Love on Two Wheels

If you're a fan of motorcycle racing, then expect a charge out of MotoGP '06. New riders, new bikes and new tracks all add to the experience in this latest in the MotoGP series. As you might expect, the graphics capabilities of the Xbox 360™ make it so you almost smell the asphalt, dust, and exhaust.

Get ready for the rush of adrenaline that accompanies your attempt to guide your bike around a curve. In this preview, I'll cover some of the elements that make this game special beyond what the Xbox 360 platform brings to it.

The open road … at 120 m.p.h.

Training
This isn't arcade motorcycle racing—this is simulation at its finest. Motorcycle novice will do some studying and practicing to understand the physics of motorcycle racing before earning high scores. Don't just point and go fast on two wheels like you can on four. Use your brakes and lean your bike. It takes some savvy, so it's a safe bet that the highest scorers on Xbox Live® have paid their dues practicing.

MotoGP '06provides invaluable training. In training mode, pick up some motorcycle physics and hone your control over them. Spend as much time here as you need learning the basics of bike control. Learn how to hold a turn … it's not as easy as it looks. Study moves such as a 180-degree turn. Pop some wheelies without spilling, and practice on a slalom track that tests your powers of focus and concentration. The players who make the best use of the training mode are those who show the greatest control during a race.

Fans of the series will delight in this expanded
and polished set of races, not to mention
the look of your leathers and helmet.

Single Player
If you only have short bit of time to kill, and just want some solo fun, then choose a Quick Race, where you ride any bike on any track. This is your opportunity to become more familiar with the various elements of a race, including which motorcycle you choose and how it interacts with a particular track. Your scores do not make it to the scoreboards, so don't worry if you wipe out. Test your limits. Push yourself. This is the venue for it.

For more of a commitment, step into a Racing Career. You race in either Grand Prix races or in three levels of Extreme races. Your scores report to the scoreboards for all to see, so be prepared before you hit these mean streets. The Time Trials also add or detract from your points on the scoreboards. As a matter of fact, they're the fastest way to impact your totals for better or for worse. In the Time Trials, you compete against the clock. As you know, speed won't get you there faster, only maximum control can do that.

Hang on and open 'er up.

Multiplayer
MotoGP '06offers three different ways to play with your friends. Have them over for chips, soda, and a little split-screen action. There's nothing as friendly as insults shared during a tense motorcycle race. If you have no friends available in-house, why not go for take-out? Call your buddies and order up some system link. Everyone gets a full screen of sunshine and burning rubber of their own to savor.

If worst comes to worst (or best comes to best, depending on your attitude), hook up to Xbox Live and race against total strangers. When you play a ranked match, you're put up against players who have the same Seed as you, so you know you're always competing against those who will challenge you the most. As an added bonus, for multiplayer variety, use split-screen while playing on Xbox Live, to vanquish both your roommate and your online friends in a single race.

Born to be wild.

MotoGP '06 brings with it all the things that the developer, Climax, has learned over the years while producing the line of games. Climax has pushed the franchise to new limits on the Xbox 360. Fans of the series will delight in this expanded and polished set of races, not to mention the ability to customize your bike's paint job and the look of your leathers and helmet. This game has fan-pleaser written all over it. Climax has done it again.

Article by Angel Leigh McCoy