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I've spent many a virtual day behind the wheel of the most powerful motorcycles in the world. While I wouldn't consider myself a real racing aficionado – I know some of those people, and I'm definitely not one of them – I do know a good racer when I see one. A couple of years ago I got sucked into the awesomeness of MotoGP '06 on the Xbox 360, which took over a few months of my life. So it was with no small amount of trepidation that I fired up MotoGP 07 on the PS2. After all, could it possibly hold a candle to its next-generation cousin? Would the development team even put in anything resembling a full-fledged effort in making the game solid?
Luckily, it was immediately clear that my fears could be put to rest. MotoGP 07 is a worthy effort in its own right, sporting plenty of depth. When you combine that with surprisingly good graphics, superbly integrated controls, and an impressive roster of tracks and machines, the ultimate result is a top-flight racer that has something for just about everyone.
...it is a refreshing reminder that the PS2 can still serve up some graphical horsepower when developers commit to it.
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Well, almost everyone. Let it be said that MotoGP '07 is not a jump-right-in-and-play kind of a game. Even on the easiest settings, the learning curve is substantial, but this should come as no surprise to anyone who's spent time with motorcycle racing sims. While it may not be take the simulator aspect to the nth degree a la Tourist Trophy, this is no arcade racer. You'll need to learn the nuances of the tracks, discover the proper racing lines, and master decelerating into turns and exploding out of them. The physics of the real world do apply, as your rider will painfully discover when they wreck after coming out of a curve too quickly.
There's plenty of opportunity to learn on the job though. Setting up in Easy mode and putting the bike on arcade-level settings, which turn on a lot of the assists so you can concentrate on learning to steer, accelerate, and decelerate, makes it possible to compete with racers on the World Tour mode without too much practice. That won't help you get top times or qualify near the top of the board, but you'll be able to finish in the top five of most races right off the bat, provided you don't wipe out more than once. While you may shudder in horror at using a setting termed "Easy," it's all relative. Learning to play MotoGP '07 on any other setting will be an exercise in agony.
After a championship season or two, you'll be ready to step up the difficulty, at which point you'll almost be back to square one. Therein lies some of the hidden beauty of Moto, as even a single bump up in the difficulty settings changes just about everything. Familiar tracks become strange again, as you'll need to learn all over again how to handle corners, brakes, and acceleration. You won't be able to mix it up in the midst of a dozen racers either, as it become much more important to handle yourself with care when you're inches away from the other riders. Ultimately, if you're patient and methodical, you'll be shattering records and dominating the world, but it certainly won't happen overnight.
Controls and difficulty aside, I couldn't help but be terribly impressed with the beautiful visuals. I've been spoiled rotten by the next-generation systems, so whenever I venture back into the world of the PS2, I'm used to accepting something less than pleasing to the eye. While it's no shock, it is a refreshing reminder that the PS2 can still serve up some graphical horsepower when developers commit to it. The motorcycles look terrific, the asphalt tracks glisten, and the heat shimmers above the riders as they tear across the twisting, weaving courses. There's also barely a framerate hitch no matter how many cyclists are crowding the screen or careening across your path. There's no doubt that MotoGP 07 is one of the finest-looking racers to ever grace the PS2.
About the only things missing from MotoGP 07 are a good training mode and the chance to play online. There is a tutorial of sorts, but it doesn't offer up much in the way of teaching tools, nor does it train you how to best play the game. I would have loved some small tests that taught me the right way to approach turns or determine the right racing lines without having to do it out on the course on race day. It's also more than a little disappointing that online multiplayer isn't an option, as MotoGP 07 is the perfect title for frenetic human-versus-human competition.
I've been a sucker for the pulse-pounding excitement of the MotoGP race days for a few years now, and couldn't be happier with how MotoGP 07 turned out. The races remain spectacularly tense exercises in strategic and technical coordination at 200 MPH, played out in exotic locations around the world on real-life motorcycles with real-world professional riders. Provided you've got a penchant for speed, the will to learn, and a patient mindset, MotoGP 07 offers up just about everything you're looking for.
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