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Moto GP 2

Score: 7.9/10

Sometimes there comes a game that does a lot of things really well, but the flaws it suffers from are so overwhelming that the enjoyment one could have had is greatly inhibited.  Such is the case with Namco’s motorcycle racer, Moto GP 2.  On the one hand, it has very nice graphics with plenty of detail, very smooth animation, and excellent real-life tracks, but what ultimately hurts the experience is the game’s inability to adequately provide a decent sense of speed.  While this may be fine and dandy in a speed walking simulator, it just drains so much of the fun out of the races in this title.  While it doesn’t result in utterly destroying the game, it definitely makes the title something that is by no means for everyone.  Though the fast-paced arcade action is absent; there is still lots of challenge and technical, quasi-sim-oriented racing to be had.  

So we know that Moto GP 2 is sorely lacking in giving a good sense of speed, but the disappointment that comes from it is quite something.  It’s one of those games where you’ll be tearing down a lengthy straightaway and look down at the speedometer for a moment to see, low and behold, that you’re going at a good 100mph, but it feels more like 30mph.  Regardless of whether the game is a “pedal to the metal”, “to hell with physics” arcade racer or an ultra technical racing sim, providing a solid sense of speed is the most important element of a racing title.  It’s where most of the fun comes from and the entire point of racing, providing the rush of flying through a course, pushing your vehicle to the absolute limit.  This sensation just isn’t present in Moto GP 2.  Making the problem all the more peculiar is that the sense of speed doesn’t improve in first person mode, unlike a lot of other racing titles where this closer to the ground perspective often increases it.

 

- Playstation 2 Game Reviews - Racing Game Reviews - Reviews of Games Developed/Published by Namco

Despite this horrific slowness, the visuals look pretty good.  The models for the bikes and the riders are really quite detailed, as is the nearby scenery.  Further out into the distance there are nice mountain ranges, wispy clouds, and so forth to soak in, looking really quite striking.  The animation stays very solid throughout the races without showing any sign of slowdown or choppiness, even if you somehow get stuck in a pack of 5 or 6 opponents.  When racing on rainy courses the level of blurring and reduced vision is very convincing, 

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as is the murky look of the soggy track and the subsequent spray off of the bikes’ tires as they zip along.  There are only two perspectives available in the game to see from while racing, an over the shoulder view, and a first person view.  The over the shoulder one is the standard perspective we see in every racing game, but the first person view takes a little getting used to as the bikes handle a lot harsher on turns and as a result so does the camera.  Even after getting used to the controls and mastering nice smooth corners the camera feels a lot more abrupt in first person than in the third person view.

Unfortunately the audio doesn’t match the video in terms of quality.  While the sound effects are more than serviceable with the expected assortment of engine and exhaust sounds, and the game does a good job with the positional sound, allowing players to aurally detect nearby opponents with reasonable precision, MotoGP 2’s soundtrack leaves much to be desired.  The tunes just feel flat.  They’re all electronic music, but there isn’t any life or soul to them to help the music establish itself, they just don’t bring any excitement to the races.

But stepping away from the aesthetics, and back towards the gameplay, there are some aspects of the game that are very well done.  Firstly there’s the track design.  Incorporating actual real life courses into the game, there is a lot more challenge in navigating the well laid out chicanes and hairpins present in Moto GP 2 than in other racing titles.  If you’ve played Le Mans 24 Hours a good number of these tracks will be instantly recognizable as you tear down the Suzuka, Donington, and the Le Mans Circuit itself.  At the same time there are plenty of other very nice courses available, such as the Sachsenring Circuit in Germany and the Assen Circuit of the Netherlands.  Regardless of the track you choose, the overall design of each of them is such that players really need to know their stuff.  Learning the courses and where and when to apply the brakes and hit the gas is very important here, like any racing game.  What is nice is that in some ways there is a bit more freedom to be had, as the bikes are a lot smaller and lighter than a car, and handle as such, so you can take a chance, push your luck, and brake a little late on the turns to swoop by an opponent a little easier.   While you can just as well do this with a car, there's just a more risky sensation that comes with doing this on a bike.

Be careful though, because the computer controlled opponents on the track are actually quite bright compared to a lot of the games out there.  Even on easy mode the other bikers were surprisingly smart, but kick the difficulty up to normal or hard and you have a real battle on your hands to come in first.  On both these higher levels of difficulty it’s still relatively easy to get past a lot of the cars, but what’s interesting is that instead of only really battling the leader in the race for first pace, something all too often seen in other racers, in Moto GP 2 all of the bikers from 7th place on up are very tough.  Just to get into the top three is a real challenge, but the battle for first is often a very close, heated three-racer face off where the lot of you will exchange spots on several occasions.  These computer-controlled racers don’t mess up often so you really need to be on your game to keep up with them.  Even nudging them doesn’t faze them much, and they’re more than happy to nudge you and ruin your rhythm (which can be especially annoying in the rain).  If you’re itching for an even greater challenge there is also the option of switching the game’s simulation mode on and off.  Essentially what this does is allow players to toggle between some of the leniencies that the game allows.  With the mode off the game is a gentler in collisions, as riders don’t fall off their bikes and the cornering is a lot more forgiving.  With this mode turned on though, lookout, things are going to get real hard real fast as the bike acts pretty much exactly as it should in real life so knowing the bike becomes a lot more important.  With the lack of speed sensation, this tense level of competition does go a ways to redeem the title.

Fighting for first is at least kind to players in terms of the game's controls.  The handling of the bikes is just as one would expect as they prove very agile, though those used to games where you race cars and other more cumbersome vehicles may need to take some time to get used to the difference in handling.  The analogue controls really come in handy as the stick allows for subtle turns for threading the needle through a pack.  Ditto for the acceleration which proves very helpful when easing out of the turns. All of this proves even more important when racing on a wet track as it isn't hard to go off the course in rainy weather, so having a firm grasp of the analogue controls is very helpful considering how realistically the wet ground inhibits the bies' performance.

All of this racing takes place in the usual mix of modes, with Arcade and Season likely getting the most mileage out of the majority of players.  In this game there isn’t a huge difference between the two modes, the challenge is the same, as are the courses and selectable bikes.  Essentially arcade mode provides a quick race when you don’t have a lot of time to play a full season.  There are also time trials for practicing the tracks and a challenge mode where you can do specified tasks and try to unlock secrets in the game like new bikes, popular riders, and the legends mode where you can face of against some of the best racers ever.  Each mode has its own charm and provides enough variety to keep players occupied.

What we have here is a good racing game that could have been a great racing game.  It has tense, challenging races with bright AI and high caliber track design, but the sense of speed just isn’t there, and with it gone so is most of the fun.  If you can look past this you’ll still find a very satisfying racer in Moto GP2, but if you can’t then you might want to look somewhere else for a new racing game.

- Mr. Nash

(February 26, 2002)

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