A solid motorcycle racing game which should please most fans of the genre.

When I compare my own lack of enthusiasm for the genre to the lack of actual content in existence I come to the conclusion that there's not much to get excited about when it comes to motorcycle racing. There are now, really only two companies putting out motorcycle racing games (THQ and Polyphony) compared to many more that feature different breeds of sports car. Not that racing motorcycles isn't fun, I'm sure strapping yourself onto a death rocket and blasting off at a hundred miles an hour is thrilling, but it's not something my wife would ever tolerate in the real world (that goes for Trav too by the way). The difference between motorcycle racing games and car racing games is the fact that I own a car. I can rev the engine and make the wheels squeal and in some respects emulate what it'd be like to really race. In effect, I can relate to an auto racing game. I can connect my own experiences going fast in cars to my experience in the game and let the game experience be thusly amplified.

With that in mind, I want to point out that from a pure enjoyment standpoint that MotoGP '06 did not have a great deal to offer me. That should be the first clue to anyone that's not an avid motorcycle-racing fan that you may want to find something else to do. But understand that it has absolutely nothing to do with the implementation of the game itself. It's just my observation that since I am not a motorcycle-racing fan, I derived little enjoyment out of this well implemented game. I have the ability to remain objective however and will evaluate it based on its merits and not the fact that I personally did not receive it well.

First of all, let me say that the developers of this game have produced a very convincing physical representation of what I imagine riding a motorcycle would be like. I'm not a racer, but I do know a thing or two about physics and the game feels correct. It does have a more arcade-like feel to it and sometimes the collisions are lax, but it has smooth controls. When I say lax in the collisions, I'm talking about how if you are lucky you can rub inside another racer on a turn and have a chance of not dumping your bike. It's not a great chance, you're still better off not touching them, but it seems a little unrealistic to me. And please don't email me telling me I'm an idiot and of course racers rub in the real world. I'll just delete your emails. Suffice to say, the controls are smooth and responsive.

You have the option of using an auto brake that combines just the right amount of front brake and rear brake, or if so inclined you can operate them independently. This is of course trickier and can have disastrous or wondrous results. Beyond that you can shift the position of the rider, pull wheelies and stoppies, all manner of really cool motorcycle stuff.

One element I found interesting was the RPG element to the game. You start out without any points and after winning challenges are allowed to spend them on rider/bike characteristics (i.e acceleration, braking, turning, etc.). After pumping some points into braking and other areas, you can really tell that they are doing something. Not like many wrestling games where the points don't seem to have anything to do with the outcome of the match. In MotoGP '06, you can really feel the difference.

A couple things about the game irked me. First was the timer that ticks down when you leave the track. I understand that the idea is to penalize racers from cutting sections of the track, but I always thought you could do that through physics or with barriers if you really wanted to. I see no need to add 1 second to your lap time if one of your wheels slips off the track and you gained no actual benefit. It apparently only affects your starting position in the race and your time in challenges, but if that's true then it's also annoying for showing up during a real race when it doesn't mean anything.

The other annoyance in the game was the startling contrast between the detail and colors of the racers and the lack of attention to the backdrop. Playing the game I got a horrible sense of being inside a Roadrunner vs. Coyote cartoon from all the brown and yellow all over the place. And what happened to the motion blur effect in MotoGP 3? Isn't the Xbox 360 supposed to be this really powerful platform that eats motion blur for breakfast? What's the deal there?

But when you evaluate these annoyances against the grand scheme of the game, they really come off as trivial. When I sit back and make my final assessment of MotoGP '06, I come to the conclusion that it is a well-built game. Genre fans may or may not like it, it may be too sim for some or not sim enough for others, but it's still a solid motorcycle racing game. You may think it's better than Tourist Trophy or you might think it's worse. What I think is true though, is that this is a niche game. If you aren't into motorcycles, you can probably pass on this game without too much regret. If you are, you should probably rent it first to find out how it stacks against your particular preferences since it's got elements of simulation as well as elements of arcade style.

As for me, it's a trade in.