Product Description

• Latest MotoGP game

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #812 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Capcom
• Released on: 2008-10-24
• Platform: PLAYSTATION 3
• Format: Unknown format
• Dimensions: .26 pounds

Manufacturer's Description
The official game of the 2008 season, MotoGP 08 features all the official riders, bikes and tracks from this year's event providing the definitive 2 wheeled racing experience.

The development team's overriding aim is to deliver an unparalleled handling model that allows access points for gamers of all skill levels and just as importantly provide a challenge to meet each player's abilities.

ALL 3 MOTOGP CLASSES
MotoGP 08 puts the player at the centre of the MotoGP experience by letting them join a team and compete alongside their sporting heroes in all three race classes - 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP. Recent MotoGP titles had excluded these titles at a cost and Capcom are keen to ensure that all the riders are faithfully represented, which also enables complete progression through the ranks as well as giving the gamer a different racing experience per class.With scaled and competitive AI which adjusts within limits to give a more enjoyable race experience on the lower levels but the higher levels show no mercy. You have the ability to set up a custom match search, create your own match setting up to 12 players in total. All 3 weather settings can be set up with collisions also being able to be turned off if required. Accessible to all but hard to master. - Quick matches

TUTORIAL MODE
Also new for this year is a tutorial mode should you require it. This allows you to decide what motorcycle and racing style suits you best. But rather than the tutorial mode taking you 'out of the main game', this mode takes you immediately into an arcade race and offers you hints and tips from the beginning. By pressing START you can pause the game also allowing you to test out and alter the racing model (from 'Arcade' to 'Advanced' or 'Simulation', change your transmission options or leave the tutorial mode entirely. You can also choose to automatically see live tips whilst playing, where the game will judge your riding style and offer help and advice where needed.

MAIN MODES
Career mode's new for this year is the ability for you to create your own rider (in previous MotoGP titles you've only been able to select an existing rider of the MotoGP event) and develop your skills for up to 5 racing seasons with the aim of becoming the ultimate MotoGP champion. Choosing a team and bike class at the beginning of each season you'll be able to customise your rider through a selection of bike helmet designs that unlock as you progress. As you win races , stronger teams will look to recruit you for the following season, enabling you to race better performing bikes. As you progress you'll also be able to access certain bike upgrades which improve it's performance across a range of parameters such as straight line speed, acceleration, braking and cornering.

Quick race - choose your favourite track, rider, difficulty level, bike class, riding model, transmission type, number of laps and weather conditions and go race.

Time Attack - set the best time at each circuit, competing against yourself to shave vital seconds off your record. Select the circuit and rider and off you go. You can decide whether you want a ghost rider to compete against, improving where you can to beat your previous lap.

Championship - Select any class, rider and team and compete in and re-create the entire 2008 season. Practice and Qualifying modes are optional whilst you also decide the weather conditions, difficulty setting, number of laps and handling model to allow you to shape the season of your choice. Before each race you can tweak the set-up on your bike, including changing tyres, suspension settings and gear ratios. During the championship you'll be able to check rider standings, see where your rider ranks and view individual performance statistics for the real aficionados. And if you're still not happy with your own performance you can practise racing the circuit on your own (solo) in free practise mode.

CHALLENGES
If that wasn't enough we've set up 50 unique challenges for those ambitious enough to accept them. Complete the challenges and you'll be rewarded with lots of hidden content. The challenges are divided up into the following categories:

Speed - stay above the speed indicated and finish inside the allotted time.
Brakes - Use a limited amount of braking sparingly to complete a circuit of the track.
Racing Line - Don't stray too far from the optimal racing line.
Checkpoint - Reach each checkpoint before the time runs out in order to complete the lap
Single race - Complete in an actual race scenario from MotoGP
Championship - Complete in an actual championship scenario taken from MotoGP
1vs1 - Beat a single opponent to the finish line on the final sector of a circuit.

ONLINE
PS3, Xbox360 and PC will allow you and up to 12 friends to race on any track from the MotoGP season. You'll be free to select any bike from the 125, 250 and GP class and race any of the manufacturer bikes, competing in individual races. The 360 version will include headset voice chat support only. For Xbox360 we'll have Ranked Matches (effect your online Live ranking), Leaderboards, Friends, Reserve private slots for friends, Invites and of course Achievements.

MotoGP 08 will also mark the debut of the series on both the PlayStation 3 and Wii. The Wii version utilizes the Nintendo Wii remote as handlebars allowing you to lean around the corners for an even more thrilling racing experience.

New for 2008 is also the inclusion of the all new Indianopolis track in the US (the home of US racing) plus the spectacle of night racing at the Qatar circuit.

