Ask any speed freak and he'll tell you that race bikes are to race cars what snowboarding is to skiing: faster, more thrilling, more dangerous, more adrenaline-pumping and more on the edge. It's therefore no surprise that THQ has now released the fifth in its MotoGP series so that you can try to recapture the excitement and competitiveness of real motorcycle championships.

Before detailing the features, there are some disturbing rumbles of discontent that all PC players should be aware of. If you're using Windows Vista as your OS, then although you will be able to run the game, the DirectInput Controller Configuration utility in the launcher isn't supported by Vista, so you either have to play with an XInput-compatible device such as an Microsoft XBox 360 controller or use the PC keyboard.

There are also reported bug issues with both sound and graphics, which can partly be alleviated by adjusting the Settings menu to lower specs and by downloading an updated patch. The Xbox version, not surprisingly, doesn't seem to have these problems...

Anyway, once you get up and running you have four single-player options: Quick Race (in either Grand Prix or Extreme mode), the new Championship Mode (which is the same as Grand Prix only you play as ‘real' players), Racing Career and Time Trials. Racing Career is the clear favourite as you'll need to work your way through the 18 Grand Prix tracks before you're allowed to progress to Extreme.

Entering each Grand Prix race enables you to unlock challenges (Timed Run, Speed Run and Challenge the Leader) and when you start you can customise your rider and, to a more limited extent, your bike. You are also initially given 20 ‘credits' which can be used to increase your skill at Cornering, Braking, Top Speed and Acceleration. These, too, can be increased as your performance and seeding improves on the track.

In terms of new elements from MotoGP 06, as well as the Championship Mode there's now a telemetry function which analyses how you're doing on each lap, with colour-coded areas indicating where you've crashed, gained a time penalty or achieved a personal best. In multiplayer mode you can have 16-player races, and one innovation is Pink Slip racing where you gamble your bike against another player.

Although seasoned MotoGP fans will give a qualified welcome to the (modest) new additions, they won't be as happy to learn that buying and customising the parts for their bikes only happens in Extreme mode. Newcomers won't be too happy, either, with the very sketchy tutorial which provides scant information on how to fine-tune the sensitivity of the controls - it's mostly a case of ‘follow the arrows'.

Verdict
Ultimately this is disappointing sequel to a very popular series, with controls and bug issues as well as sketchily detailed tutorials and only relatively minor improvements over last year's version.

Company: THQ

Tags: grand prix motorcycle racing windows vista thq xbox motogp silverstone circuit assen jorge lorenzo