Two-Wheeled Tap-Out
Capcom takes over where Namco left off with painfully bland results.
Published: November 18, 2007
When it was announced back at the beginning of the year that it would be Capcom, not Namco, who would be bringing out the next MotoGP game, it was rather surprising. Not only had Namco been synonymous with PlayStation 2 motorcycle racing for years now, they had developed the game internally (and managed to create a damned fine racer in the process). Obviously Capcom wasn't going to use Namco to develop the game, and they stayed mum about who the actual developed was right up until the game's release.
As it turns out, it would be Italian developer Milestone that took the reins of the series, and though they're no stranger to motorcycle racing, even with Capcom's backing, MotoGP 07 has taken a serious turn for the worse. Not only is the game downright ugly, it's virtually indistinguishable from Milestone's other efforts on the PS2, both in visual fidelity (probably the biggest area where the Namco/Capcom handoff has seen the biggest change) and overall presentation, and in general approach to the races themselves.
That approach, it would seem, was to provide as barebones a package as humanly possible for the game's release this year. The Career Mode is literally just a full season's worth of races, just as the licensed drivers from the 2007 (that's last year's) season experienced them, or you can race on a single track or, if you're feeling saucy, you can create your own custom set of tracks and race them with nary a cutscene or bit of interest between them beyond static loading screens with boring factoids about the riders and tracks.
Worse still, the game's inability to properly ride the line between all-out simulation and arcade-friendly racer will likely end up offending both parties. What Namco's games did so well was allow you to flick on and off certain aspects of realism, but delivered a good sense of visual feedback about things like traction and weight shifting that the Milestone version just can't compete with. Instead, you're relegated to one of three increasingly exacting driving models, from one that nearly races for you to the opposite extreme of likely losing it on every corner. Yes, you can tweak some basic things, but no one physics and control setup feels as intuitive nor as fun as the older games.
If not for that fact, the game might actually have been redeemed to a greater degree by Milestone's inclusion of a Challenge Mode. Similar to what's seen in their other games, the series of progressively unlockable mini-game-style tests (100 of 'em, in fact) are actually rather fun in some cases. Things like pushing through a slalom at high speed is less fun than, say, just trying to make it through checkpoints without dipping below a certain speed limit or only using so much brake power for a whole lap, but again it comes down to the way the game shows weight transfer and a sense of grip more than anything else.
Challenge Mode does a decent job of tickling those of us who have an obsession with finishing everything in a mode, but even as OCD as I can be about nailing gold medals in, say, Gran Turismo's (or perhaps more fittingly, Tourist Trophy's) license tests, I just couldn't push myself too far into the double-digit challenges for fear of death by boredom. I actually had more fun doing them in Super PickUps, another Milestone game, just a couple weeks ago.
In all honesty, I don't even want to get into detail on the game's visuals or sound. Both get the job done, but the whole presentation of everything, from the static menus to the lengthy load times to the in-game visuals replete with shimmer and aliasing everywhere, the game quite frankly looks like a budget release, which is something I never thought I'd say about any Capcom game. The engine noises are decent enough, but with no commentary and entirely forgettable music, there's hardly anything to give your speakers something chew on. But hey, the, uh, bail animations are pretty good. That's something, right?
Honestly, there's just no reason to pick up this year's MotoGP, not even as a rental. Previous games in the series might suffer from outdated rosters and tracks, and with Polyphony Digital getting into motorcycle races with Tourist Trophy, there's finally some serious competition in the genre -- so much so that MotoGP 07 just plain looks limp next to the better games.
As it turns out, it would be Italian developer Milestone that took the reins of the series, and though they're no stranger to motorcycle racing, even with Capcom's backing, MotoGP 07 has taken a serious turn for the worse. Not only is the game downright ugly, it's virtually indistinguishable from Milestone's other efforts on the PS2, both in visual fidelity (probably the biggest area where the Namco/Capcom handoff has seen the biggest change) and overall presentation, and in general approach to the races themselves.
That approach, it would seem, was to provide as barebones a package as humanly possible for the game's release this year. The Career Mode is literally just a full season's worth of races, just as the licensed drivers from the 2007 (that's last year's) season experienced them, or you can race on a single track or, if you're feeling saucy, you can create your own custom set of tracks and race them with nary a cutscene or bit of interest between them beyond static loading screens with boring factoids about the riders and tracks.
Worse still, the game's inability to properly ride the line between all-out simulation and arcade-friendly racer will likely end up offending both parties. What Namco's games did so well was allow you to flick on and off certain aspects of realism, but delivered a good sense of visual feedback about things like traction and weight shifting that the Milestone version just can't compete with. Instead, you're relegated to one of three increasingly exacting driving models, from one that nearly races for you to the opposite extreme of likely losing it on every corner. Yes, you can tweak some basic things, but no one physics and control setup feels as intuitive nor as fun as the older games.
If not for that fact, the game might actually have been redeemed to a greater degree by Milestone's inclusion of a Challenge Mode. Similar to what's seen in their other games, the series of progressively unlockable mini-game-style tests (100 of 'em, in fact) are actually rather fun in some cases. Things like pushing through a slalom at high speed is less fun than, say, just trying to make it through checkpoints without dipping below a certain speed limit or only using so much brake power for a whole lap, but again it comes down to the way the game shows weight transfer and a sense of grip more than anything else.
Challenge Mode does a decent job of tickling those of us who have an obsession with finishing everything in a mode, but even as OCD as I can be about nailing gold medals in, say, Gran Turismo's (or perhaps more fittingly, Tourist Trophy's) license tests, I just couldn't push myself too far into the double-digit challenges for fear of death by boredom. I actually had more fun doing them in Super PickUps, another Milestone game, just a couple weeks ago.
In all honesty, I don't even want to get into detail on the game's visuals or sound. Both get the job done, but the whole presentation of everything, from the static menus to the lengthy load times to the in-game visuals replete with shimmer and aliasing everywhere, the game quite frankly looks like a budget release, which is something I never thought I'd say about any Capcom game. The engine noises are decent enough, but with no commentary and entirely forgettable music, there's hardly anything to give your speakers something chew on. But hey, the, uh, bail animations are pretty good. That's something, right?
Honestly, there's just no reason to pick up this year's MotoGP, not even as a rental. Previous games in the series might suffer from outdated rosters and tracks, and with Polyphony Digital getting into motorcycle races with Tourist Trophy, there's finally some serious competition in the genre -- so much so that MotoGP 07 just plain looks limp next to the better games.