Customer Reviews

Very good game, misunderstood!!
MotoGP 08 (PS3)

This review is based on a proper few hours of play with the game and no demo.
If like me you have waited for this in anticipation but found hardly any reviews of it then i hope this review will help you in some way. I have played other Moto Gp games before, pretty much all of them so this isn't a review from a novice.
Firstly, i believe Capcom have nailed this. You may read other reviews that slate this game a bit or only give it average reviews, but i honestly believe they don't understand the game or have only had their '10 minute' quota on it to write a review.

Out of the box, what becomes apparent is that Capcom have really thought about this game and the learning curve involved in getting the best out of it. If like me, having played other Moto Gp games you thought that you could just dive right in, you're wrong. You can almost see them sitting down and go 'right.. enough of jumping right onto a top end GP bike and thinking you can race it, it doesn't work like that..." its a bit like passing your bike test and then jumping on a 1000cc superbike. You can but you would be very wary at first, and so it goes with this game.

I strongly suggest you do the tutorial that opens up when first playing the game. I don't usually bother with tutorials, but this one is great. Often wondered why you keep falling off mid corner? why your brakes let you down? then this tutorial watches what you do and gives you tips where you're going wrong-it flashes an icon then gives you the tip. Its very well done. It also recommends what category to race in, be it simulation or arcade. Even if you think 'i wont bother' with the tutorial seriously, do! its well worth it.

There are 3 categories, 125, 250 and Moto GP top end! When i heard this i thought 'i wont bother with 125 and 250" but now i know why they are in there. Once you jump on a 125, its here you realise how Capcom have got the learning curve spot on. Have a go of the top class then the 125cc. At first you will think its dead slow but its a great learning curve, its more forgiving by far (even in simulation) and then the 250cc is somewhere in between.
Then you realise that the 500cc is the pinnacle. It really is a fantastic way to introduce you to the different elements of the racing genre.

Having played Simulation mode here's what i found. You may read in other reviews its all too easy to fall off or the bike just loses traction mid corner and you wonder why. Well i know why, its because you have the brake on or you're trying to accelerate too quickly mid corner (by the way, the tutorials flag up all your faults as you do them and a simple press of the start button explains why). Lets get one thing straight! anyone playing this as if its Grid or F1 will be on their backsides in seconds. BIkes are not cars, you simply cannot play bike games the same way and you often find that the people who 'complain' are usually the ones who try to play the game as if they are playing a car racing game. You need to adjust your mind to this and try to stop fighting it mentally as you play!!!

I ride motorbikes and for anyone that doesnt, there are 2 complete NO-NO's you never do. 1. is you never crank the throttle open while leaning over mid corner. The result is that the back end steps out, you lose control and come off. And 2. you never yank the front brake back mid corner while leaning over. The result is you lose the front tyre grip and it goes from underneath you. You can feather the throttle and you can feather the brake and this is exactly what you need to do in Moto Gp 08.

The reason i'm explaining this, is because you will quickly begin to enjoy this game once you 'get this into your head'!! Heading into a bend from a straight doing 200mph, you cannot hope to get into the corner as late as possible and then apply the brake, you will either go into the dirt or, manage to get it round the outside of the bend then fall off because you will still have the brake applied and be leaning too much. To rectify it, you might think its best to come off the brake and just apply the throttle now but no, you will fall off. Either way you can bet your life that you will think 'stupid game..too easy to fall off' but as i've said before, ride a proper bike like that and you'll be in A&E eating babyfood through a straw.
Braking for a corner and applying the power is a fine line and one that in this game (and biking games in general) is often mistaken for 'rubbish handling' every time. You wouldnt ride a bike like this in real life so dont here, those that moan they want 'simulation' cant complain when they get it.

So here's the solution and one you have to apply to every bend (obviously it helps if you know the circuit). As your hammering down the straight heading to a bend, seriously look for the brake markers on the trackside, when you get down to 100m apply the brakes hard (while upright), scrub the speed off, then let go and turn. If you think you're still going too fast and in mid corner, this is where you feather the brake/throttle. Once you get used to this you will see the racers either catch up or move away from you. Its at this point you realise THIS IS RACING!!
In real life i would be tapping the front brake in with 2 fingers or just pulling back on the throttle is short, quick movements, ready to nail it as i come out of a bend. On the controller, try this, mid corner, if you need to brake then the brake should be tapped rapidly, almost like firing a gun but not as hard, gently and the same with the throttle, dont pull it back to keep you going round, tap it gently, keep the power on this way, you will find you alternate between the brake and the throttle this way but then you would in real life. Then once youre out of the corner, floor it.
There will be times as you practice this that you will fall off, you will wonder why sometimes, but once you really look at what you are doing you quickly realise why too. More often than not its because youre keeping the brake and/or throttle pulled back way too hard. it really needs to be feathered!!
If youre having problems trying to understand this then try the 125cc class first because the margin for error is bigger, so try this on a quick race first-just 3 laps. Then jump to the 500cc class and you can see the margin for error reduces, as it would in real life. The same principles apply but you just have to be quicker/gentler on the controller.
Its this element of Moto Gp i think people fail to grasp, but i do believe Capcom have nailed it. Once you get used to is, the racing is awesome!! 32 riders in 125 cc class is breathtaking to see on screen,with no slowdown.
The graphics are some of the best i've seen on a racer, the detail is pin sharp, the skies, crowd and rider/bikes are beautiful. As you race, the animation is spot on and the way sparks and exhaust flames 'pop' out of the bike are great. Cant fault the graphics at all.

