The racing genre has seen quite a surge over the past few years, with titles like Forza Motorsport 3 and Gran Turismo 5, but motorcycle-specific games have been few and not of the highest quality. This year’s MotoGP 10/11 aims to rectify that shortcoming and is largely successful. With its deep career system, rewarding gameplay, and large online races, MotoGP 10/11 improves upon its predecessor and ends up being a great game in itself.
MotoGP 10/11 comes right out of the box with all riders unlocked. So if you take part in the world championship mode, you can play an entire season with any racer and bike of your choosing. In addition to this, the game features time trials and a challenge mode, where you must reach a checkpoint before the clock reaches zero. Time bonuses are granted for completing certain objectives, such as overtaking a fellow competitor or slipstreaming. All of these modes are fairly standard, but the bulk of your time will likely be spent in career mode.
The game’s career mode allows you to start from scratch with a new racer. It’s your job to build a team, manage sponsorships, and hire the appropriate staff. You start off in the basic 125cc series, but after winning multiple races and earning money, you’ll eventually work your way up to the MotoGP series. The sense of progression is handled well, and the amount of depth in the career mode is impressive. You earn experience depending on your racing skills, your staff can upgrade bikes and create new sponsorship opportunities, and wild card races can result in even more money. It truly feels like you’re managing a career, and the amount of content packed into the mode is more than enough for any racing fan. Another plus is that the career mode includes split-screen co-op support, so you can race and manage your team with a friend. Online support would have also been welcome, but this is a neat feature that should be included in more racing games.
Perhaps the most important part of any racing game is the way it plays, though, and MotoGP delivers in this area as well. The amount of control and timing required to safely complete turns and stay on the track is a bit more than your average racing game, making the initial learning curve a little steep. Also, the controls can be slightly troublesome, even compared to other moto racing games. Once you get the hang of the mechanics, however, the game reveals itself as a pretty great racer. The AI is fairly aggressive, making races both competitive and challenging. Best of all, the game features plenty of assists so that gamers of all experience levels won’t feel left out.
The career mode will obviously keep players busy, but there is also online multiplayer for those who want to test their skills against other people. The actual features in multiplayer are quite limited, with no progression and basic components such as class limits and race distances, but that’s a bit easier to ignore, considering the game support up to 20 players, which can lead to some very fun and competitive races.
Unfortunately, the game’s presentation does not match the quality of the content. MotoGP 10/11 does not look like a game that came out in 2011. The crowds are lifeless, track details are inconsistent, and and the sense of speed is severely lacking. Similarly, the audio doesn’t include anything particularly noteworthy. The sound effects are decent but the music is largely forgettable. There are certainly worse games out there when it comes to presentation, but developer Monumental Games could have done a better job on the audiovisual front.
Overall, MotoGP 10/11 improves upon its predecessor while maintaining the characteristics that are synonymous with the series. The lack of visual polish certainly isn’t going to turn any heads, and it has some problems such as touchy controls and a lack of multiplayer options, but the core racing is both fun and challenging, while the career mode offers plenty of depth. If you’re looking for a motorcycle racing game to pick up, then MotoGP 10/11 is a great choice.
