MotoGP 06 Hands-On

SAN JOSE, Calif.--THQ's MotoGP series brought motorbike racing to the original Xbox back in 2002 and is poised to do the same thing for the Xbox 360 in May of this year. We found a playable version of MotoGP 06--the next-gen port of MotoGP 3, which was released in 2005--tucked away in a nondescript booth at this year's Game Developers Conference. Though we didn't have as much time with the game as we would have liked, it was obvious that fans of the series will likely be very pleased with this new version.

From the outset, it was made clear to us that this was an early build of the game, which meant that some of the tracks weren't even in playable form yet, including, most notably, Laguna Seca. The famous track located in Monterey, California, is the only American stop in the real-life MotoGP season, and it should be familiar to fans of four-wheel driving games such as Forza Motorsport and the Gran Turismo series. While we were disappointed that we couldn't tackle Laguna Seca's famous corkscrew turn, we were happy enough to dig right into the tracks that were available.

One of those tracks is new to the game--the Istanbul circuit, located in the Turkish metropolis. We had a great time piloting the finicky bikes around the Istanbul circuit, particularly the notoriously fast turn eight, which features four apexes. Tackling each of those peaks is particularly thrilling on a MotoGP bike, as each particular apex requires a slightly different lean in order to run the sweeping turn at the limit. It takes a few laps to get the turn right, but, once you've nailed it, you can understand why racing fans rave about it. Another track that impressed was China's Shanghai circuit, which has made the next-gen translation splendidly. The massive twin observation pylons that frame the pit lane area are the track's most impressive feature. The loving detail that went into creating these pylons really gives you a sense of how much additional detail is packed into the 360 version of the game.

Of course, the new tracks aren't the sole beneficiary of this next-gen attention. Even old MotoGP favorites such as Mugello and Phillip Island have received nice makeovers--namely in the form of more-detailed structures spread throughout the courses and teeming crowds on the sidelines and in the stands. The background scenery is richly detailed as well. We loved the lush mountainous backdrop on the Mugello track. Similar levels of detail can be found on the driver models themselves, especially in the riding leathers, which benefit from increased texture quality so that you can see the individual ridges that comprise the leathers.

So, MotoGP 06 looks great and it also sounds great. It didn't hurt that we played the game while sitting on a comfy couch, surrounded by a sweet surround-sound setup that completely engulfed us in the aural pleasures of high-performance two-wheeled terrors. The 360 version of the game seems to be making better use of the surround-sound features than ever before, as we found out when competitors would get on our tail and we could almost feel the roar of the engine as they closed in on us. In fact, engine quality sounds more varied too--the clicking and clacking of gearshifts and exhaust sputters sounded more in-depth and authentic to our ears than ever before.

Beyond the aesthetics of the game, MotoGP 06 feels very similar to its Xbox counterpart. For example, the bikes feel very similar to the older games--easy enough to pick up and play, but subtle enough to warrant a lot of practice in order to master each of the tracks in the game. Before we started playing, we watched with amusement as other folks tried their hand at the game, only to brake too late or too little and go skidding into the sand or into a wall. We wanted to tell them that for those tight turns they should be using both the front and rear brakes. As in previous MotoGP games, all the controls are completely mappable, so you can create the control scheme that best suits your driving style.

In all, MotoGP 06 looks to be a faithful port of the excellent MotoGP 3, along with new tracks for the 2006 MotoGP season. Though there's still a lot to discover about the game in terms of single-player and multiplayer modes, Xbox Live achievements, and any new goodies we can uncover, we're very pleased to see MotoGP 06 this far along, and we can't wait to have the game in our hands to put in some more testing miles. We'll have future rundowns on the game soon, so stay tuned.