European Release : Out Now
Price : £49.99 / €73.00

Conclusions Taken From eurogamer.net
Review Written By tom bramwell



Online is something MotoGP helped kickstart for Microsoft in its original incarnation (albeit with an add-on component bundled with the original Live package - it wasn't until GP2 that the game was built to fully accommodate Live), and it's smoothly handled here with separate players-of-matched-skill and ranked matches and all the options you'd expect - including a PGR3-style spectating facility if you have to sit out a round because you got there late. Then again there's another flag to be raised for the decision to hold back the more interesting modes, like Tag, where you have to try and put the best times in on corners to claim them in your name, with the winner the person who "owns" the most corners by the end. Tag may be something that those with a solid base of skill will most enjoy, but it would've been nice to have the option to lose horribly at it from the start - if only to whet the appetite.

Still, none of this is fatal in the slightest - and once you've unlocked a few things and reached a plateau halfway up the learning curve, there's a huge amount of challenging content to pick at and a great deal of incentive to do so thanks to multiple rating systems, rewards, integrated leaderboards and a huge number of unlockables, including reversed tracks.



MotoGP remains a bit of an acquired taste - but then that's motorbikes in general isn't it? Approached with a bit of patience it yields great results - and probably represents the pinnacle of biking games across both Xbox formats to date. Improved load times and a bit more encouragement for the newcomer would guarantee it higher marks, but don't confuse yourself with that score - if you've a passion for bikes this could be a system-seller, and if you like well designed racing games you'd be a fool to miss out too. Where PGR3 appeals to people who see "red car" just as much as them that can tell it's a '97 Audi, similarly MotoGP '06 is a game that knows its place and welcomes you to it whatever your background.

Overall Scores

eurogamer.net : 8/10

gamespot.com : -/-

ign.com : 8.4/10

gamesradar.com : 9/10