MotoGP 07 is built for the hardcore motorcycle racing gamer. Even though it advertised an easier approach to playing compared to last year's MotoGP 06 on the Xbox 360, the playing is more frustrating than rewarding. Add to that the half-hearted feel of the entire game and you can almost hear the developers heave a collective "meh".

The game consists of several modes: QuickRace for a quick fix, a Challenge mode which gives you a specific criteria which you must pass before moving on to the next, and Championship. Championship could be either the most compelling aspect of the game or the most annoying as you pick a team and compete on all 18 tracks in a row, and while it certainly is challenging, all it did was challenge my patience. Multiplayer doesn't fare much better as it is just more of the same with two people. Sure, you get to play as any team on all the tracks of the 2007 season, but there is no option to create your own profile or character, and with no online play you really start to feel confined.

Controls are primarily where you could have the most contention with this game; you either love the realistic feel of racing the track or hate the heck out of the game because it will take you literally forever to master that darn turn. There are control modes to play in such as Arcade, Simulation and Advanced, and while each boasts a different feel, all take a lot of time to get used to. Advanced proved to be the best middle ground as you could customize the way you approached each track and didn't feel as weighed down in Arcade or light as in Simulation. But, for every casual gamer there is going to be a hardcore one applauding the independent front and rear braking system which can be remapped to the controller as seen fit which gives a nuanced approach to the game, and a reason to repeatedly attack each race. Both casual and hardcore gamer will agree that the qualifying times are almost ridiculous for each track, and may deter a lot of people from truly delving into Championship mode as you are constantly placed in the rear of the pack.

Being a Playstation 2 release you would expect the graphics to be at least half-way decent; unfortunately this isn't the case. Frame-rate does enough to keep up with the racers on the track but the racers themselves are too pixilated and the tracks contain no detail. It is pretty sad when the background contains more definition than the object you are supposed to be focused on. Moreover, the tracks begin to blend into each other after a while, taking any sort of fun out of going to another race. The sound seems like it was added to the game at the last minute. Long loading screens deflate the discipline and adrenaline necessary to tackle on the ridiculously
difficult levels.

MotoGP 07 isn't fun, and the challenge level assures that only hardcore racer fans will even touch it. And while it is a decent simulation game, you still have to wonder why the extra effort wasn't put in to making it at least a current generation console game rather than a blatant afterthought.

Jan 16, 2008 | 12 comments
Paul Bishop