And on top of what LennyLen said... even if there are cycling fans on this site (and I am pretty sure there are, Devs are not as unsportive as they are portrayed by society), its like asking "How are XXX computers in general, are they good", where XXX is a minor brand only few have ever heard about. There must be 1000nds of bike brands worldwide, that have produce dozens of bicycle models each over the last 5 years or so.
So even if you find someone on this site that has an ogre bike (and let me tell you, MOST bicycle producers are EXTREMLY local. There are only like 3-4 brands that produce on a global scale), his view is highly subjective (what one cyclist likes is completly repulsive to another one), especially as his model might be completly different from the one you are planning to buy.
Then there are almost no reviews on assembled bikes (for this exact reason)...
Best thing you can do is get the spec sheet of the bike model you are thinking about, find the components used (brakes and so on) and look up the producer of the components. While the frame makes a difference (as in cheap frames might wear worse than better ones), most difference between different bikes come from different components chosen (They are also the parts that break WAY before the frame gives in), which also is there reason why two models of the same brand with about the same feature might wildly differ in price... one uses more expensive components to achieve the same result.
Be aware that, to my knowledge, the most expensive components are more or less a waste of money, unless you are a professional cyclist and will use and "abuse" your bike for hours every day. Then, maybe, the most expensive part will handle wear and tear better than midtier ones.
But don't go for the cheapest components and bikes available. They will not only fail quicker, but most probably will also be inferior to more expensive parts before that (sqeeking and stuff like that)... believe me, I made the mistake once when I was younger... was, to some degree, glad somebody stole my 500 bucks Mountainbike from the Trainstation and I could go back to my old but sturdy City bike I originally wanted to replace... the cheap bike was just shite.
EDIT: on another note, at least here in Switzerland, 1600$ for a bike is not an outrageous price at all. My current City bike would have costed 2200$ new, I got it for about 1100$ as it was last seasons model (never buy the newest models, you can save a lot this way), and then reduced again. This is a rather high price for a city bike, but as my bicycle is my only vehicle (living in a city and having no car), I wanted one with certain specialities.
A cheap brand mountain bike will cost between 1000 and 2000 $ without doubt. Midtier starts at about 2000$. High price ones go up to maybe 8000-10'000$
Now, for the US you can most probably half this prices (yes, living in switzerland is expensive as hell 
), but still, 1600$ is not an outrageous price for an Mountainbike. Just make sure you really get something for the price (by looking up what other brands bikes with similar components cost)
EDIT 2: Yes, If you go offroad a lot, I wouldn't buy an MB without Suspension. My current "Mountainbike" (which is more a very sturdy normal bike with broad tires I inherited from my father) has none, which makes even the trips I take around the woods on the pathways a rather bumpy expierience. I don't care too much, as I know the bike will take it (it is built like a tank), still, sometimes having a suspension would definitely make for a better expirience.
