Moto GP 2

Pulling a wheelie at the start of the race

For the uninitiated, Moto GP 2 is the follow-up to the hugely successful Moto GP from THQ. Set around the high-speed world of the motorbike grand prix the game offered high-speed action and impressive graphics with realistic control of the bikes and accurate physics. Moto GP set the bike-racing world alight and, with a 16-player network mode, it kept the world’s attention. When Xbox Live launched, the original Moto GP was supped up to support it and was one of the demos included with the sign-up package. The second game in the series is built from the ground up with Live support in mind and so promises a more integrated experience.

Modal Gaming

A harsh judgement from a computer game

The game offers several modes of play for both single and multiplayer. The multiplayer options include a split screen mode, network play and, of course, Xbox Live. The single player mode hasn’t been forgotten about, however, providing you with stunt mode, time trial and career mode. Time trial mode is, as you would expect, a chance to practice on each of the tracks trying to better your time. As your times improve you get rewarded with variations on the tracks such as mirror, reverse and mirror reverse.

Stunt mode is a race around each course where you try to perform stunts to rack up points – think Kudos in Project Gotham Racing. Stunts that can be performed include power slides, wheelies, endos and knocking people off their bikes. As your scores improve you unlock additional riders for use in the single and multi-player games. In the career mode you create a rider from scratch and improve their stats as the season wears on. Rewards in this mode center around highlights videos of real races on the tracks completed.

Careering around the track

Everyone goes flying

The career mode is where the bulk of the single player game lies. It offers a great ability to create a racer customized to your riding style, allowing you to allocate points to performance categories – top speed, acceleration, cornering and braking. You move through the championship season gradually improving your rider ready for the next race and then the next season. Arrows appear on screen to indicate the upcoming corners and these turn red to warn you if you’re going too fast to make the corner on your current line.

On each track you are presented with a series of challenges. These are based around sections of the track in question and force you to learn the best racing line and braking points for the more difficult parts of the course. If you complete the challenge then you gain an experience point. This can be useful to do before each race as it helps you to learn the track and boosts your stats ready for the race. The challenges range from simple to frustratingly difficult and it is the latter type that really help to improve your biking technique and knowledge of the course. A series of general challenges are also available to your rider in exchange for experience points. These are based around perfecting the stunts in the game as well as mastering cornering with 360 degree and 180 degree turns as well as slaloms.

Dressed to impress

Leaving my mark on the track

This game smacks of quality from the first time you sit down to play it. The graphics are quite superb with no draw-distance fogging and the bikes are excellently animated. The replays are immensely watch-able thanks to the quality graphics and TV style presentation. Fans of Moto GP will be able to recognize the famous riders and for everyone else, their names are displayed above the racers. There was a time, when 3D racers first appeared with Sega’s Virtua Racing, that people marveled at the ferris wheel in the background that actually turned. These days we expect more from the trackside scenery and Moto GP 2 doesn’t disappoint.

Besides modeling the riders to a high level of detail, the track and its surroundings are also well detailed. The tracks are modeled on the real-life counterparts and so look out for the appropriate trees, fly-overs, and even a ferris wheel I spotted in the distance on one track. Tire marks are remembered by the track for the duration of the race and in challenges until you quit to the menu screen. This includes cutting up of the verge as well as skid marks on the track itself.

The devil's in the detail

The pit girls are on hand to keep you cool before each championship race

The attention to detail in the presentation of this game really improves the feeling of speed and overall enjoyment of the game. The TV style presentation is extended to the introduction of races in the championship mode with each course introduced with a history of the track and country. However, the attention to detail doesn’t stop with the graphics. The sound is also really well put together. The bikes have a suitably thunderous tone and the squeal of slipping wheels sounds realistic.

The surround mix is engaging with the sound of rival bikes being correctly positioned in the soundscape. As you pass spectator stands the roar of the crowd goes past on screen as it goes past on your speakers. Make sure you have a sound system capable of reproducing those bike sounds to get the best experience from this game. Those who use manual gears may find that the engine sounds aren’t sufficiently detailed, since it can be difficult to hear the engine revs clearly enough to know when to shift or if you use the gears to engine break on the bigger bikes.

Biking without (handle)barriers

Fighting for position in the poor visibility of heavy rain

The developers at Climax studios have tried to recreate the controls of a motorbike as best they can with the Xbox controller. The right trigger manages the front brake whilst the left trigger, the rear brake. Acceleration is handled either by the right thumbstick or the A button. The thumbstick gives a finer degree of control over acceleration but I find it more convenient to use a button. The left thumbstick or D-pad is used to control left/right movement as well as rider position.

The controls have a realistic effect on the bike. For instance, holding the front brake and accelerating causes the back wheel to spin furiously. Throwing the rider forwards whilst holding the front brake moves the bike into an endo, a wheelie on the front wheel, and so on. Bikers will feel immediately comfortable with this layout but for everyone else it does take a short while to get the hang of.

Going Live on two wheels

Breaking for a turn as the rivals inch closer

As I mentioned earlier this game is built with support for Xbox Live from the ground up. This not only allows you to race against others over the Internet but you can compare your best lap times and stunt scores against an online leaderboard. This lets you see how you compare to the best in the world before you challenge them to a race! The online racing is integrated so you simply select Xbox Live from the multiplayer menu and the game silently connects and takes you to your options. You can go straight into the next available game, challenge your friends or search for a race meeting your criteria including language, skill level and whether the voice chat is enabled.

The voice chat seems a bit flaky at times although this is more a problem with not being able to find games hosted in this country than a problem with the software. Over the next few months you should start to see more UK gamers and so be able to find more low ping games to play. For the mean time expect to hear a lot of yanks and a few Frenchmen. Multi-national multi player gaming does add a new dimension to the game, though. Rather than being forced to race against the computer or against the same mates all the time you can take your skills out into the world and prove just how good you are.

The great thing here is the range of ability. If you’re no Rossi you can’t expect to be at the front all the time but you’ll find you get engrossed in your little competition for 7th place or fighting not to come last. That said, if you’ve had the good fortune to race me you should know that I prefer racing at the back of the pack so that I don’t get lost, its not because I’m rubbish, honest!

Will it please fans of the first game?

In the end it comes down to who can break hardest

If you played and enjoyed the first Moto GP then this will not disappoint. Its got more game modes and more Live action, and the graphics and sound have both been tweaked and it’s a stronger game for it. If you didn’t play the first game then give this one a try. If you aren’t generally into bike racers then the quality that this game oozes might be enough to sway you if you can get the hang of controlling the bike. If you’re in the final category of people who didn’t like the original then don’t bother with this one. It’s more of the same, better, but still very much a sequel rather than a new game. It builds on the success of the first game improving what people liked, removing the bad bits and adding on new features.