Review for MotoGP 17. Game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 15/06/2017
It's been five years now that Milestone holds monopoly on the MotoGP license, nowadays the biggest street bike championship. This monopoly is obviously doing well to the manufacturer, but the lack of rivals nevertheless seems to slow down the release of substantial improvements both from the point of view of the graphics engine and from the purely technical point of view. MotoGP 17 in fact, it brings with it a wealth of successes, but also of disappointments that we all hoped not to see again in this new title by Milestone.
MotoGP 17, however, has been enriched with many new features in every area of the game, which added to what was already good, guarantee fun for a good amount of hours. The introduction of the new "managerial" mode brings with it a breath of fresh air in the world of MotoGP, ensuring a completely different experience from that experienced during a normal career.
A new champion
The dream of any motor lover is to get on a two-wheeled racing car like Marquez, Pedrosa or the inimitable Valentino Rossi already do. The dream is realized thanks to this video game that thanks to its simulation level creates in the player a sense of challenge that almost makes them get into the heart of the action.
However, Milestone did not stop there, in fact it has improved the career mode, through which we can create our champion by choosing our favorite colors, our equipment and our name. We will then start competing in those who are the new youth leagues introduced by the game, namely the RedBull Rookies thanks to which the youngest can demonstrate their talent, then aspiring to championships like the Moto 3, Moto 2 and finally to MotoGP. Instead, all those modes present in Valentino Rossi: The Game that concerned Rally and Moto Cross competitions have been removed, all to offer a better focus on motorcycles and on all those who are historical riders.
The challenge level has slightly increased finally guaranteeing a competitiveness that manages to keep the player glued to different championships without ever boring him, all accompanied by an impressive fidelity of the liveries of every single bike and rider that allows fans to feel decidedly close to what is the real world bike.
Create your dream team
La new managerial mode turns out to be an interesting addition to a gameplay that is already quite rich which therefore allows the player to create a character (just like in career mode) and above all to managing a real team complete with sponsors and teammates. The management of money is also interesting, which must be used carefully, especially given the amount of activities to be managed such as the purchase of motorcycles or even the hiring of operators such as engineers, mechanics, or marketing operators. The mode itself is not bad, but the problem lies in one very banal and simplified mixture, which is justifiable given that this is a first attempt by the developers who will surely be able to create something more complex in a next chapter depending on the feedback of each individual user.
They turn out the general game atmosphere is disappointing which seem to direct the player to take a simple run and not something deeper and more intriguing. In fact, there are not even short films to immortalize the podium of the winning drivers which represents one of the most beautiful and exciting moments of a race. At the beginning of the race there are instead short films shot in the cities relating to the circuit in which we are competing that give us a general overview of the landscape but which honestly fail to hit us and are often skipped without the slightest restraint.
A simulation close to reality
The game to be enjoyed fully needs to be played with the necessary settings that allow an incredible variety in terms of driving aids and the physics of the bike. By setting everything to maximum, that is, in Pro mode, we will get one extremely accurate and realistic simulation which will be very responsive to sudden movements and slight accelerations out of place offering experienced players a level of challenge that is rarely achieved in a racing game. As for novice players, however, it is highly not recommended to play with these settings, for the simple fact that you do not know the general trends of the game, which can instead be learned by gradually increasing the difficulty.
Also very interesting strong difference between the individual bikes, evident among motorcycles of different displacement, and less marked among motorcycles of the same class. In fact, it will happen to take dozens of races before being able to get used to a new bike, which will certainly have a different response to the brake and accelerator and a slightly different feeling to any other bike, a bit like it happens in reality. It will therefore be up to the rider to be able to master the bike, changing the settings of the bike or simply the tires before each race, and then whiz around the track learning to master the vehicle with effort but with a lot of fun and adrenaline.
Technically disappointing
Unfortunately MotoGP 17 continues to use the old one Milestone's proprietary graphics engine unlike MXGP 3 which introduced theU. Graphically, therefore, the title is very poor, especially from the point of view of the textures and objects present in the maps. Fortunately the game manages to maintain a stable frame rate at sixty frames per second that manage to create a pleasant gaming feel that somehow covers the graphic gaps created by the dated game engine.
The bikes and riders have obviously undergone a privileged treatment, clearly visible in the game, which still fails to compete with any other driving title. The collision physics, as in the other chapters, is still to be improved, while as for artificial intelligence we are not yet there, the CPU in fact creates small motorcycle trains that follow their track without ever creating more reckless or interesting maneuvers.
Esports also for MotoGP
The launch of the game was accompanied by a very special export competition, all sponsored by Dorna. This mode will see the sixteen best drivers selected from tough qualifying compete against each other, who will compete for first place in the competition that guarantees a fantastic BMW M240i as a trophy. The mode will be exclusive to PlayStation 4 but we are confident in wider openings for the future, especially thanks to Dorna which ensures a five-year contract with this world.
Esport could mark the springboard for the Milestone title towards a still underdeveloped world that is however making its way abroad, and recently thanks to some excellent players of Fifa, Pes and Rocket League.
MotoGp 17 certainly marks an excellent step forward for the series that fails to eliminate some very obvious defects concerning the graphic and technical field. From a gameplay point of view, the game remains the same except for some additions from the point of view of the competitiveness of the opponents and some general improvements to all game modes. The new managerial mode will allow us to create our team, manage finances, create contracts with sponsors and operators but above all it will allow us to aspire to victory in the MotoGP through a rather tortuous but full of fun path. We do not hide the fact that we were a little disappointed with this new MotoGP 17 for the failure to eliminate most of the defects, but we are confident in the Milestone team that has proven to be up to a brand like this, and we are sure that it does not there will be no updates and improvements in future chapters.
► MotoGP 17 is a Simulation-type game developed and published by Milestone for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 15/06/2017
