E3 06: Moto GP '06 Hands-On

LOS ANGELES--Superbike games have never been as popular as their four-wheeled relatives, but THQ's new racer, Moto GP '06, at least makes sure that they look as good. With licensed riders and tracks based on real locations, the demo at E3 this year allowed us access to the entire game.

Jumping straight into the action, the first thing to point out is that this is a serious racing game. You need to get your braking point right, or else you're into the grass or gravel, and while there's some good jostling with other riders, if you impact anything too hard you'll wipe out. One nice touch is that when you come off, your bike continues to slide without you, and at one point our "errant" bike collected another bike or two on its travels.

You'll also need to be careful of the curbs and any dips in the road, because if you land askew after even a small jump, you can be destabilised and unseated as a result. While it can be a little frustrating to be able to fall off in so many ways, it's actually quite intuitive, and when you make a mistake you'll know why.

The graphics in the game are very nice indeed, with full lighting effects and motion blur that gives a great sensation of speed, and on top of that the surroundings are very pretty too. What's more, there's a full set of racing modes available, including single races and grand prix, as well as up to 16 players racing at one time across Xbox Live.

There were a few frame rate hits in some of the denser environments, such as one of the city-based circuits, and the loading times are also a little hefty. However, THQ will be polishing precisely these aspects in the time remaining before the game's second-quarter 2006 release. Even if you're not a fan of watching superbikes in action, racing them is an undeniably fun and intense experience.

We'll have a full review in due course.