Motorcycle racing is somewhat of a niche market. The MotoGP is the peak of the sport, with 21 riders battling it out for supremacy on ridiculously fast pieces of transport. These guys are insane, make no mistake. As well as having these bikes in the game, MotoGP 4 adds two new bike categories; 125cc and 250cc. These are obviously slower bikes and help you get accustomed to the game faster, due to their forgiving handling in comparison to the death-on-wheels approach of the big machines.
Wheel to wheel - this will end in tears.
These new categories are built into the improved career mode. Like last year, you can still embark on a single season as a MotoGP star, such as Rossi or Biaggi, with the prime goal being to obviously win the championship. But, you can also start from the bottom of the barrel as your own custom rider racing 125cc. From there you can work your way up through the ranks, upgrading your bike as you go before finally making it to the big leagues. This is the biggest addition to the game, and it's definitely a good one.
Also new to the game is the training mode. As you might expect, the mode acts like the license tests from Gran Turismo, taking you through the basics of how exactly you should handle your bike, before moving on to some of the trickier, erm, tricks of the trade. It's certainly worth having for those who want to squeeze every last drop out of their bike, but not of much use to racing game veterans. And... Well, that's about it for big changes. There are your standard new tracks, updated teams, riders and minor tweaks around the place, but they're all mostly insignificant.
The bikes in MotoGP 4 handle quite well. With simulation mode turned off, most people should be able to get into the immediately, thanks to some great pick up and play controls. There is even an option for brake assist, which will help those of us who tend to overshoot braking markers by several hundred metres at times. This will be the mode most people play. But, if you are feeling overly mucho and want to prove just how good you are, you can switch on simulation mode. Here bikes are much more realistic and unforgiving. Touch the grass, your rider will fall. Touch another rider, you will fall. Give it too much gas out of a corner, you will cross up and fall. Lean too far over while cornering and you will fall. On top of this, simulation mode also enables front and rear brakes that are independent of each other, throwing another wrench into the works. Mastering this mode is certainly no cakewalk, taking a tremendous amount of perseverance and skill.
Races are made quite entertaining by the opposition rider AI. While they are still stupid - they have a penchant for turning straight into you at times - they are also very tenacious, particularly those occupying podium positions. On all difficulty levels they will relentlessly attempt to pass you, with positions being exchanged every corner for over a lap at times. Unfortunately, nudges between riders feel and look ridiculous. The only significant flaw of the physics system is evident when this contact occurs. It is like the riders have a big, giant rectangular box over themselves and the bike. When these rectangles hit, your riders simply bounce off each other - even if there was daylight between the two riders. Very, very unconvincing.
You've got to lean into it.
Challenge mode makes a return from last years game, with good results. There are over one hundred challenges to endure, ranging from upheaving other riders in a one lap dash, to undertaking tricky corners as fast as you can. Winning these grabs you more points too, helping you unlock those elusive extras. It helps break up the game nicely, as well as extend the lifespan.
MotoGP 4 is no ugly duckling, with mostly impressive visuals. Bike and rider models are lovingly built and detailed, even if the crash animations for them aren't exactly terrific. Tracks and the surrounding areas are more than acceptable, although some of the textures could be better - but really, when you're whizzing past at 250kmp/h, you won't notice. The new helmet cam is very interesting - but the constant sideways leaning may take its toll on those with a weaker stomach. The crippling problem here is slowdown. It only occurs when a large portion of the field is on screen at once - usually when you start from the back of the grid during a race. But it drops down from the usually silky 60 frames per second with a vengeance, with the race almost turning to slow motion.
Bikes generally don't make the most pleasant of noises, but they have all been replicated here with each machine having a unique engine note. The three classes are all very different - try going from a low powered 125cc electric shaver to a MotoGP beast and you will hear the difference. The Kawasaki even sounds like the most lethal death trap in the world, just like real life. Unfortunately, the music doesn't live up to this. It's entirely completely forgettable generic rock, but you can thankfully turn it off.
Another big addition to the game is LAN player, where up to eight players can duke it out. While nice, it's certainly not the online mode that the game is so desperately crying out for. Even the comparatively ancient MotoGP 2 on Xbox has this feature, so why can't Namco's game? Still, 4-8 players on one console can create some tight racing, assuming everybody is of similar skill. The career mode will also receive at least one or two play throughs thanks to its new structure, so those playing alone are well catered for. Plus, there’s the stack of challenges will also take a good long while to play through. There is plenty here, and mastering the simulation handling will take many hours.
Split screen racing is good, but it's not online as we would have hoped.
But the problem is that we've seen most of it before - numerous times. The game is certainly very good in its own right, though, with some addictive and spectacular racing to be had. The game definitely looks the business when its frame rate isn't busy diving to the ground faster than you can say Paris Hilton, too. If you don't own any of the previous games and you're a MotoGP fan, then this is something you should seriously look into. Everybody else should wait until MotoGP 3 hits the Xbox later this year.
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