Metareview - MotoGP 06 (Xbox 360)

by Blake Snow { Jun 20th 2006 at 3:35AM }

MotoGP 06 for the Xbox 360 boast 17 tracks and all bikes and riders from the 2006 and 2005 seasons. The average review score is an 83, so here are what some of the critics are saying for your speed-demon, one headlight loving self:

(90) 1UP - "MotoGP 06 is great to look at and fun to play, carrying the next-gen torch for the genre that Hang-On kicked off so many years ago. It's simple, fun, and beautiful. What more could you ask for in a racing game?"
(84) IGN - "While we would have like to see more personality of the GP circuit and a few more gamemodes than what we say in the previous installment of the franchise, MotoGP 06 remains a very impressive title on the Xbox 360."
(82) GameSpot - "If you have any interest in racing, you'll want to get this game. The online play alone makes the game worth the investment. The upgrades to this year's game aren't dramatic, but the improved online play, challenges, and handful of new tracks make this a worthy upgrade."
(80) GamePro - "But Moto GP 2006 is still one of the better racing games for the Xbox 360, sitting right alongside Project Gotham Racing 3 as a top-notch simulator. Enthusiasts, such as myself, will be pleased, and everyone else should still get on board and see what all the two-wheeled excitement is about."

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Amos @ Jun 20th 2006 3:40AM

I'm surprised these racing games receive such high reviews. I'm sure that they really are that great for the genre, yet whenever we exit out of the realm of sports games are almost always criticized if they are nearly as repetitive a racing game...But alas, that is a tangent.

p.s. Ign said "While we would have likeD to see..." (emphasis on the 'd' added...). You actually typed that out instead of copy/paste?

JPRacer @ Jun 20th 2006 3:58AM

I'm a huge motogp fan (the real sport, not the game) and unfortunately Climax is going downhill with the serie. 1st was good for a 1st, 2nd was better but could have been much better, 3rd was horrible and after playing the 2006 demo it's really like the 3rd, really bad.

Strange thing is people consider the 3rd to be the best in the serie...? But it's also the same people that call this game a sim, so they really don't know what they're talking about.

I know that Milestone is working on a sequel for Superbike (one of the best bike sim ever). I hope that they won't take the Climax route.

Currently the best bike sim on console is Tourist Trophy but it's more about riding than racing.

Mark in Austin @ Jun 20th 2006 4:06AM

Wow.. yet another racing game for the 360. I'm so friggin' surprised!

They need more FPSes too; the 360 doesn't have enough of those.. (*eyeroll*)

DjFIL @ Jun 20th 2006 5:31AM

I love this game. If you can get beyond the screen-tearing issue, everything else about this game is solid. Just wish my 360 didn't crap out (screen freeze issue) 3 days after I bought this game... now I have 3 weeks to wait for my fixed 360 to return.

Brus @ Jun 20th 2006 6:13AM

I have bought this game a couple days ago. I'd like it. Also I like all games of this genre.

atomicpond @ Jun 20th 2006 8:12AM

Hey.. I like racing games.. give me some more ;)

I am one of those people who did get on with MotoGp (even 3) and understand the differences between cars and bikes and the fact you can't just drift 'em around corners like a ridge racer car. The fun comes from having to get the braking, apex and acceleration right out of the corners. It's intense and rewarding.

Not played this yet though (haven't got a 360 yet!) but will give the demo a shot with an open mind.

And yes the 360 is getting quite a lot of racers and shooters but they are popular, amongst the numbers there are sure to be some quality titles given time.

Klax @ Jun 20th 2006 8:16AM

It's a solid racer, but it's nothing to go crazy over. The AI is sad (runs on tracks and just pushes you out of the way), and of course it's got framerate and screen-tearing issues.

I'll play it for a bit and trade it in while I can still get decent $$ for it.

See the gamespot review:

"There are also some very apparent dips in the frame rate, and sometimes when coming around a corner you'll notice the game slows down quite a bit. In addition to the frame rate issue, there are also a lot of very visible lines that frequently appear onscreen where the frames don't quite match up. It's worse on some tracks than others, but when it gets bad it can look pretty ugly."

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/driving/motogpurt/review.html?page=2&q=

James Sorensen @ Jun 20th 2006 8:21AM

i am a fan of thq's motogp from xbox and namcos moto gp ps2, adn i LOVE Tourist Trophy, this first showing on 360 though is really nothing too amazing.... I hate when reviews are based 90 percent on graphics.... no need to invest the 60 bux in this one just go pick up tourist trophy used for ps2 or the last motogp for xbox

Ack @ Jun 20th 2006 8:21AM

Is this what 'Next Gen' has come to?

Honestly, I'm starting to wonder if Microsoft jumped the gun and started this generation a bit too soon.

Maybe 4 years after their last console isn't enough time...

... I've played the demo of this on Live and honestly it's the same game in higher res and with some frame rate issues thrown in. Wow, next gen!

Pip @ Jun 20th 2006 9:17AM

Yeah, the demo was really lame. It was higher res, but the models, textures, and tracks were really bland and looked last gen. The game itself wasn't that much fun, either.

