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Namco Bandai’s bike game races onto the PSP. Although MotoGP is lighter than expected in the content department, Namco Bandai has managed to translate the core gameplay very well.
MotoGP’s two main modes are the arcade and season mode. As expected, the arcade mode is the game’s quick play mode where you can compete against 20 real-world riders in the game’s eight courses. Season mode is actually split into two season modes. One of them tasks you with completing a season with an established pro racer, while the other has you creating a rider and participate in a number of seasons. Each season consists of eight races, and you’ll be awarded points based on how well you do on the races in each season. With the multi-season mode, you are offered contracts and renewals based on how well you do. Doing well in the seasons also lets you sign with a better team.
At its core, though, the racing in MotoGP is very satisfying. The game includes three difficulty settings and the ability to choose between arcade and sim mode. As expected, the game is very forgiving in the easiest difficulty setting—especially if you’re playing in arcade mode—though the difficulty and expected skill increases considerably as you bump up the settings. The game tries to bring in newcomers by letting you turn on brake assist, which automatically slows you down in corners to help you shave off a few seconds off your lap time. The artificial intelligence puts up a fairly good fight, although they still appear somewhat robotic. Even the less performing riders actually race very well they just can’t go quite as fast as the others.
MotoGP includes local multiplayer for up to eight players, provided that everyone has a copy of the game. Multiplayer support isn’t very involved since it only included the expected quick play mode and no tournaments or seasons. There is no online multiplayer in the game.
The game is visually impressive. There is a lot of attention to detail in the tracks, with each one seemingly modeled of their real life counterpart. You won’t find a huge variety of tracks here, though, but it is fine for a rookie entry on the PSP. The motorcycles look equally great, thanks in part to the dynamic camera that makes each race shine. Technically, the game doesn’t take too much of a toll on the PSP hardware as there are minimal framerate drops and the 15-seconds load times are speedy by PSP standards.
The audio portion of the game is just as solid. The soundtrack isn’t particularly impressive as you’ll find the generic electronic tunes in the game. The sound effects are primarily compromised of the bike engine sounds which are all fairly legit.
MotoGP is a bit light on tracks (there are 8 included) and racers (although there are quite a few pro racers in the game), but the core gameplay is solid. If you’ve been looking for motorcycle racing on the PSP, you won’t have to look much farther. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Oct 23, 2006
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