Microsoft recently announced a list of original Xbox and Xbox 360 games that are now compatible with Xbox Series X|S, meaning if you have the old physical copies lying in your attic you can enjoy your old games with higher resolution, more FPS and automatic HDR enhancement. In total 76 games have been announced as part of Xbox’s 20th anniversary celebrations, and among those are classics such as the Max Payne franchise, Manhunt and Timesplitters 2. Obviously, we’re focused on the racing titles, so the announcement of MX vs ATV Alive, MX vs ATV Untamed and Ridge Racer 6 caught our attention.
MX vs ATV Alive and Untamed were both Xbox 360 releases, with Untamed arriving in 2007 and Alive in 2011. Interestingly MX vs ATV Reflex was made available for backwards compatibility way back in 2016 and sits between the two previous games in the franchise’s timeline. MX vs ATV is a generally well-regarded off-road series focused on arcade muddy thrills, although in this case both games acheived middling reviews at time of release. However, if you enjoyed them back in the day they’ll still provide a decent hit of nostalgia, as good motocross and quad bike games are hard to come by. So if off-roading is your thing, then these titles will be well worth checking out, and should provide a little teaser before the new entry in the MX vs ATV series arrives sometime soon.
The biggest racing game story to come from the Xbox announcement is the addition of Ridge Racer 6 to the roster of backwards compatible games. Originally released in Europe in 2006 on Xbox 360, Ridge Racer 6 was seen as a pure re-creation of the Ridge Racer arcade game experience, with the emphasis on ridiculously over-the-top drifting action. We reported earlier this year that Ridge Racer developer-publisher Bandai Namco filed a series of patents hinting at the possibility of a new Ridge Racer title, but with no confirmed news you can at least thrash along Harborline 765 in Ridge Racer 6 right now – with improved graphics!
Are you a fan of the MX vs ATV franchise? Are you impressed with the results of the Xbox backwards compatibility on Ridge Racer 6? Let us know in the comments below!
