Simulation games have become incredibly lifelike since their introduction. From being able to fly across continents in Microsoft Flight Simulator (pilot license not required) to cleaning up a mess in Power Wash Simulator, there is a title for everyone in the simulation space. This is where Milestone introduces the latest entry in the Moto GP franchise, Moto GP 24, a title that lets players do all of the menial day-to-day management of a GP rider and real-life racing management (complete with pit stops) to the track.
The best part of any simulation game is playing as a professional, and Moto GP 24 lets you fake it till you make it. I know absolutely nothing about motorcycles, but I was eager to learn when I fired up Moto GP 24. Little did I know how poor a starting point Moto GP 24 is for beginners. It’s readily apparent that Moto GP 24 punishes players for not having played previous games in the series. That’s fine; games can cater to the Grand Prix crowd and still work as intended, but it’s everything else that makes GP 24 feel like a cascade of boredom.
After going through a very basic character creator, I jumped right into the career track, eager to put wheels on the pavement. In the Grand Prix world, there are many different types of events to compete in, and my first event was a time trial. I had to post a better time than the other riders in a 30-minute window to advance, with a secondary goal of finishing higher than S. Nepa.
“Moto GP 24 does many things right; it caters to a specific audience that is passionate about Grand Prix, and it gets the details down to the very wire.”
There is a strategy component to Moto GP 24, and fans of the Grand Prix will be rewarded handsomely with the information translation. Between timed laps, a rider can hit the pit stop at any point to make small adjustments to their bike. Anything from tightening the handle bars to changing the resistance on how hard the bike leans (the less the better in wet conditions), to even changing how much pressure the brakes apply to the front and back tires. These are all exceptional attention-to-detail inclusions that will undoubtedly excite fans.
The graphics on display from Moto GP 24 are incredible. While racing on a particularly slick road wet with rain, the reflections of the wet road reflected the bike’s lights back up, and the atmosphere felt as alive as a racetrack can feel. The announcement team adds to the heat, goading you forward at every step of each race.
A new inclusion for Moto GP 24 is the Rider’s Market. Fans have been clamouring for a Rider’s Market for a long while now, and GP 24 has one. Here, fans can promote riders to different classes and give them the opportunity to change teams. Like the EA Sports UFC 5 career mode, Moto GP 24 takes a page from the real world and implements a smart social media system that gives heat to riders and takes it away as well. This mirror to real life makes immersion easier, and Milestone does a good job of inserting the player into the shoes of a real Grand Prix driver.
“The graphics on display from Moto GP 24 are incredible.”
However, I do have issues with Moto GP 24. A lot of the player’s time will feel wasted as not enough information is given on time trial race segments. A perfectionist would struggle with the lack of information given while you are performing your runs. On one occasion, I played a track to what I thought was perfection, made adjustments between laps, and tightened all of the things I was doing wrong (on the easiest difficulty, no less). After seemingly securing the top spot, I bailed out of the event with 3:06 left on the clock timer.
Little did I know I placed fourth after the event simulated the remaining 3 minutes. While I do agree that not every game is for everyone, Moto GP 24 has draconian simulation mechanics that just feel like a bore to slog through. While practice will surely make perfect here (after MANY hours), like Session: Skate Sim, the overwhelmingly frustrating aspect of gameplay (strict mechanics, a whole 30-minute run wasted in the last three minutes) outweighs the redeeming factor of getting a better time on a track.
I mentioned time trials, but regular races are no better. While it certainly feels a little less lonely, Moto GP 24 always feels like you’re alone on the track, which is hard to do with so many riders populating the track. Milestone has also implemented an adaptive AI system similar to the dynamic difficulty found in MLB The Show games, but it is too strong, and every time I made an adjustment in the pits, it felt like the AI-equipped GameShark was adjusting its bikes to perform perfectly.
Moto GP 24 does many things right. It caters to a specific audience that is passionate about the Grand Prix, and it gets the details down to the very wire. But its lack of innovation (outside the Rider’s Market) and incredibly stiff game mechanics while racing take away any joy getting first place would give. Moto GP 24 is a game meant for Grand Prix enthusiasts and not much else.
