MotoGP 08 Impressions

[Kruza]

Here are my early observations and impressions of MotoGP 08 so far.

All the buttons, triggers and bumpers on the controller can be mapped to the user's liking in MotoGP 08 like it was in past games of the series. This is always a great feature to have for us players.

The Extreme mode has been replaced with the 125cc & 250cc classes, which I think is a really good thing. I was never a fan of the Extreme mode in the last few MotoGP games. Anyway, the user has the option of playing through either of the three classes in Championship mode: 125cc, 250cc, or MotoGP. All bike models, teams and riders are represented for each class.

The race at the Losail Circuit at Qatar is set under the nighttime lights like it was in real life during the 1st round of the 2008 season. It looks fantastic.

Completing the Challenges isn't necessary in order to finish the Championship or Career modes like it had been in past MotoGP games. Instead, completing this mode unlock and reveal photos taken from the real MotoGP 2008 season.

Skilled powersliders of past MotoGP games may disagree, but I think the Simulation handling model of MotoGP 08 trumps all of the Climax versions. Throttle management is more crucial than it has ever been before. A user will definitely know when he's pushing the bike to its limit as the back end of it will have an increased tendency to wobble while accelerating hard out of corners. In many situations it would be wise to ease off the throttle a bit instead of going flat-out if the rider has a problem controlling the bike during these moments of instability. It's more emphasized when racing on courses that has constant elevation changes and undulations. And especially the case in wet races. Riding over the curb can be dangerous whenever the bike isn't moving under straightline acceleration since it's very easy for both tires to immediately lose traction as the bike hops back on the road.

As far as braking is concerned, applying both brakes at the same time achieves the best results whenever it's necessary to decelerate quickly, like TCrouch had mentioned in his article. However, be extremely careful whenever using the front brake mid-corner as its easy to crash the bike in this scenario. The rear brake is what should be exclusively be used mid-corner whenever trying to reduce speed and re-adjust your racing line. Trail braking into corners is also possible, but far more difficult to do this while racing under Simulation handling model than it is racing under Advanced and Arcade handling model, so take heed to this warning for those who frequently use this technique as part of their riding style. Also, some bikes are better at engine/compression braking than others, so on these particular bikes subtle mid-corner braking is not really needed.

I haven't played much up to this point, but from what I've experience so far I think the AI of the CPU bikes are better. Unlike in the Climax versions, the CPU-controlled bikes are not ruthless and set on automatically running into you if you're protecting the inside of racing line while moving at a slightly slower speed. They will either attempt to go around you or slow down to trail you then look for an opportunity to overtake later if you're going slower than the pack. At worse they will nudge your bike with their's provided that it's close enough to be on your side.

The only two gripes I have so far with this game is that red/penalty time isn't tracked whenever either one of the wheels of the bike goes off the road and the curb. And the oh so lackluster sound effects. The sounds of bikes that clash while side-by-side and when it crashes could use a lot more ooomph. Othen than those things I'm very pleased with the game.

For those who don't have this game yet, I can try to answer any questions you guys may have about it.

Kruza

[TCrouch]

We're seeing a lot of the same things, which is encouraging. I wrote up a first impressions that's echoing some of the things that you posted. I'm not sure when they'll put it on the page, but it's incoming.

The AI has been the most pleasant surprise. That, and the fact that I can't tap that front brake midcorner like you mentioned. I've lost the rear end many times already, and lost the front when getting too aggressive.

But being able to really dice with AI bikes breathes new life into the genre for me.

[mercalnd]

