Motocross Maniacs Advance

A hybrid platform/racing title, Motocross Maniacs Advance is the third title in a series that started out on the original Game Boy system. The whimsical plot tells of a food-service robot with grandiose plans of taking over the world. To do so, it requires "racing energy." Lured by the promise of donuts, cookies, cheeseburgers, and cake, six riders from across the globe -- Big Army, Lexie, Pohaku, Roberto, TJ, and Yulia -- have unwittingly entered the event organized by the robotic madman.

Viewed from a scrolling 2D perspective, players must outrace three opponents across obscure landscapes littered with ramps, hills, loop-de-loops, and obstacles. Along the way, players will need to acquire fuel power-ups in order to keep their gas tank topped up (running out of fuel will end the race) as well as nitros to boost their way through the pack and onto higher platforms. Once in the air, players can manipulate the orientation of the rider's bike in order to land correctly. Failing to do so will cause the rider to crash and lose valuable time. A small cache of weapons, including rockets and land mines, can be utilized to gain a leg-up on the competition. In Championship mode, players must advance through three classes, from Novice to Expert; each class is made up of a series of cups and in turn each cup consists of a handful of courses.

Ancillary modes include Attack, Action, and 4-Player Link Battle. Attack is made up of Point and Time attack modes, in which players must perform tricks for points and race against the clock, respectively. The Action mode presents players with three mini-games: the so-called Bomb Tag, Zombie Attack, and Hidden Lab. Bomb Tag is fairly self-explanatory, as players attempt to hand off a bomb to an unsuspecting opponent before it explodes, while Zombie Attack requires players to collide with and destroy as many zombies as possible. The final mini-game, Hidden Lab, charges riders with the task of collecting stars. Offering both single- and multiple-cartridge play, the multiplayer mode supports up to four players simultaneously. ~ Gavin Frankle, All Game Guide