MOTOGP 2: Racing Technology

 Brief Overview

Genre: Racing

ESRB Rating:
"Moto GP 2" is rated Everyone, for Suitable for Persons Ages Six and Older

Moto GP 2 Special Features:

• Fully licensed professional riders, tracks, and bikes
• 6 different single player game modes: Stunt, GP, time trial, training challenges, tag and single race
• 20 riders compete in each of the 16 tracks
• Impressive visual and particle effects system at 60 frames per second
• Ultra realistic replay mode, from a variety of dynamic camera viewpoints
• Unlock tracks, riders, bikes, and cheats as you develop your own rider’s attributes in GP and training modes.

Credits:
• Developer: Climax Group
• Publisher: THQ, Inc.

The game was created in 2003,  so you have the old bikes and riders to race against. Rossi, Capirossi, Barros, Nakano, Gibernau and Biaggi are names you’re probably all aware of, but you also have Kato, Ukawa, Kenny Roberts Senior, Aoki and Vandergoorbergh. For all of you who remember the 2002 season it’ll be a blast from the past.

How else are you going to be able to skim by the rear wheel of Rossi? Beat Sete Gibernau off the mark? Or be less than 0.02sec in front going into the last lap? Well, this game has tried and, in fairness, succeeded quite well. Given the fact it was made in 2003, and without much in the way of Motorbike games to fall back on, THQ and Climax have done a decent job.

So, to the game. It’s easier to just to talk you through my experiences with it, rather than generalising on key points. (I have the PC version so all info and opinions are taken from the PC version only)

Firstly, input is through the keyboard only. I don’t have a gaming controller so everything is done through my keyboard. If you have a PC I’d suggest getting a game controller, NOT a joystick as this can get cumbersome.

Setting up your character is fun, too much fun in fact. I spent so much time creating and designing the bike and leathers that I forgot to play the game! Firstly, name your player and team you race for. These are two input fields so type in what ever, then choose your bike. There is a bit of choice, no Ducati’s in there though. The Honda NSR 500 is currently my favourite, but you have Kawasaki, Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki, Aprilia and even Proton. All of whom have a choice between 500cc and 990cc machines.

Once your bike is chosen you can set up the colour scheme. Lots of different variations in colour are possible. You are asked to choose 3 different colours; Body, Graphics and Details. Once done you can match our leathers to the bike or try to recreate your Alpinestars. One very annoying factor is that the bikes all have predetermined graphics that can’t be changed. The NSR for example has ‘flames’ coming round the fairing. It’s something you have to live with, but don’t be pulled into going for a bike just because it looks good. Then choose a number.

To start with I’d recommend a 500 simply because your rider can handle it. The 990’s are too powerful and you’ll find yourself sliding the rear wheel out and falling off quite a lot. Once your attributes are up you can then look at getting a higher spec bike. During the season you can change at anytime to which ever bike you want. You will notice small differences with the bikes, but nothing that really sticks out.

Ok, the bike is ready, now you have to set your attributes. 4 categories for you to choose from; Cornering, Braking, Top Speed and Acceleration. All of these have an effect on the riders performance on track. Needless to say, the more cornering ability you have, the quicker you can flick it through a chicane (you can guess the other ones for yourself I think).

You’re ready to race.

Four modes of play are available. Career, Single Race, Time Trial and Stunt. The first 3 are fairly self explanatory but stunt…? Huh? I thought this was a MotoGP game, not a Motocross one! Alas, you have the correct game don’t worry. This game mode is rather peculiar, the idea being you pull off stunts to accumulate points and unlock new riders. Wheelies, Endos, Powerslides and actually knocking others off will gain you more points.

            Career mode is the one I’ll concentrate on, the other two are easy to understand. Training first and this is a good idea. It is skipable if you want to get into

Mazz005

Sideways through time

Yeah, rain is crap on the game, slipping and sliding all over the place, but I can't get over the way the rain is simulated. Water droplets are splattered on the screen, making harder to judge corners and speed. also, this distorts your vision too, again adding to realism and providing ample opportunities to screw up and apex or two!

Your reflextion is visable on the track too, as is a little ripple of water as you pass others, or they pass you. If you play the game, look on the trackin the wet and try and spot the wake coming from the front wheel, very effective.

Best of all though, when slipstreaming, you get tons of water spray all over the screen, making it all but impossible to see anything!

On the otherside of the spectrum is intense heat. You have the South African track to race on and there is severe heat haze ahead of you, again it makes it hard to judge distances. This however makes your eyes go weird and I get a headache looking at it for too long.

Yamaha FZS 600 Fazer ... in gold! 

Ride safe, and look out for the Rainbow of Death!

^{There're only 3 kinds of people in the world, those who can count, and those that can't.}

^{Roses are red, Violets are Blue, I'm a schizophrenic ..... and so am I!}

^{Take pity on the man who invented the drawing board, when he screwed up, he had nothing to fall back on.}

^{Stuff everything, I've always got my bike.}