Between Tekken Tag Tournament and Ridge Racer V, Namco clearly has one of the strongest PlayStation 2 lineups of all the Sony third-party developers. But on the day that Sony's next-generation console appeared and disappeared from store shelves nationwide, Namco had on sale a third, lesser-known game that deserved more attention than it had received. That game is the impressive MotoGP, the home conversion of Namco's 500GP. Originally released in Japanese arcades a few years ago, 500GP ran on Namco's aging System-22 hardware and let up to two players ride some of the world's fastest motorcycles on a variety of racetracks. While it was a competent racing game, 500GP did little to separate itself from the competition and soon faded into obscurity. So it's somewhat surprising to find that MotoGP for the PlayStation 2 isn't just a simple attempt by a publisher to cash in on the buying sprees that accompany a system launch, but is a worthwhile game that can stand on its own merits. It's apparent that Namco has taken the time to perfect this racing franchise, as MotoGP now boasts significantly updated graphics, enhanced controls, and a slew of new gameplay options that truly make it a game that PlayStation 2 owners should seriously consider adding to their libraries.

MotoGP features real bikes, actual racetracks, and the same factory teams that race in Dorna's FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix circuit, or simply GP for short. The list of bike manufacturers include Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, and Aprilia; and some of the world's best teams, like Repsol Honda, are represented in the game. The bikes vary in their top speed, acceleration, braking distance, and handling characteristics, but only slightly. You'll be hard pressed to find any real difference from bike to bike, other than each one's appearance. You can choose to race any of MotoGP's five racetracks and 12 bikes from the outset, or you can opt to start a full-length season and gradually earn your way to the higher courses. In this mode, you choose from a limited number of teams and race the five tracks as you would in the real GP circuit. You're allowed one practice session per track in order to properly gauge the track, one qualifying round to determine your standing on the grid, and then the actual race. You're awarded points based on your overall performance in each race, and depending on how you did in the season, your team will either extend your contract or release you to another team. After three seasons (five on the highest difficulty setting), the rider with the most points is crowned the champ.

If you don't have the patience to endure one season of racing, much less five, you can race against computer-controlled riders on the team and track of your choice in MotoGP's arcade setting or test your mettle against the clock in the game's time trial mode. Here, you pick a bike and track, set the number of laps you wish to race, and then attempt to set a track record by racing a ghost image of your own fastest lap. If that's still not enough, MotoGP also includes a versus mode that lets you and a friend race against each other via split-screen.

But while MotoGP might sound like every other racing game in recent memory, its appeal is its ability to take what's essentially a standard arcade-like game and infuse it with just enough simulation aspects to fool you into thinking that you're capable of handling its seemingly realistic physics. In reality, MotoGP is a very simple game with only a few controls and a very straightforward physics model. Controls are limited to steering, accelerating, braking, and, should you opt for a manual transmission, shifting - the computer takes care of the rest. At first, you'll find that most of the motorcycles are extremely skittish and that controlling them involves a lot of continuous thumb work with the analog stick and a constant finger tap dance on the gas and brake buttons. You'll quickly come to realize that a delicate touch isn't quite as necessary as you'd thought, and while you can't be as heavy-handed with the controls as in typical racing games, you're given much more room for error than you'd have in a true simulator. For instance, the computer will unobtrusively govern your engine speed while you're in a tight turn - even if you're applying full throttle - to prevent you from wiping out. After a while, riding these powerful two-wheeled machines becomes second-nature to you - you'll start worrying less about controlling them and start focusing on overtaking the last rider in front of you or finding the best line on each track. Yet, every now and then, as you grow a little too confident of your newly acquired racing skills, your bike might suffer a loss of adhesion during a corner or end up tumbling end over end if you brake too late - simply MotoGP's way of keeping you constantly alert.