Capcom's MotoGP 08 is the only
officially licensed game for the racing series this year. Luckily, it
delivers a solid racing experience with plenty of options and a surprising
amount of depth. Players begin by selecting which racing mode they want to
race. You can start with a Quick Race that allows you to get right on the
track and begin racing immediately. This is good for practicing and
learning track layouts without too much pressure. In these races, you can
set the parameters including engine class, course and rival AI. Almost
everything is available here, but you can't really unlock anything. It's
good for pickup games and allows you to see courses available later on in
the career mode. Once you're over that initial hump, you can choose to
race a full career through multiple seasons. This is where you can create
and race your own unique driver through multiple seasons of racing,
earning extras and unlocking additional items such as bike parts as you go
along. MotoGP also gives you a chance to race against the clock in its
time attack, which allows you to go for the fastest time on a track
without any rivals. MotoGP 08 also lets you race through a complete season
in order in a special Season mode, where the races come in the same
sequence as they will in real life. If you really want to build up your
driving skills, you can play through Moto GP's challenge mode, where you
can race through difficult mini-games in order to unlock additional items.
These basic modes are complimented by an extensive online mode where you
can compete against other players and earn ranks on leaderboards through a
variety of modes.
The
game's basic modes offer pretty much what you'd expect from a racing
title, but when you go under the hood, you'll be able to tweak a number of
other options included your bike's handling and parts, basic design and
controls. This gives you an impressive array of customization options that
can significantly affect your performance and position during a race. Many
of these can be changed in between races in the Career and Season modes,
so you can add parts or change your bike's configuration for each track.
Once you've got all of these adjustments completed, you can then choose
which of the three engine classes to use. These include 125cc, 250cc and
MotoGP classes. There are significant differences between them in terms of
difficulty and complexity, so you can't rush right in. At the slower
speeds, you'll find cornering is much easier with more forgiving controls,
but you still might find yourself sliding off the track from time to time.
It's a little bit difficult at first, but going through the included
tutorial and racing a few laps should make things a bit easier for novice
gamers. Once you get to the more advanced classes, there's much less room
for error, so you'll need to race almost flawlessly if you want any chance
of finishing at the top. This can be frustrating, but our advice is to
start slow and build up your skills before attempting these classes.
MotoGP 08's racing is quite challenging in this aspect, since you need to
anticipate what's coming around the next curve to a much greater degree
than you normally would. It's bike physics demand a different skill set
than most ordinary driving titles, and you need to take into account the
bike's angle and height as well. This makes for a much more challenging
game than you'd expect, but you can mitigate the difficulty to some degree
by setting the opponent AI a bit lower. This makes for a modest
improvement in the outcome of some races, but it can make all the
difference on some courses.
From a visual standpoint, it's easy to
see the quality and effort that's gone into the game. Each course has been
faithfully reproduced this time around and the sense of realism is
astonishing. MotoGP allows players to select from several different camera
angles, ranging from first-person to trailing behind viewpoints. We found
a middle ground in camera placement worked best, since the far angles made
the experience feel disconnected while the close-in angles made it
difficult to see far enough ahead to avoid crashing frequently. The game
moves at a smooth and intense frame rate throughout and its animations and
rendering allows for some quite intense action. It's courses look really
good throughout, with attention paid to trackside objects giving each
track a unique feel. The addition of night racing in this installment adds
a lot of dramatic flair while also giving the game more variety. Animation
of the other vehicles is also impressive, which lends the game more
intensity. While it doesn't push the boundaries of HD visuals, it's still
a solid looking game that delivers some intense racing action. Overall,
this is polished looking title with above-average graphics that brings you
right into the action without becoming overwhelming.
Players
accustomed to the accessible controls of traditional four-wheel racing
titles such as Nascar or Need for Speed will probably find MotoGP 08's
advanced physics and challenging AI daunting. There's definitely a steep
learning curve, which can be frustrating at times, especially early on
when you're learning techniques. Despite the ability to change the
opponent AI, there's still a steep challenge to overcome. Even the arcade
control configuration takes some getting used to, while the more advanced
Simulation controls and physics will challenge the skills of even the best
racing games. Learning when to turn, what angle to use and how long in
advance you need to break takes a lot of practice, it definitely makes for
that rare racing title where the rewards feel earned. MotoGP 08 certainly
isn't one of those games that you can sit down and master immediately.
However, the authenticity and intensity of the racing itself makes for a
strong sense of satisfaction when you finally get the hang of the basics.
It's definitely not aimed at the casual gamer, but for those looking to
put in the effort, MotoGP 08's sense of realism and sophistication is
definitely worth the time.
- Michael Palisano
