The sensation of riding a racing car launched at 300km/h on the tracks of the most prestigious circuits in the world, the prospect of facing opponents curve after curve to reach the coveted trophy: the reality of MotoGP riders, with all its dozens of variables and the many emotions it manages to generate, it’s really difficult to summarize and encapsulate in digital form. Yet, the Milestone team continued to refine and modify the playful recipe to deliver a product into the hands of enthusiasts that can revive all the suggestions of a sport that is as adrenaline-filled as it is complex to master.
The MotoGP video game series renounces arcade contaminations to offer the public an all-round simulation exercise, embellished with the official licenses of the teams and athletes as well as a large quantity of cutting-edge technologies. In the aftermath of last year’s edition (here is the review of MotoGP 23), MotoGP 24 continues to further develop the futuristic systems that regulate the attitudes of opponents on the track, but also the level of aid granted to the player in order to create a title suitable for all skill levels.
The first steps of the pilots
Just like its predecessors, MotoGP 24 bases its gameplay on the realistic simulation of world championship races, without allowing the typical recreational drifts of arcade racing games.
To understand how to approach curves, manage the release of gas and braking or even just manage the power of two-wheeled racing cars avoiding ending up off the road, it will be necessary invest several hours in training modalities included in the package. From this point of view, Milestone has done a good job: MotoGP 24, in fact, includes both a tutorial section suitable for assimilating the fundamentals and the so-called MotoGP Academy which allows you to tackle isolated portions of the various Grand Prix tracks with active suggestions regarding the best ways to enter each individual curve. The levels of excellence reached by the educational dimension of the latest edition of WRC (here is the review of EA Sports WRC) are far away, but in any case we are talking about a good starting point for those approaching MotoGP and the its rules or even for those who want to refresh their memory. It adds to this a dynamic difficulty selector with four pre-set settings, ranging from the ‘Simplified’ option to the one appropriately labeled ‘Pro’.
Where the first prepares a level of challenge calibrated significantly downwards and active all neural aid systems provided by the game to lead the user by the hand to the first goals, the last one turns off any type of support leaving the rider at the mercy of extraordinarily aggressive opponents and a bike that is truly difficult to manage. Furthermore, as if that were not enough, it is possible to operate manually in the settings menu to calibrate yourself each of the driver assistance options present.
It goes fromneural accelerator which when active accelerates autonomously based on the AI predictions, and we arrive at neural brake which can intervene to improve braking, even passing through the RHD (electronic device that controls the height of the motorbike to improve grip on the asphalt) which can be left to the player or assigned to the artificial intelligence.
Although this is a rather broad scale of values, we have to express some slight doubts about the standard presets chosen by the team: the ‘Simplified’ mode is really too automated , with the player simply having to press the accelerator on the straights and follow the curves with the analogue stick with practically no possibility of making mistakes, while the next one ends up deactivating too many aids and being very difficult for novice drivers. It’s not a debilitating factor for the experience, let’s be clear, but we would have preferred a further balancing operation to guarantee users a more homogeneous progression. Ultimately, thanks to the combined effort of all these technologies, MotoGP 24 appears more accessible and accessible than ever suitable for every type of palateas long as you’re looking for a simulation with a learning curve that will take some time to digest.
Let’s get on track
Once the challenge rate has been set, it’s time to take a look at the content offered by this new iteration of MotoGP which, as usual, brings with it a good amount of activities, vehicles and riders from the latest edition of the world championship and not only. In addition to the usual selection of quick modes which include time trials, single Grand Prix or entire championships with adjustable duration (with tracks also coming from the glorious past of the discipline such as Estoril, Indianapolis or Laguna Seca), the title offers a substantial Career modethis year enriched with a series of new features loudly requested by the most die-hard fans.
After creating our digital alter-ego, based on a fairly basic character editor, and after selecting the equipment and riding style, it will also be possible to design customized liveries for both the helmets and the motorbike, arriving even to share their works with the rest of the online community. At this point you need to start your career by tackling the first races of your debut season on a Moto3 racing car, the lowest category in the world championship.
At the beginning of each weekend you can participate in the qualifications in order to accumulate points and become familiar with the circuit or opt directly for the race starting, naturally, from the last positions. Before doing this it is necessary to adjust the bike’s set-up by making changes on the brakes, on the suspensions, on the most suitable tire compound to the various sessions and much more.
Each competition offers objectives to complete which can range from simple placement at the top of the rankings to beating a specific rival on lap times. By completing these challenges and collecting Status Points you can increase your credibility in the eyes of large teams who may decide to invest in you in the near future. MotoGP 24 introduces the Seasonal Rider Market, one of the most requested features by players: winning races means ending up under the spotlight of the best manufacturers around, who could make unmissable offers and push you to change your coat season after season.
Thanks to the already tried and tested system of Turning Points, true turning points that appear from time to time during the Career, it will be possible to make choices with an impact on the continuation of the campaign and literally forge ahead to reach the top championship more quickly. The feeling is that Milestone wanted to listen to user feedback and introduce a further way to personalize progress in this dimension of the experience, with the player being able to make important decisions and develop relationships with other members of the paddock. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the Social systemwhich at the end of each race allows you to interact with your opponents in order to intertwine appraisal reports with colleagues or exacerbate rivalries, all elements that open the doors to landing in certain teams or modify in real time the seasonal objectives to be pursued. The performance of the races represents the natural evolution of the path started by Milestone in recent years with a driving model with a familiar feeling but which does not give up some small refinements in terms of the physics of the motorbikes and the management of the acceleration and braking processes.
The main innovation is represented by the inclusion of race stewards who will have the right to issue warnings or sanctions to the most incorrect drivers: if you create danger for others, cause accidents or cut off pre-established circuits, you will be penalized with an increased calculation of lap times and with the obligation to follow longer routes than other competitors. In short, it is a faithful reproduction of what we are used to seeing on TV on race weekends.
Furthermore, both the races return Flag to Flag that the Tissot Sprint, both variations on the theme introduced in the last version of the game and reproduced here in a fairly slavish manner, without any particular changes compared to what we saw last year. However, the implementation of theAdaptive Difficulty‘ which dynamically changes the challenge rate based on the player’s performance over the course of various competitions.
During our tests we were always faced with fair competition, never too fierce and never too defeatist: really a job done with competence, in this respect. The examination closes newly introduced weather system which can heavily influence weather conditions even while the race is underway. It may happen, for example, that you start speeding with the sun and are suddenly hit by a storm, a factor that makes it necessary to return to the pits to intervene on the set-up and tyres.
Only the multiplayer modewhich allow you to both face a friend in split-screen races and participate in so-called ‘LiveGP‘, online competitions divided into various stages that take place on dates set by the developers. We will delve into the online component separately when the servers are active on a larger scale.
The thrill of competition
Finally, from a technical point of view, MotoGP 24 presents a good aesthetic appearance with very faithful replicas of the models of the motorbikes and the official circuits of the world championship (which will even be enriched thanks to the use of future patches) and an improved creation of the faces of the riders which, although not in line with other triple A productions on the modern market, are certainly superior to those of the previous edition.
Excellent work done on the lighting system, which correctly emphasizes the different moments of the day in which the races take place, outlining a truly pleasant picture both during the day and at night. The HUD follows in every way the official graphics seen in television broadcasts while the sound section, in which the inevitable commentary of the commentator stands out Guido Medafeatures first-rate sampling, embellished with some gems such as the muffled sounds when sets the view inside the helmet.
