an amazing game if only you spend the time learning to ride. and unless you are a bike nut you will put this down fast.
however on the easiest setting you will be helped with the braking!! this for any racing fan, car or bike, boat or plane is just not acceptable so naturally you will opt for the medium setting and its not much easier than the simulation so you will opt for that eventually. on first play you will dive into a corner at 100mph and instead miss it completely and hit the wall directly ahead of you, this will leave you dumbfounded, scratching your head wondering what the hell just happened. you see unlike car sims iyou have to really balance the throttle and braking much better, however it should all be done before the corner, any heavy braking in the corner and your off, even changing gear, particularly down ( which your instincts will make you do to scrub off some speed ) and your off! its a really tough learning curve but it all makes sense.
the graphics are nothing special and in all honesty its not a massive game, its not massive production and you can tell because this isnt no project gotham 4. and do you blame them really because this game is aimed at a particular audience, hence the leaning curve. however the graphics are of this generation and acceptable, would be lovely to see some better animation, smoother gear changing and maybe some chain movement and wobble, its the little details that make a difference and id rather see some extra bike detail like this than extra people on the side of the track for sure.
the same will got for the sound, its not like you expect anything different from the bikes but bigger variety in the engine notes and music would be great, again being a bike nut i dont care its all about the riding but as before its all acceptable and i cant see us getting much better in the near future because there just isnt a bigger audience to warrent massive production values.
i think if anybody is going to read this little review then chances are you are into your bikes, or like the sport or maybe take an interest in racing and want to try something different, the most important thing i can advise is not to go into this expecting to race like cars, you cant powerslide and recover ( but sometimes you will get lucky) your rider will be flipped off, you cant lean into a corner and then hit the brakes because if you have learnt how to ride a bike you will know that locking a wheel when cornering means new leathers. this is precision riding, a very very realistic simulation, its damn frustrating, sometimes you will question if something so difficult and frustrating can be called a game. but after many hours of playing you will get it and when you do start nailing the clean lap you will appreciate it more and more and maybe even learn something. this game is for a very select audience and that audience will love it given time but everyone else i really cant recommend this game its just not for a non rider to be honest you will slide on your arse just too much and throw forza back in and never look back so for this reason i say leave it be. but for any biker that wants something very realistic and rewarding give it a go its worth it. and for the record i think theres one thing that sets this game apart from moto gp and its the handling by a long shot, moto gp handles like riding on custard, i think all motorcycle games suffer with slightly slow responsiveness of the bikes and riders ( even this one) however moto gp is ultraslow and just does not feel like you can throw the bike about. this however is better in that regard, its still a little slow to throw your bike from one side of the track to the other but it can be managed and learned unlike moto gp. i think actually project gotham 4's bikes got this spot on, they were arcady to ride and exciting but the responsiveness was bang on. motorcycle sims tend to give the bikes a little too much weight. but anyhow hope my little write up helps make some decisions i felt the need to write it because this game along with most bike sims has taken a battering off the critics and i just wanted to point out why that may be and i think i have said it all really. thanks