state of art graphics: not

What is it?
For those of you who might not know this international sport I shall quickly fill you in: it’s a World Championship, spanning over every continent, with some of the most technologically advanced motorcycles in existence. With many different manufacturers and teams in competition, this motorsport is only rivaled in popularity by Formula 1 meaning of course that everyone game developer wants to make a racing game using the official license to bring the same popularity into the video gaming world. With the launch of the Xbox some time ago, Climax, with the help of THQ, also made a racing game for Microsoft’s big black box using the official license and unlike the Japanese’s racer, it was pretty good. But it didn’t stop there since THQ saw that a market existed for a MotoGP franchise on PC and we soon were blessed with a great port of the game. It sold well enough and a MotoGP 2 came out soon after with improved graphics, better gameplay and more realism than the first offering. And finally, Climax and THQ have given us the third game in their series called: MotoGP 3 Ultimate Racing Technology.

Start line
The first thing you should know is that, since this is an Xbox game to begin with, the graphics are nothing amazing at all (especially for PC). This is easily reflected in the game’s minimum specifications which are far from gourmet:

• 1Ghz Processor
• Win98 / ME / Windows 2000 / XP
• 128Mb Ram
• GeForce 3 or above DirectX compatible graphics card
• DirectX Compatible Sound Card
• 950Mb Free Hard Drive Space (installed)
• DirectX 9.0c
• 4x CD-Rom drive

I think it’s obvious to see that most of today’s computers will run this game quite smoothly with a good amount of frames. The engine is exactly the same as the one used in the two previous games and thus, if you ran those, you can run this. The only really new edition to MotoGP 3 URT is the possibility to have “blooming” enabled but this apparently will only work on newer cards supporting PixelShader 3. For this review, I tested the game with my current system:

• Intel Pentium 4 3.0C GHz
• ASUS P4C800-E Deluxe
• 4 x 512 PC3200 RAM in Dual Channel
• 200 GB IDE Western Digital
• Antec 480 TrueBlue PSU
• HIS X850 XT PE
• 17” Dell TFT
• 5.1 Altec Lansing Sound System
• Windows XP Professional 2 (SP2)

Immediately, you’ll notice that my card isn’t PixelShader 3 complaint and thus, all the screenshots and the video are taking without any blooming. However, apart from that slight unpleasantness, you’ll find that the game’s engine is as smooth as butter as long as you stay above 30 frames. Also, since it isn’t very demanding, staying at that magic 60 all the time is easily in anyone’s grasp (and as the game’s engine is highly customizable, you’ll find the perfect settings for your computer). I myself had absolutely no problems running it, even with anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering enabled, while keeping my frames at that wonderful and magical number 60. The only bad thing to say about the engine is that, if you don’t enable v-sync, you are going to see a lot of tearing while you play and the game’s engine caps your maximum amount of frames to 60 no matter what. I personally don’t mind this at all but I know that some might not like the fact that they can’t have higher performance (even if their system allows it).

Tropical racing at it’s best

Déjà vu menu?

If you’ve already played any of Climax’s MotoGPs, then you’ll quickly find yourself immediately at home… a little too at home actually. The first thing you’ll notice is that the entire menu system is exactly the same as in the previous versions. The only thing that changed were maybe a few new options and a few others removed, a different color scheme and that’s about it. It hasn’t been retouched which is a pity since the menu system is slightly clunky and felt unpolished (unlike the rest of the game). But it’s still pleasant and the continuous videos playing the background make browsing the menus interesting to say the least.

Déjà vu graphics?

Again, if you’ve played any of Climax’s other games of the same series; you’ll be again presented with almost identical graphics. Sure, there are more polygons around this time, blooming for those with NVIDIA or the newer ATI cards and some normal mapping, but apart from that, it’s exactly the same. And that’s good in a way, since it means that if you ran the others fine, this one will be no different, but it also means that the graphics are quite outdated this time around. Sure, it’s crisp and clean but that’s all it has to offer. The levels seem exactly like the ones used in MotoGP 2 (everything from texture to polygons) and the same is mostly to be said for the bikes and drivers who just got a bit of tweaking done to them. To be frank, I was disappointed with the game when I first ran it since I expected some evolution in the franchise (in every department) but found myself confronted to the same clunky menu and the same average graphics as in its predecessors. The screenshots show off the game quite well and to it’s credit, it does have some nice effects like speed sensation on the textures and some good particle effects but some of the major problems of the previous game have been left unattended.

let's do the time warp again ...

Firstly, the dynamic LOD which saves CPU usage has been left unchanged which really destroys the game’s image quality. The riders, depending on the distance they are from you have more or less polygons and the problem is, when they suddenly catch up to you, they suddenly become more detailed and you really see it as a sudden apparition. There is no transition and thus, during the replays, you’ll be seeing the riders changing in bulk and dimension as they gain and loose polygons. Another major problem was the rubbish crashing which looked very fake since the rider would clip (go through) everything around him. All they would have needed to do was add a small and rudimentary rag doll physics engine to the game to solve it but of course, they didn’t. Finally, every bike has the same inside view! They all have identical windscreens and dials when obviously most of the bikes are completely different in looks and design. Would it have been so difficult to make one for each of the few bikes in the game? It seems though that Climax took the lazy man’s option and changed nothing.