Quote: Originally Posted by Kruza

All the buttons, triggers and bumpers on the controller can be mapped to the user's liking in MotoGP 08 like it was in past games of the series. This is always a great feature to have for us players. The Extreme mode has been replaced with the 125cc & 250cc classes, which I think is a really good thing. I was never a fan of the Extreme mode in the last few MotoGP games. Anyway, the user has the option of playing through either of the three classes in Championship mode: 125cc, 250cc, or MotoGP. All bike models, teams and riders are represented for each class. The race at the Losail Circuit at Qatar is set under the nighttime lights like it was in real life during the 1st round of the 2008 season. It looks fantastic. Completing the Challenges isn't necessary in order to finish the Championship or Career modes like it had been in past MotoGP games. Instead, completing this mode unlock and reveal photos taken from the real MotoGP 2008 season. Skilled powersliders of past MotoGP games may disagree, but I think the Simulation handling model of MotoGP 08 trumps all of the Climax versions. Throttle management is more cruicial than it has ever been before. A user will definitely know when he's pushing the bike to its limit as the back end of it will have an increased tendency to wobble while accelerating hard out of corners. In many situations it would be wise to ease off the throttle a bit instead of going flat-out if the rider has a problem controlling the bike during these moments of instability. It's more emphasized when racing on courses that has constant elevation changes and undulations. And especially the case in wet races. Riding over the curb can be dangerous whenever the bike isn't moving under straightline acceleration since it's very easy for both tires to immediately lose traction as the bike hops back on the road. As far as braking is concerned, applying both brakes at the same time achieves the best results whenever it's necessary to decelerate quickly, like TCrouch had mentioned in his article. However, be extremely careful whenever using the front brake mid-corner as its easy to crash the bike in this scenario. The rear brake is what should be exclusively be used mid-corner whenever trying to reduce speed and re-adjust your racing line. Trail braking into corners is also possible, but far more difficult to do this while racing under Simulation handling model than it is racing under Advanced and Arcade handling model, so take heed to this warning for those who frequently use this technique as part of their riding style. Also, some bikes are better at engine/compression braking than others, so on these particular bikes subtle mid-corner braking is not really needed. I haven't played much up to this point, but from what I've experience so far I think the AI of the CPU bikes are better. Unlike in the Climax versions, the CPU-controlled bikes are not ruthless and set on automatically running into you if you're protecting the inside of racing line while moving at a slightly slower speed. They will either attempt to go around you or slow down to trail you then look for an opportunity to overtake later if you're going slower than the pack. At worse they will nudge your bike with their's provided that it's close enough to be on your side. The only two gripes I have so far with this game is that red/penalty time isn't tracked whenever either one of the wheels of the bike goes off the road and the curb. And the oh so lackluster sound effects. The sounds of bikes that clash while side-by-side and when it crashes could use a lot more ooomph. Othen than those things I'm very pleased with the game. For those who don't have this game yet, I can try to answer any questions you guys may have about it. Kruza

Nice impressions.

Edit: I had jumped the gun. Since he made multiple references to the former developper he obivously knows this is a new series.

[TCrouch]

Quote: Originally Posted by mercalnd

Good impressions. You make multiple mentions of "past games in the series". There are no past games in the series. This is a completely new series.

Capcom put out the Moto GP 07 game on PS2. That's the title that the comparison is drawn from.

[mercalnd]

Quote: Originally Posted by TCrouch

Capcom put out the Moto GP 07 game on PS2. That's the title that the comparison is drawn from.

Yeah I changed my post. I knew about the 07 PS2 title but I didn't think anyone had played it since it was never mentioned anywhere.

[mercalnd]

Quote: Originally Posted by TCrouch

But being able to really dice with AI bikes breathes new life into the genre for me.

That's should be nice. I never played the 07 Climax game since I had switched to PS3 when it came out but I remember getting mad about Ai riders' behaviour in 06.

[Kruza]

Ooops... when I was referring to past MotoGP games I really mean the Climax versions. But I did have Capcom-developed one in mind, and even Namco's versions from a while back. I should've specified which version I meant in the initial post.

At any rate, I have to re-emphasize that I am disappointed in the sound effects overall in MotoGP 08. It could've added more to the races if the bike engine noises, skidding tire noises, crashes, etc. were more accurate and profound. Also, the MotoGP games from Climax had the controller rumble like crazy during races whenever the Vibration setting was turned up all the way. But the level of vibration is nowhere near as strong on this version developed by Milestone.

Kruza

[lnin0]

Good to hear about the AI. Climax AI was a game killer so it sounds like it already has an single player advantage over past 360 MotoGP games.

That begs to question how is the game online? Climax has some solid net code but the entire UI had seen few updates and gotten quite stale by the end.

[Kruza]

I have yet to play this game online. I'll let you guys know how it is when I try this mode out.

Kruza

[gbx34]

Did anyone pick this up? Is this game similar to the moto gp games in the past? I am thinking about getting it.