Audio is good too, the music is good and the audio racing is great. Bike sounds are authentic.

Multiplayer is ok, its not fantastic, and can be a little bit jerky, but its probably down to connections rather than the game, though i have heard Capcom plan a patch to improve a few things on this. Personally i always found multiplayer a bit of a pain as a lot of riders simply don't play by the rules and go steaming into you and take you out every turn completely spoiling the fun. But i have had a few good races on there.

In the game you also have career mode, which is a really neat way of building up experience and understanding what i have said above. You progress through from 125, to 250 and then finally to 500cc.
there are quick race modes and time attacks and also challenges if you like that sort of thing. Load times are quick.

The racing itself (once you understand the dynamics i've outlined) is great. No more shooting off into the distance, you always feel riders are behind waiting for you to make a mistake, so the pressure is always on, but likewise if your near the back and riding well, you can catch up and overtake, you will even see experienced riders like Rossi making braking errors and coming off. It really is great.

Talking of overtaking, once you get used to riding the bike like a bike and not a car, you will also see that overtaking isn't always about hammering past, its sometimes a lot better to pick your opponents off one by one. You can barge into them sideways and not come off, you can a bit from the back too, you can hustle for position. But do any of these things too hard or fast and you will come off, but then you would in real life too.

I honestly believe that in order to really appreciate this game or any bike game you need to break that mental 'car driving mode' locked into our gaming heads. More often than not, its you making the mistake not the game, don't expect, even once, that the game will forgive you, it wont, it makes no bones about the fact that this is bike racing, you get used to it, not the other way round, if you don't like that, than don't buy it, by Wacky Racers instead, but if you understand that fact and love bike racing then it doesn't get any better than this.

Spot on!

Superb game but it has some glitches!
The review by P. K. Kellett is spot on (read it if you are undecided on the game!) but it does miss out the down sides.

On several occasions I have forced another rider out wide onto the grass and even into the gravel only for him to appear immediately on the other side overtaking me!!!! How?

By using free practice and really being obsessive on tinkering with the bike setup, I have managed to get up to 5 seconds faster than the next rider, but when it come to the race, the competition suddenly becomes far faster than it managed in free practice and qualifing!

Crashes are unreal sometimes. Never had a tank-slapper yet (slightly disappointing for some masochistic reason). I am fed up of the amount of times a rider bangs into the back of me as if there is only one line on the track. Even worse on the warm-up lap. Just watch the bikes continualy bang front tyre to back tyre. I have also noticed that at the end of some crashes/forced dismounts the bike and rider seem to have "phased" into each other as in some Star Trek transporter accident.

Is the game good, YES! Is it worth the money, YES! Buy it! If you can ride two wheels in real life you will appreciate the effort Capcom have put into the physics. Is it worth 5 stars? No. Not quite.

Do read P. K. Kellett's review.

Very good, but not perfect racer
When I heard that THQ were not going to make any more Moto GP games, I was bitterly disappointed, and presumed that either I would not get to see any more MGP games or it would fall into the hands of the wrong people. However, it fell into the hands of Capcom. Yes, that's right. The people behind Street Fighter, Resident Evil and many other brilliant titles. So, what does it feature? You can ride 125cc, 250cc or Moto GP bikes. The handling physics are brilliant and extremely accurate, even if at times the game physics are a bit 'iffy'. Career mode is excellent, but it seems strange that it only lasts for 5 seasons. When you are qhizzing along the track you get a real sense of speed, but collisions seem to be infrequent and the backdrops on some tracks are just non-existent. The difficulty level could be described as 'brutal' and this game certainly is not for impatient people! The sound and music is very good indeed, and I enjoyed online, where upto 12 people can participate. However, the lack of online features is a bit disappointing, as is the limited customization of bikes. Overall though it is a very good game indeed, well worth a look if you are into Moto GP, or not, as long as you have the patience!