Graphics/Presentation:
The game has every rider from all 3 classes in 2010 (very good) and all of the 2011 motogp riders via a free update, plus all circuits from the 2010 season. The graphics are not spectacular by any means, the shaders leave a saturated look and overall arcade feel that may have been the developer's intention but doesn't quite work when dealing with an official license. The models are OK however the lack of definition around the gloves,leathers,fairing shows, and again removes some realism. Some of this is made up by the fact that the game runs consistently at 60fps with many bikes on the screen which allows for hassle-free gameplay. However (maybe to make sure of the fps) there are very few wet effects aside from enormous raindrops and a shiny track. There are no water sprays or visibility issues, which takes away from realism. The lack of rider animation (foot pedals, legs out, different riding styles) hampers the experience and the lack of rider styles would have really bolstered the career mode. The camera selection is the standard 3rd person chase and 1st person handlebars camera, the 3rd person camera is very useful and surprisingly so is the 1st person, it feels just right in its movement and corners are able to be take at full confidence. On track there is a racing line which is useful for learning the track (and for getting racing line objectives) however if one doesn't care about the objectives the line becomes obstructive and removes some realism. The hud is simple and neat and keeps you informed of everything important. The menu layout is neat and easy to look at however, some important details like assists are buried in oddly chosen sub-menus (bike setup??) which can create some confusion initially.
Overally not too bad, but not too good either, the 60fps constant does gain a big thumbs up however.
6/10
Gameplay/Handling:
The game has several modes; championship, career and challenge mode (it does have a multiplayer portion, howver there are never any riders online and there are many issues with large grids so that is automatically discounted). I'll discuss challenge mode first as it's of least consequence, however if you want an exciting challenge with time limits etc. like the good old days this is for you. You start with limited time and gain it from overtaking, adhering to three racing line markers (still allows for some degree of separation) among others, the goal being to get to the end of the race, win and not use any continues (i.e never running out of time). A whole season can be made of this and is really a great way to spend an afternoon or a day just beating the clock. In this mode there are single races of 3 laps (the championships consists of all circuits in this way).
The championship mode is your standard racing affair and has 3-real lap amounts where you just try to win (or do the best you can depending on bike/difficulty level), this is fairly self-explanatory so I won't say too much more except riding as Marco Simoncelli in the MotoGP championship is a fairly emotional experience (as someone who saw the awful accident that took his life). The career mode is where players will spend most of their time, and is actually a very rewarding experience. You take a 125cc bike and essentially ride to gain staff and sponsors to upgrade the said bike and to get more money, you also have a reputation to increase via the same actions which increase time in challenge mode. You work your way through the ranks eventually into motogp where you can try to win the world championship, and doing it on the harder difficulty levels is a genuinely tough exercise. The AI are aggressive and do not tend to make too many mistakes, but they still do and the way they do is actually fairly aligned with how real world motogp accidents occur, although they have a tendency to slow mid corner, on severe and up the AI shows fight however for players experienced in driving/racing games, only insane will posit a real challenge. The handling model is interesting, where braking really late like some games would have you believe does in fact NOT work for a bike, thus this aspect is realistic, however it must be said the lethargy of the riders when switching from left to right or vice versa is tiresome and can be very annoying however it adds a degree of difficulty and demands that you be precise with your inputs. The assists are simply on/off and with all off is actually a challenge to keep the bike on the road, with precision needed and quite a bit of bravery too, because braking too early could mean being overtaken and too late meaning a crash! The wet weather handling is non-existent, it feels exactly the same as dry and is quite disappointing.
Career mode makes up for the lacklustre championship modes, as there is nothing to unlock in those, but progressing through career mode is a joy. The AI is aggressive but really only poses a problem at the higher levels. The handling is inconsistent with itself however being precise and paying attention does invert the issue and make it a rewarding experience, however it still isn't intuitive.
7/10
Sound:
Bike sounds in the 3rd person camera sound fairly similar in motogp and 125cc (moto2 has to as all the bikes have the same engine), however in 1st person camera the engines sound so close to reality, it makes you wonder how later games (with bigger budgets) have got it so wrong. The music is OK, nothing special and is usually a nice pump-up beat in the background. The crowd noise is quite good and really involves the player within their surroundings.
Good sound modelling and a fairly good music selection.
8/10
Final words:
A solid game with quite a number of flaws, I'd only recommend this to MotoGP fans as this game is quite expensive even when bought from eBay. However if you can look past some bland graphics, a steep learning curve and some lack of detail, a very rewarding experience is waiting and will see you invest many hours into it.