Developer: Milestone
Publisher: Milestone
Platform: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tested On: PS4
MotoGP 17 – review
For racing fans the Moto GP season might just be the perfect time of the year to enjoy world’s most famous race drivers in action while they go deep on their bikes to claim victory. If you like this and would love to become the next Valentino Rossi but are not the best driver or don’t have the financials there is hope on the horizon in the form of MotoGP 17. This realistic racing game will teach you how to become number one!
Story
You start as an unknown driver in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, here you must prove your skills towards the other teams and build upon your reputation. After the first championship ends you are left with the decision to either stay there or move up in the world. In this game there are four divisions with the Holy Grail being the MotoGP category. This is the place where the big boys race such as Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi, and it is your goal to become as reputable as they are.
The overall flow of the story is that of a steady pace, with each GrandPrix being very long (around eighteen races) it gives you enough time to gain in reputation to be able to move up a step. When you are popular enough you will be able to move up a rank mid season. To become the ultimate champion will take time, but this is understandable because Rome wasn’t built in a day either.
Graphics
As it is a pleasure to watch on TV it is enjoyable as a game. Milestone has gone through its best efforts to bring us an experience as close to the real thing. The overall graphics are very smooth with nicely crafted tracks, but what rakes in the real points is the attention to detail. For a bike racing game you have such tiny details like small text on the rider’s suit and stickers on the bikes. Even the engraving on the steering and dash can be easily read like you would drive a real one.
The track also changes towards different weather conditions. With the rain pouring down you will find much water splashing from the wheels and all over your dashboard and helmet. When the track has been rained on a while ago but some time passed you will notice the dry spots and the transition between those two.
Another cool addition is the real footage used when approaching a track. This shows us actual taped scenes from the country you are currently in and this leaves the impression of something you would watch on television.
Sound
Since MotoGP17 consists of many categories with a wide range of race-modified bikes, this means that a sound orchestra will come from its tailpipes and will distinct each vehicle from their own classes. A nice garble is heard when decelerating and other sound effects are nicely in place. There is no race music or a commentator for most parts, but this does not hinder gameplay at all.
However in the menus there is music playing but is set on a short loop, it would have been cool to have a few songs playing in the background though. When racing the surrounding noise can become hectic when more than 30 bikes are revving their engines. On track it is less noticeable so you can get easily surprised by opponents that are on your tail.
Gameplay
MotoGP17 is a motorcycle racing game with a strong simulator feel to it. As you need to take many variables in consideration this might not be the ideal game for a starting player. The main game is divided by two story modes: rider- and managerial career. As a rider the story starts in the boots of a promising new driver that needs to work his/her way up the ranks to become the best. You earn reputation by increasing difficulty and placing high in the charts. This is important for better teams to become interested in you and to be willing for signing a contract.
While in managerial you are the owner of a race team and need to take care of all the business surrounding one. The purchasing of bikes, upgrading and maintaining them, investing into better staff and the most fun part: racing for your own team. With the main racer being a driver like yourself in career mode, this time it is also possible to hone and improve the rider’s skills. When growing there will be other pilots ready to race for your cause and bring home the trophy. Managing isn’t all pure about what happens on track. On free weekend you can rest and on activity days it is mandatory to participate in events to earn bonuses towards the next race such as extra money, better sponsors, improves skills or even increased reputation.
Winning is not everything in MotoGP 17, sometimes it suffices to come in at a certain place (for instance placing 15th or better is the goal in some events) so don’t worry if you don’t get a podium finish. This is probably done since the game is really realistic and thanks to this also pretty difficult. Even with all assists turned on and AI on easy you still need to do great effort in order to win. For newer players this can be a turn down but with a little training and right angle of attack will make the last place disappear forever. When simulating wear and damage this is greatly influenced by driving style, when you drive aggressively and cause the wheels to skid more these will wear out really fast and will cause the bike to lose grip immediately. You feel the tires degrading as you race and the sense of realism is done very good. Also Tucking-In is very important since this will make the driver hide behind the fairing and this influences the aerodynamic resistance and can give you an edge over the competition.
Controlling your rider can become a bit of a nuisance if you decide to do everything manual. Since Tucking-In plays a great part and the way the buttons are aligned this means that you will either set one option to automatic or remap the controls for better handling.
Conclusion
MotoGP 17 is a good racing game but even a better bike simulator that has a nice content-filled career mode with a wide range of different bikes from low power to extreme fast rockets or historical machines. On some occasions it can be a hard battle to get a podium finish but in the end it is more realistic and interesting to be fighting for the trophy instead of just walking through the game with your eyes closed. Because the GP’s are so long it can become a bit stale for players looking after variation after a few races, with the exception of mid season upgrades if you are good enough. Build your team or become number one, or take a lot of time for doing both. MotoGP 17 will deliver an overall fun and realistic racing experience.
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