When I was but a wee lad I got two rand pocket money weekly. For that 2 bucks I got 10 “twennies” (20 cent pieces), or in other words, ten games at the arcade. Just about all of those twennies I spent playing Capcom games, like Cabal, Ghosts ‘N Goblins and Street Fighter.
These days, money is not such a problem anymore, but time is. Would Capcom’s new MotoGP be able to dominate my time the same way Capcom’s early arcade games were able to dominate my twennies back in the day?
MotoGP 09 / 10
The MotoGP franchise is a long running and respected franchise. The franchise used to be published by THQ but in 2007 Capcom published the PS2 version of the game and since than took over the Xbox and the PC versions of the game.
MotoGP is a racing simulator that brings you the excitement of super bike racing. The game is divided into a few different modes. They are Multiplayer, Arcade, Career, Time Trials and Championship mode.
Championship Mode is just Career mode without the team management and Time Trial is just Championship Mode without the other racers. There is no real reason why you would want to play Championship or Time Trial, so they shoehorn a few achievements in there to make it worth it, sort of.
In Arcade Mode you have to try and get around the track before time runs out. Career Mode and Multiplayer are the modes where you will be spending most of your time.
Career Mode and Multiplayer
At first I did not have much fun playing Career Mode. Keeping the bike on the road was hard and the other bikers were better than me, a lot better than me. A small mistake would see my opponents stampeding past me, leaving me in a cloud of digital dust. Then there is “The Voice”. “The Voice” tutors you on how the game works but sometimes it just sounds like a teacher mocking the dumbest kid in the classroom.
“Well done” he says when you finish a race, 16th out of a possible 20. As you loose control and go of the road, Captain Obvious helpfully points out: “You need to get back on the road”.
Thank you Captain, suggestion noted.
Things did not go much better in Multiplayer. I had an idea that I might not do well in Multiplayer and five seconds into the race I realized that I was right. From the start user “Natch 0000” does a wheelie and when he sets his bike down he disappears into a distance. I would have loved another shot at racing against him, but for the rest of the evening I just got ‘Connection lost’ errors as I try to log on to matches.
Disappointed with the Multiplayer I started to play the Arcade mode. This is when I started having fun for the first time. My bike was just as fast as the other bikes on the track and for the first time I had a sporting chance of competing against the other bikers. Soon I started finishing in the top 10 and after that winning some races.
In Arcade Mode the goal is not just to win races but you have to beat the clock as well. You have +-30 seconds to make it through a section of the track, if you don’t make it you can use a continue to get some more time and try again. You can pick up time bonuses by show boating, doing wheelies, riding in other bikers’ slipstreams and driving the perfect racing line.
Flying down the stretches and roaring through the corners is awesome! Now that I know the game can be fun, I tackle the Career Mode again.
Career Mode is more than just racing, you have to manage your team and find sponsorships too. Managing your staff well is important. You need great engineers to research upgrades for your bike, but to pay them you need good marketers to find first-rate sponsorships for you. The trick is to find a balance between the number of people getting the sponsorships for you and the number of guys working on your bike.
With a winning team on your side you will start to win races and move up the log ladder as the season progresses. When the season is over the game is far from over. You can stay in the class you are in, or, if you have done well enough, a higher class will be unlocked and you can upgrade to a faster class of bike. You start of with the modest 125cc class, after that it is the 250cc class and then the MotoGP class. There is no limit to the number of seasons you can participate in, so once you get the hang of it you will be racing in MotoGP for a loooong time.
The verdict?
Capcom has struck again! I will certainly devote a lot of time to this game, but should you get the game? If you are not a fan of racing titles, specifically motorcycle racing, this will not be the game to convert you. Your time and money will be better spent on something else.
However, racing fans will not be terribly disappointed by MotoGP 09/10. There is plenty of action and the Career Mode should keep you busy for a long time.
Reviewed on Xbox 360.
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