MX vs. ATV is an off-road Racing Game series developed by Rainbow Studios, who were known making Motocross Madness back in the late 90s. The series features motocross bikes and all-terrain vehicles racing against one another. The series was published by THQ up until its bankruptcy; today it is published by THQ Nordic. Games in this series are known for their reliable preloading physics (shifting the rider's body on the bike to prepare for jumps and other hazards), extensive use of deformable terrain and... not being completely focused on just those two types of off-road vehicles.
Games in the series include:
- MX vs. ATV Unleashed (2005)
- MX vs. ATV Unleashed: On the Edge (2006)
- MX vs. ATV: Untamed (2007/2008)
- MX vs. ATV Reflex (2009)
- MX vs. ATV Alive (2011)note
- MX vs. ATV Supercross (2014)note
- MX vs. ATV Supercross Encore (2015)note
- MX vs. ATV All Out (2018)
- MX vs. ATV Legends (2022)
Tropes in this series include:
- Border Patrol: Just like what happens in Rainbow's other racing games, maps were usually cordoned off within insurmountable cliff edges... except, for those willing enough to drive up it. If you managed to climb up and ride more than a few feet into the vast flat wastelands outside the cliff, you would get blasted away by an invisible cannon, and then comically plummet back to the stage, Bomb Whistle and all. This only occurs in Unleashed and not any other games.
- Canon Welding / Crossover: This series is a clash among vehicles from Sony's four-game ATV Offroad Fury series (2001–2006) and THQ's MX trilogy. Rainbow Studios, being the developer of THQ's third MX game, MX Unleashed and the first two ATV Offroad Fury games, made the genius decision to mash them together for this series.
- Cool Bike: As expected for a game series that focuses on off-road motorcycles among other vehicles.
- Cool vs. Awesome: The series' title. Motocross bikes? Cool. All-terrain vehicles? Awesome.
- Defeat Means Playable: In at least the Wii and PS2 versions of Untamed, you can unlock pro racers by challenging each of them to a one-on-one race with the same vehicle they use and beating them.
- Multi-Platform: Every game in the series is available on non-Nintendo consoles of the day, with Untamed, Reflex and All Out available on at least one Nintendo system.
- Mythology Gag: Just like in Rainbow's other games, you'll be launched across the map if you go out of bounds in Unleashed.
- Ominous Latin Chanting: Used in a trailer for Untamed that eventually became the game's intro.
- Press X to Not Die: In Reflex, if you take a spill, there may be a chance that you can escape a potential wipeout with a quick-time event.
- Sex Sells: Untamed and Reflex infamously had a couple trailers where two women got a little "friendly" with each other (though cutting away right before they kissed). Goes without saying that said women don't appear anywhere in the actual games, nor does any sexual content.
- What the Hell, Player?: Just try to go out of bounds in Unleashed, we dare you! Do this and you'll get sent flying across the map once you get too close to the map's edge, complete with cannon noise!
- Wide-Open Sandbox: Close. Free Ride is a separate mode in the series that allows players to roam around open environments to do challenges, find collectibles, or just kick some dirt up around the place.
