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Racing is an incredibly diverse gaming genre, with more ways to make machines go fast than seems possible. Arcade, sim, street, offroad, drift, tuner, four-wheeler, dirt bikes, go karts, and more all vie for the speed freaks' hard-earned dollar. With Moto GP, Namco takes sport bike racing to the PSP, with all the baggage and technique that a sim racer brings with it.
There's no plot to Moto GP, just a series of races over twisty courses in single race, time trial, two-player head to head, or season mode. All courses are on closed tracks with very little in the way of hills aside from a slight rise or descent now and then. This is racing stripped to its basics, which is corners and how to handle them.
Motorcycles aren't like cars, they don't drift. The only thing a slide means on a sports bike is the taste of asphalt for the rider, rather than a fun way to whip around a corner like in four-wheeled rides. Anyone can hold down the accelerator in a straightaway, and while drafting comes into play, it's more a helping hand than anything else. Nope, the meat of Moto GP is in handling the corners, gauging speed into them and braking appropriately. Holding the optimal line of starting on the outside of the curve, keeping to the inside during the turn, and accelerating as soon as humanly possible to maximize the next straightaway is the only way to overtake anyone. Screw up and it's into the dirt on either side of the track, causing a painful loss of speed until sweet, speedy asphalt is under the tires again. It's a demanding style of racing that, frankly, isn't for everyone.
That's basically the whole game in a nutshell. Learning the ins and outs of each track means figuring out optimal speed for each of the corners, when to brake or coast on through the curve, and then sticking to the plan. The opponent AI is skilled but not aggressive about getting in the way, so winning races is about track mastery. No two ways around it though, seeing first place is a brutally tough challenge.
The real issue here is: "Is it fun?" Moto GP looks great, with lots of racers on screen at once moving at a solid framerate. The challenge is tough but fair, and the gameplay is easily understandable but surprisingly deep. But is it fun? Overall, Moto GP is a very solid package for gamers who dig simulation racers, but for the rest of us, probably not. |