I'm not sure what it is, but it seems like publishers these days wont give games low scores. I suppose they'd lose advertising money if they did..

Or maybe it really is a decent game, but everything i've seen on message boards says otherwise.

NO PULSE @ Jun 20th 2006 9:52AM

Let's all hope that Climax releases a patch to fix the 'screen tearing'.

I think the bigger the TV the more obvious it is.

Great game, but definately play the demo (which you can download from the Marketplace) before you buy it, and know that the horizontal lines arent because the game is 'an early build' or 'a demo'. The problems follow the demo into the actual release.

If my brother hadn't bought this game, I wouldn't own it just for the fact that the screen tearing is horrible.

Please please please, give us a patch!

Clay @ Jun 20th 2006 9:55AM

Dang, people are slamming this game. I actually really enjoy it. It's a nice mix between arcade and more "sim" style gameplay, and it's a better mix than the previous games as it's not mind numbingly difficult for the average Joe gamer.

Regardless, the "Extreme" mode is a straight arcade game, so it's basically like getting two games for the price of one. I really enjoy this game, more so than PGR3 and other racing games on the 360.

devi8i @ Jun 20th 2006 9:58AM

Have to agree with most on here. As an avid motorcycle rider and former motocross racer I was really excited about this title. Unfortunately I think all the review sources are afraid to give anything 360 related less than an 80 on teh score card. This game definetly needs to fall in the 60-70 range. Form the get go you MUST remap the controls just to actually try and make it playable. Using the left stick to control forward and aft posture AND leaning... give me a break. Secondly, no clutch to feather while rolling the throttle on.... the bikes are way too skinny and the braking simply sucks... they expect you to slip the reaqr wheel out in EVERY corner. Is this a simulator or drift racing on bikes??? This game does have good looking visuals but come on, excite bike was a better overall game. (JJ) Once you actually have a handle on the way you are supposed to drive around the course the real flaws really start to crop up. When you are in the groove and flying around the track (which takes an incredible amount of left thumb, right thumb, left index finger, right index finger orchestration) then you hit a sweeping right hander and teh frame rate drops through the floor it can really mess with your timing... and the game requires LOTS of timimg. The AI is horrible. In real superbike racing lapped riders move over for faster bikes. Not so here. Lapped and slower bikes will take the best line in a corner and not ever look back even if you are climbing up their tailpipe at 200 clicks. And dont get me started on the lack of damage model. How about some tire and brake degredation.

Slappying new graphics on an old game does not make it next gen. Unless, of course, I the consumer think next gen is something different then the manufacturers do.

kuroshi @ Jun 20th 2006 10:27AM

I hope people stop rating games based on the demo. If you only played the demo then you haven't actually played the game. The demo is an early build designed to give a general impression of gameplay and can often be different from the final gameplay. I haven't played it but will today, don't care for motorcycle games so I don't really care. I do however like the concept of releasing demos' on live. If demos start to become the final impression of games the companies may not release them until the have a final game (release). If you only played the demo then review the demo and leave the reviewing of the game to people who have actually played it.

Rayonic @ Jun 20th 2006 10:31AM

Why are people saying "next gen shouldn't have started so soon"? It's not like the latecomers (Nintendo and Sony) are going to deliver more powerful machines.

GG @ Jun 20th 2006 10:59AM

Well, speaking for the PS3, I would be very suprised if Sony released their system a year later and it wasn't even a bit more powerful (remember Dreamcast, released 1999, PS2 released 2000).

But the real issue here is the developers. Almost every 360 game has just had a texture swap, a couple of effects thrown in, and shipped. And the scary part is that these 'current-gen on next-gen system' games are running with weak frame rates.

So a poor job by the publishers and developers, and certainly some questions raised about the hardware. That's all we're saying.

Pixelantes Anonymous @ Jun 20th 2006 11:20AM

Why do people continue making judgments on the "next-genness" of the xbox 360 based on crappy games? There's plenty of "next-gen" goodness on that platform already. Unfortunately MotoGP 06 isn't quite there. It's close, but no cigar (tearing really is unacceptable).

Does that make the Xbox 360 any less next-gen? No. It just makes Climaxx look bad.

For me, the true measure of racing game "next-genness" comes on the Xbox 360 when Forza 2 comes out. If it doesn't deliver, THEN I'm ready to bury the Xbox 360 as a next-gen platform.

Rayonic @ Jun 20th 2006 1:41PM

@ GG:

Latest amalgamation of rumors and analysis indicates the PS3 will be a little bit less powerful than the XB360.

But I'm getting tired of speculation. We'll see when the damn thing launches.

Verstft @ Aug 19th 2006 12:26AM

I'm about 75% done with the 2006 GP championship and I've won every race. I can honestly say that this game is terrible. I've been experiencing the same frame rate issues as everybody else. I went straight from unplugging my ps2 with tourist trophy to plugging in my shiny 360 with motogp 06...what a disapointment. First of all, the physics in touris trophy are a million times better, in motogp...the riders seem notchy and cartoony. Of course, it doesn't help that everything is sped up to make you feel like you are going faster...

No really...if you want an arcade game...knock yourself out...I should have waited for the ps3 :(