With just more than a month to go before MotoGP 3 launches, anticipation is growing for the next entry in the two-wheel racing series that's come to be known by fans for its exciting blend of approachable controls, breadth of online play options, and surprising depth. We've been playing nonstop with the latest build of MotoGP 3, and, frankly, it's been tough to tear our hands away from the Xbox controller so we could put them on the keyboard to type this report. To say the least, we're very excited about this one.

Though we've been hearing of MotoGP 3's "extreme" mode for months now, it wasn't until this latest preview build came to our office that we got a chance to really explore the mode in depth. Essentially, extreme mode gave the developers at Climax a chance to stretch their programming wings a bit by letting them double the number of tracks in the game, as compared to the last MotoGP entry.

Extreme mode races pit you against nine other opponents on fictional tracks from all over the world.

Extreme mode races come in three varieties, depending on the size bike you wish to run: 600, 1000, and 1200cc. Before you even hit the track, you'll need to purchase a bike using the relatively meager amount of cash you start out with. Remember, though, the most powerful bike in the series won't be available just yet. Instead, you'll go with a more modest two-wheeler, and you must trust that your racing instincts will make up for any lack of power under the seat. Unlike traditional grand prix races, you'll earn money after each race in extreme mode. This money can either be socked way to purchase a brand-new bike or used immediately to purchase parts upgrades in areas such as braking, traction and stability, or bhp (aka brake horsepower). Each part can be upgraded up to three times, and the more complex the upgrade, the more expensive it will be. That said, in the time we spent in MotoGP 3's extreme career modes, we never came to a point where we were short on upgrade cash.

While courses in extreme mode are fictional, they derive inspiration from each country that hosts a race in the game. There are several urban courses that have you weaving in and about city streets, including one particularly impressive-looking track based in a virtual Tokyo. Extreme mode tracks are street and road courses, so many of them differ significantly from the traditional racecourses found on the MotoGP circuit, such as Brno, Saschenring, and Estoril. For one thing, they are often much wider than what you may be used to, and as such, they'll let you take corners at much higher speeds. For another, unlike some of the relatively sterile environments found in the Grand Prix racecourses, there's a tremendous amount of variety in the extreme mode tracks.

Beyond the aforementioned city tracks in locales like Tokyo and England, there are mountain tracks that feature fairly drastic elevation changes as you careen up and down the mountainsides; there are desert tracks that showcase a cool-looking heat shimmer effect; and there's a Malaysian course with a definite junglelike flair. Extreme mode tracks also feature numerous surface types. So rather than simply racing on straight-ahead asphalt, you might run over brick-laid streets in Britain or metal gratings that run along the side of some urban courses, all of which will return a distinctive feel to you that's conveyed mainly through the rumble function of the Xbox controller. In all, the extreme tracks have a nice variety to them, and we expect a couple of the really well-designed courses, such as the challenging Autobahn course and the superfast sprint that is Algarve, to be big hits among online racers.

MotoGP 3 meshes the offline and online games to provide a seamless career mode.

And make no mistake, online racing is the heart and soul of MotoGP 3. The series has long-embraced Xbox Live as a method of expanding the single-player experience. The interesting thing is that the line between the single-player and multiplayer game is blurred to great effect in MotoGP 3. You're perfectly welcome to complete your extreme or grand prix career against the tough racing artificial intelligence found in the game (more on that in a bit), but for an even more realistic challenge, you can also take any individual career race online to compete against a full field of real drivers. This brings an entirely new focus to the single-player campaign, because not only will you be competing against opponents who are far more unpredictable than any AI drivers could be, but also you just might think twice when looking to sideswipe a real opponent in a multiplayer career race.