It has been for more than ten consecutive years that Milestone creates the official MotoGP game. The first dates back to 2007, but in the two-year period 2010-11 the license briefly passed to Capcom and then returned to the Milanese company in 2013. It is with this awareness that we can say with absolute certainty that their simulation of the craziest and most prestigious championship of two wheels is the most faithful on the market. This year, then, the physics of MotoGP 24 are spot on and will really make you feel like your elbows are a few centimeters from the curb.
The main problem with this chapter, however, is the artificial intelligence, which is erratic, inconsistent and, in some cases, almost incorrect. Being an annual game, there aren’t many new features, but we were particularly pleased with the latest additions. First of all, the pilot marketwhich already from the debut season of the career mode sets intermediate goals and objectives to be achieved that encourage you to do better.
It makes your head spin
Anyone who rides a motorbike even in the real world knows that to take a turn well you have to look where you want to go by turning your head, and the motorbike will do the rest (or almost) by itself. The “driving” sensation that MotoGP 24 delivers, both in first and third person, is so realistic that, in the tightest corners and in the most millimetric overtaking, it was natural for us to turn our heads like in real life, in the hope of gaining a few more millimeters of bend. The immersion is total, the controls are precise and the behavior of the vehicle is decidedly similar to that of the motorbikes you see on Sunday on TV.
The direct consequence of this approach is that, at any level of difficulty, MotoGP 24 is an unforgiving game. Mistakes will cost you dearly in terms of seconds and, with the introduction of stewards, if you are blatantly incorrect both in the race and in qualifying, you will be punished with warnings and Long Lap Penalties. The time rewind function, fortunately, will save you from most of these dangers. Last year, an unnamed social network was added to the game where you can see what people are talking about in the paddock and where you can interact with other drivers and representatives of the other teams. These interactions will also influence the new mid- and end-season market. This will allow the creation of rumours, relationships between possible future team mates and affinities: all these factors will influence the offers that will reach you and the competing drivers controlled by AI in the new sections of the market.
The videos in the pits and on the podium are still a little cumbersome, but throughout the rest of the game, especially when it rains, the graphics are really refined. Especially in first person, MotoGP 24 does a great job. There are never too many visual stimuli, while the graphics on the screen, which are absolutely in line with the style of those of the current season, will make you feel right within a race weekend. If we were to draw up a ranking, we would say that the most fun classes to play are, in order, MotoGP, Moto3 and Moto2 with MotoE which we will only be able to evaluate later, when it comes out with an update.
A guided experience is missing
If you are a veteran player of the series, MotoGP 24 offers an excellent simulation experience. If you are novices who have recently approached the world of high-level motorcycling, this game is instead he won’t do much to help you. First of all, there is no proper tutorial made up of sections of the track, explanations of the rules of motorbike racing and a complete description of what the individual components of a motorbike do and how changing them influences their behaviour. All this information is already in the game, but it is scattered across different experiences and different sections and it is very difficult to orient yourself. There is a MotoGP Academy, but it is only used to learn the circuits, there are mini-tutorials with gameplay for some features such as flag to flag (when you have to change bikes due to adverse weather conditions), but it is all disconnected and messy. You learn everything by playing, but we would have liked an experience (optional of course) to calmly introduce new players to the world of MotoGP.
The second minor criticality of this game is the trajectory line, in simple words the “line” to follow on the track. Veterans practically don’t need it but for all other players it is essential and the fact that it is imprecise in indicating the speed and in some cases even wrong in outlining the trajectory It makes the experience really frustrating. The most striking case we encountered was the first corner of the Portimao circuit, which we learned only by copying AI opponents who did not follow the line, cutting it cleanly. The main problem of this racing line, however, is in indicating the optimal speed: it lacks a lot of precision, nuance and consistency. From the red color we expect to have to brake like crazy and from the blue to put the proverbial throttle on. Instead, the intermediate colors appear and disappear within a few seconds and do not provide the required indications.
If these two aspects are quite ignoreable and by playing you feel them less and less because you learn both the main aspects of the racing world and the behavior to be followed on each circuit, the aspect where MotoGP 24 is most lacking is from the point of view of artificial intelligence and its relationship with the management of difficulty. Regardless of the difficulty level you are playing at, it is unthinkable to finish a grand prix 20 seconds ahead of world champion Francesco Bagnaia. Likewise, it is absolutely frustrating, in a Moto3 race, to spend all the laps fighting for thirteenth place because, suddenly, the opponents have found themselves to be ultra-combative.
The peak of recklessness in managing the difficulty was when, to become the first driver of our team, we had the aim of finishing ahead of our teammate. If until the previous race all the competitors had behaved like little lambs, suddenly, as soon as this variable was inserted into the game, they have become more aggressive than ever and from fighting for the podium we went to fighting for eleventh place. It is not possible to have such sudden surges in difficulty just because a key career objective is at stake, the experience should be a crescendo, especially if this is considered by Milestone itself to be a key element of the experience.
