Racing games that succeed tend to fall into two different categories: arcade-style games such as the Mario Kart series, and simulation games like the Gran Turismo games. The two styles are very different both in terms of how they play and the audience they appeal to. MotoGP 2010 attempts to straddle the line between the two styles, resulting in a game that, while solid, doesn’t quite seem sure of who it’s meant to appeal to.
Racing games that succeed tend to fall into two different categories: arcade-style games such as the Mario Kart series, and simulation games like the Gran Turismo games. The two styles are very different both in terms of how they play and the audience they appeal to. MotoGP 2010 attempts to straddle the line between the two styles, resulting in a game that, while solid, doesn’t quite seem sure of who it’s meant to appeal to.
The game consists of two different modes: quickplay, where you can modify a host of different options for a one-off race, and the championship mode, where you compete for a trophy across a lengthy series of 18 races. Most of your time will be spent in the championship mode, which presents a pretty bare-bones league experience. You’ll go through the various races — which take place in places like Spain, England, and the U.S. — and depending on where you place, you’ll earn points. Whichever rider has the most points at the end of the season wins the championship trophy. Pretty simple. There’s also an optional qualifying mode that determines where you start each race, though you can skip this if you want.
The controls are dead simple. Your rider accelerates automatically, and you control his movement by tilting the iPhone. It takes some getting used to as the tilt controls are pretty sensitive, and while it never feels perfect, the controls are at least serviceable. You can also brake by tapping and holding a button on the left side of the screen, and use your boost by doing the same on the right side. This isn’t a game that attempts anything resembling realistic physics, so your rider will bounce off obstacles instead of crashing.
MotoGP 2010 features full 3D visuals, which at their best look bland. The courses are dull, jaggy, and lifeless, and the riders are all incredibly spindly. The game also has the unfortunate habit of flickering the on-screen display every so often, which can be very disorienting. On the plus side, the game does run very smoothly, and even when the screen is full of high-speed racers you won’t come across any slow down.
While the game only features a scant two game modes, it at least tries to make up for this fact with a number of extra features. Winning races and championships will unlock image galleries, and there are 15 different achievements to earn. It’s not much, but it does provide a little extra incentive to play.
MotoGP 2010 isn’t particularly bad, it’s just unfocused. It’s not deep enough to be a sim and not fun enough to be an arcade game. It’s also fairly dull, not just gameplay-wise, but also in terms of its production values. Unless you’re a die-hard MotoGP fan, you might want to steer elsewhere.
