14 DAY TRIAL // 
Moto GP 4 is Namco's latest attempt to recreate the world of Grand Prix motorcycle racing and, for the most part, it does a very good job at it. The game lets you race against the sport's famous riders on a number of licensed circuits and offers a remarkable amount of replay value. Despite not being a huge improvement over its predecessors it definitely is the best in the series and a worthy competitor to Climax's rival series for the Xbox.
Gameplay Moto GP 4's main dishes are three modes of play: arcade, career and challenge. The arcade mode is exactly what it sounds like - pick a bike, tune it to your liking, pick a track and race to your heart's content.
If you choose to embark on the career mode you can either complete a single season as a real Moto GP star, such as Valentino Rossi or Max Biaggi, the goal evidently being to win the championship, or you can start from scratch and create your own custom rider. When starting from scratch you're thrown into the 125cc circuit and must work your way up through the ranks, upgrading your bike as you go before making it to the big leagues, which is one of the game's biggest additions.
Also new to the game is the training mode, which takes you through the basics of how to handle your bike by means of brief exercises in braking, cornering and steering, before moving on to some trickier maneuvers. This is an excellent way to give beginners a feel of the bikes, the controls and everything else that comes with it, and what puzzles me is how could it be missing from the previous games.
The challenge mode features 125 or so challenges, ranging from one-on-one races with the Moto GP stars, to time challenges on the tricky areas of the racing circuits. Some of them are pretty difficult, so knowing how to handle the bikes properly is a must. Winning these grabs you points with which you can unlock the hidden extras, so those who care about such banalities are in for a real treat.
The physics can be tweaked from the options menu and they dramatically affect how the game is played. There are two options: normal and simulation physics. On the normal setting the bikes behave well enough for it to be quite accessible to the average gamer, and most people should be able to get into racing in no time. However, simulation is exactly what it says, simulation. Here bikes behave in a much more realistic and unforgiving manner, and the slightest mistake results in your kissing concrete in a flash. On top of this, simulation also enables front and rear brakes that are independent of each other, throwing yet another wrench into the works, which makes mastering this mode quite a challenge.
There's a noticeable handling difference when moving from 125cc to 250cc bikes. When riding the Moto GP two-wheeled monsters it's all about acceleration and braking, but with the slender smaller capacity bikes it's about keeping momentum, and these aspects are faithfully reproduced. The handling of the individual bike models is also noticeable, which makes the experience all the more satisfying. You also have the opportunity to make adjustments to the bikes' response and stability, by tweaking their handling, acceleration and braking, for those who want to squeeze every little drop out of their rides.
All sixteen tracks from around the world have been accurately recreated, including the China track that made its debut in Formula 1 in 2004 but is now also a Moto GP track, as well as three bonus ones. The tracks look a bit barren in terms of the surrounding environment, but considering the scope of the game it's certainly forgivable.
The A.I. is far from perfect. Trailing riders have the annoying tendency to bump their way past you with bizarre bursts speed and scant regard for their own safety, made even more irritating problems however by the choppy collision detection. It's as if the bikes are encased in invisible boxes at all times, making the crashes with other riders look and feel particularly unconvincing.
Video and audio In terms of visual appeal the game is far from spectacular, but pretty good for a racing game. The bikers look very "curvy" and detailed. A nice aspect is the helmet camera that gives you a true perspective of a Moto GP race, as if your driver's looking over the shoulder when others are coming from behind. This not only adds detail but is also helpful, as it reminds you when opposition is approaching. The animations are also great, only the circuits are somewhat lacking in the detail department.
The noise of each machine has been captured with great accuracy and it's a joy to listen to, but the metal soundtrack is quite unremarkable. It's best to turn it off and let the engines do the singing.
Multiplayer Those with a broadband adapter are able to hook up to a LAN game, allowing up to 8 players to compete with each other. Split screen is also available, but the lack of online play would have really spiced things up. Oh well, maybe with the next installment.
Conclusion If you are into bikes you will love this game, if not why would you buy a motorcycle game anyway? It's certainly not perfect, but worth checking out nonetheless.