No déjà vu sound?

Yes, you read it right, this time around, there is no déjà vu! The sound department got a huge upgrade and I must give Climax and THQ some credit since they did an outstanding job. To start it off, the music in the game is average (verging on the bad) but since you can have your own custom tracks, it’s not a big problem. It’s one of the few games that actually allows you to change the tracks so I must give a thumbs-up for the effort. But best of all is the brand new sound effects in the game, especially when it comes to engine noises. MotoGP 2 had some pretty boring and very fake sounds for the engines which didn’t bring in that sense of reality and power that you get when you hear a real MotoGP bike. However, with MotoGP 3 URT, Climax did their homework well and brought some of the best engine noises in any motorcycle game to PC. It’s absolutely mind-boggling and you really get that sense of power and perfection this time around. The sounds of those engines are different depending on the bike and when they go high in the revs, they honestly just shake you and send a chill down your spine. I really think that MotoGP 3 URT has done marvels in this department and not only with the engine noises but all the other sounds too. The spectators, tire screeches and crashes have all been redone and the results speak for themselves since the game has become much more immersive and real. Must say, this was an important and fundamental change to the series.

nice textures

Finally, the racing…

Well to be honest, the gameplay is very difficult to judge. Obviously, since the MotoGP tracks are mostly the same and since the bikes aren’t fundamentally different, the game plays very similarly to its predecessors. Sure, it’s been tweaked a bit and feels slightly more real (easier to fall off the bike now when doing dangerous burnouts or tight turns) but still, the essential driving is the same and since it was good before, why change it? The only problem with this approach is since the main game modes are almost exactly the same as the previous one, it feels like you’re playing MotoGP 2 all over again. Sure, the riding is precise, sharp and very well refined but honestly, it didn’t feel like a new game at all and thus, didn’t keep my interest for very long. In addition, MotoGP 3 URT is missing a game mode which I personally found very fun in MotoGP 2 called Stunt Mode. In it, you had to drive around while doing wheelies and making others crash and brought some different kind of pleasure into the serious motorsport but apparently, Climax didn’t think it was any good since it’s gone. So we are just left with quick races, career mode (just race the entire season), time trails and finally, multiplayer. Not very innovative is it?

But that’s when I saw something very new in the game… the Extreme class. Curiously, I decided to try out the Extreme 600 class and suddenly, the game immediately became more interesting as I noticed that I had new bikes and most of all, new levels. Now this might not seem like much but trust me, it’s thanks to these extra levels and extra bikes that made me keep the game installed on the PC. Honestly, the level design is absolutely perfect and really changes from the monotones and cliché MotoGP tracks. Yes, you’re only ten racers per track but that’s more than enough to have fun. It just brings some life back into the series (which was badly needed) and thus, keeps the franchise alive and fresh. This was the reason the video was all done on some of these new tracks since that’s what MotoGP 3 URT really brings to the table: Extreme class 600/1000/1200. I can’t tell you how good this part of the game was through words alone unfortunately and I can’t stress enough just how good the level design actually is! Just know that I was addicted to the new Extreme class of the game and really enjoyed myself thoroughly against the game’s AI. Speaking of AI, I must say that it’s very good (never crashes into you, makes mistakes, never too hard or easy, etc.), making the game long lasting and motivating. Yes, there are many problems like the fact that most of the game hasn’t evolved much from MotoGP 2 in the levels department or in the handling department but since it was great back then, it’s still amazing now.

bah! who needs footpegs?

The multiplayer is also loads of fun and really worth trying out with some friends. There are more than enough people around online and I must say, the experience was very smooth and easy. Lag wasn’t an issue at all and well, only the fact that I didn’t have enough skill came to disturb my online racing. Oh, and that there wasn’t much innovation in what you can do on the internet but that was to be expected unfortunately. Nonetheless, this was awesome fun and is good to know that the game has more to offer than just a lengthy singleplayer experience.

there are 40 behind me ... honest

Ready, steady, go!

So in the end, what does this game bring to the table? Well, if you’re a newcomer to the franchise, it has a lot to offer. It’s a good and honest representation of the MotoGP sport and most of all, it’s loads of fun since not only is it good looking and good sounding but it also has exceptional gameplay to offer. However, if you’re an experienced MotoGP racer, then this game only has the new Extreme class to offer which is not much at all. It has evolved very little from the second game of the series and thus, I can’t really advise you to buy it with your hard-earned money. I’m not saying it’s a bad game, far from that, but it feels just way too much like an “expansion” than a whole new racing game and in that sense, it’s quite a failure. So there you have it, that’s my final conclusion: buy this game and experience a great and absolutely amazing game if you haven’t ever played any of Climax’s MotoGP games but if you’ve already tried one… don’t. It’s great fun but just not worth the full price of a full game since it barely adds anything new to the series.

 

Game play	16/20
Graphics	15/20
Sound	18/20
Value	14/20
Preference	15/20
Overall	78/100

 

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