles, and paved road, and the ATV or Quad motocross that uses an all-terrain vehicle instead of a motocross bike. 

Another type of bike racing is the Supercross, wherein the tracks have much shorter straights and tighter turns. There is also the Sidecarcross, wherein the bikes have sidecars and passengers during the races. And finally,  the Mini-motocross that uses pit bikes instead of the larger regular motocross bikes. Whatever the type of competition, though, most of them involve having to race somewhere that’s not paved like with other racing sports. In motocross video games, this still applies, but it’s a bit harder to configure virtual dirt roads to have the same difficulty in real life. That is why motocross racing games will usually vary on how well the gameplay and real-life physics work.

Lacking in Everything

Desert Moto Racing is similar to the free and simple racing games. There is limited gameplay to them and sometimes even a smaller number of game modes to choose from. Unfortunately for this particular title, it goes even further than the norm and offers little in the way of entertainment. From the name itself, you get to ride around in the desert. However, there isn’t much riding you’ll be doing, as even with the racing part itself, the only control you have over your bike is on the accelerator. The view of the game is almost isometric in nature. You can’t change your camera angle, so you’re stuck watching your character race from their left and back side. The tracks are always going straight, and the only challenge in the racing itself is timing your acceleration right when you go up and down the hills and makeshift ramps made of empty shipping containers. The background isn’t much of a looker, along with the overall graphics of the game. It’s inevitable with a free and small-sized game, but you’d think you’d at least get some fun out of the gameplay. Desert Moto Racing offers two game modes, Racing Contest, which lets you compete against the AI to win medals and unlock new tracks and bikes and Ghost Race, which lets you race against your best time. There’s nothing much else after that.

Go Try the Others

Compared to other, more popular titles, Desert Moto Racing is a bit of a disappointment. It doesn’t crash or freeze like some, but the gameplay is so boring that you’ll probably be wishing for any glitches to come. Rather than racing, the game is more of a contest to see how well you can handle that throttle. So, if you don’t want to trouble yourself with manually controlling a bike, this game might be up your alley.