1UP: MotoGP ’08 First-Look Preview

1UP only had hands-on time with the game’s arcade mode, which featured a single acceleration and single brake mapped to individual triggers (for comparison, sims usually offer dual braking). Based on their playtime, they’d put this new MotoGP squarely between Namco’s older PS2 MotoGP games and THQ/Climax Racing’s MotoGP series on Xbox and Xbox 360. The controls at this stage aren’t as good as what you’ll find in the Xbox games, but they’re better than those in Namco’s efforts. Little details like being able to tuck down behind the windscreen and drafting weren’t present, but seeing that this was the arcade mode, 1UP isn’t surprised at their omission.

Wiping out was more common than 1UP would have liked, though; the brakes are front-loaded, meaning that if the unibrake was applied too vigorously, the back tire hopped out when entering a turn. That said, 1UP hopes dual braking will make its way into the simulation modes. Finally, while the visual presentation may be comparable to Climax’s MotoGP 07 on Xbox 360, in terms of gameplay, the jury’s still out on whether this racer has the stuff to dethrone the current king.