MotoGP 06 Hands-On

Since our last look at MotoGP 06 for the Xbox 360, a demo for the game has been released over Xbox Live Marketplace featuring the Grand Prix track Mugello and the revamped Tokyo extreme mode track. While the limited nature of the demo (two tracks and one MotoGP rider: Nicky Hayden) is a little disappointing, it's bolstered by the ability to race both tracks online with up to 15 other riders, giving folks a taste of the kind of online action that they can expect when the game is released in mid-June. On the heels of that demo, we got our hands on a playable build of MotoGP 06 to get a taste for how the multiplayer works across the entire game.

Fans of MotoGP 3, which was released last year on the Xbox, will remember the mostly seamless nature of the game's career mode, and it's virtually unchanged here in MotoGP 06. After grabbing a bike and designing your custom leather and helmets, you head off into the game's Grand Prix career mode, where you can choose to race artificially intelligent opponents (along four difficulty levels) or up the ante considerably and take on real opponents by choosing to take your season race online. As you complete races, your seeding will change both in online and offline games. The seeding system rewards you for placing high in more-difficult races, and the lower your seeding (you start at 100) the better. In fact, several of the game's Xbox Live achievements are tied directly to your seeding in the game (more on those in a bit). Also, by obtaining a better seed, you can unlock new tracks and riders.

When creating a match online, you can choose to compete in either the grand prix class or the three divisions of the extreme class (600cc, 1000cc, 1200cc), and the tracks available to you will switch accordingly. Many of the tracks featured in extreme mode are takeoffs on the locales featured in the game's grand prix mode; the Tuscany track, for example, is the extreme mode equivalent to Mugello. Because MotoGP 06 features three new Grand Prix tracks (Shanghai, Istanbul, and America's own Laguna Seca), a handful of new extreme mode tracks have been added, including the Laguna Seca analogue Monterey, a swooping, curvy, and extremely fast track that has quickly become one of our favorites in the game. Of course, all of the tracks in extreme mode are fast (otherwise, it wouldn't be extreme, now would it?), but with seemingly wider lanes and less room for runoff, the extreme mode tracks are better than they've ever been in MotoGP 06.

Game modes in multiplayer let you create quick races, a full point-tallying championship, individual grand prix races, qualifying sessions, or either tag mode or stunt mode races. If you're looking to join an online race, the game lets you filter games over a number of different criteria, the most important of which will likely be skill level. Here, you can choose to race players at or around your seeding or those who are either far below or far above you in terms of skill. With 16-player races in both grand prix and extreme mode (MotoGP 3 allowed only 10 extreme mode racers), you're sure to find a tight, fun race with a little experimentation.

In terms of performance, both the MotoGP 06 demo and the Xbox 360 preview build of MotoGP 06 played pretty well, though not without the occasional lag-hopping of bikes during certain races. Frame rate, a noticeable problem in earlier builds of the game, has been smoothed out to a far greater degree now, with the only real problems coming during extremely tight corners. Bike performance has been tweaked a bit as well--the default powerslide sensitivity setting is much more noticeable in MotoGP 06 than before, and as a result, it's much easier to throw your bike out from under your rider if you get a bit too aggressive with the maneuver. We also noticed that when reentering the track after a big wreck our bike was temporarily invulnerable, which prevented further ugly shunts when trying to get back in the race--a nice touch. For 16-player action on a huge variety of real-life and fictional tracks, MotoGP 06 looks like it will be tough to beat.

Finally, for those interested in Xbox Live achievements, MotoGP 06 has 24 achievements to earn, including three secret achievements. Here's a list of the non-secret achievements found in the game:

Name	Description	Points
Challenge Expert	50 challenges completed	30
Challenge Master	All challenges completed	60
Extreme Bike Collector	Purchase all extreme bikes	50
GP Champion	Win career mode grand prix season on champion difficulty	60
GP Legend	Win a career mode grand prix season on legend difficulty	100
GP Professional	Win a career mode grand prix season on pro difficulty	30
Seeded #1	Seed #1 achieved	75
Seeded #10	Seed #10 achieved	50
Seeded #25	Seed #25 achieved	30
Seeded #50	Seed #50 achieved	20
Seeded #75	Seed #75 achieved	15
Seeded #90	Seed #90 achieved	10
Stunt Mode Rider	Win a "stunt mode" game in any multiplayer mode	10
Extreme Mode Champion	Win any extreme mode championship at any difficulty	10
Extreme 1000 - Legend	Win a career mode extreme 1000 season on legend difficulty	60
Extreme 1200 - Champion	Win a career mode extreme 1200 season on champion difficulty	50
Extreme 1200 - Legend	Win a career mode extreme 1200 season on legend difficulty	75
Extreme 1200 - Professional	Win a career mode extreme 1200 season on pro difficulty	25
Extreme 600 - Legend	Win a career mode extreme 600 season on legend difficulty	30
Accredited	All rider credits awarded	100
GP Rookie	Win a career mode grand prix season on rookie difficulty	10

Soon enough, two-wheel fans will be working their way through all of these achievements, because MotoGP 06 is due for release in mid-June. You can expect our full review of the game not long after the green flag drops, so stay tuned.