|
The changes made to season mode, though seemingly minor, are sure to please the MotoGP faithful, and I'm sure purists will appreciate the strict attention to realism. Climax's star racing franchise has always been of the highest quality, and even the slightest of fans will find himself working each track for the pleasure of adding points to his bike. The new option to play career mode online is great, and while the emphasis on simulation this time around may be a bit too much for the casual racer, diehard racing fans will find themselves in two-wheeled heaven.
Not enough for you? Try this on for size. Climax has included the wonderful new extreme mode, which is sure to give you a 60 frames per second adrenaline rush. Another sixteen tracks, all fictional, bring a certain Need for Speed Underground-like feel to the game, which is precisely the shot in the arm the franchise required. Make no mistake, this is where you'll be spending the bulk of your game time. Up to sixteen people can race together in either season mode, but the sheer fun derived from blasting through city streets at night puts the latter option ahead.
Sixteen seems to be the magic number in MotoGP 3, as it's also marks the amount of new bikes available in extreme mode. Race any of three different classes: 600, 1000, or 1200 – all fictional, of course. Career mode allows for customization here too, which is always an incentive to keep racing. Hey, I can't beat you with a stock bike, now can I? Eh, who am I kidding? They all wreck the same to me.
Only ten people can race online across such beautiful backdrops like Barcelona or Tokyo in the new mode, but that's still more than enough to keep things interesting. The races are fully customizable as well, and you can adjust their conditions, such as the amount of laps and the weather.
If I have one problem with Climax's little gem, it has to be the superhuman A.I. I'm not talking about how well they take each turn either. I'm referring to the fact that they are practically impossible to knock over. The mass destruction I described earlier was a fluke, the product of my excessive speed and late turning just as the lead bunch was taking the turn together. Right place at the right time, I guess. In most other cases, the only one eating asphalt would have been me (unless I was to be hit by another racer while crossing the track. Nasty stuff, to be sure). It can be downright frustrating sometimes to graze another racer ever so softly, as though with the gentle touch of a nurturing mother, only to end up wiping out while they continue on as though you were never even there.
Since I spent most of my time playing online, I've grown used to human opponents. The online component is central to the single-player game this time around and trust me; this is the type of game that demands to be played on Live. Work on your skills and track memorization offline, then connect and see your friends driven before you. It's oh-so-satisfying. MotoGP 3 impressed me, a lot, which is a nice thing for the third release in a franchise to do. Climax is on a roll, and I can only count the days until the series makes the jump to the Xbox 360. Until then, the streets of Tokyo are mine.
|
