Many fans of the MotoGP series may have been playing the series long enough to remember the demo that came packaged with the Xbox Live Start Kit when Xbox Live was just finding its footing on the original Xbox console. I wonder if there are still many gamers that continue to play these games, while I myself was one of those early gamers that was playing the MotoGP demo regularly online; as I take a step back and look at the series as of late, especially the latest release compared to last year's game. There just does not seem to be any significant difference to even warrant a sequel, sure it may have updated season data, but it is essentially still the same game but with a few new tricks.

Gameplay:

MotoGP'07 offers a host of established riders and bikes, as well as a host of fictional ones for the returning Extreme mode. That's right, possibly the best mode in the series returns yet again and has the instant accessibility and playability, that the Grand Prix mode does not, at least for new comers.

While the Extreme mode isn't available off the bat in the Career mode, it is however available under the Quick Play option where you can play Grand Prix too, without having to dive into the Career. The Extreme mode being accessible under Quick Play at least gives gamers a chance to try the mode out and can understand what they are then playing the Grand Prix in Career for; completing a season of Grand Prix will unlock the Extreme mode and make it playable in the games Career mode.

Playing in Extreme mode is much more satisfying; this is probably because it's much more forgiving than the patented GP mode. With that said, Extreme mode would have made for a good learning curve in preparation for gamers to jump into the GP mode. It seems odd then that you need to win a GP Championship to get to the much more enjoyable, easier and more importantly, the fun portion of the game's career. Extreme is the mode of choice for most online racing within MotoGP'07, it's fast, it's frantic and it's fun to play.

Qualifying in the career is optional and depending on your performance, it will alter your position on the starting grid in the upcoming career race. When racing and controlling the bike, one of the coolest and yet simplistic effects is noticeable, and that is the way in which the camera tilts in the same direction that the bike is moved. The tilting motion of the camera which mimics the bikes movement kind of has a nauseating effect at first, but ultimately it's a likable feature.

Customization also makes a welcome return to MotoGP'07, as before you can customise your rider's leathers and helmet, and of course, the bike too is customizable. It's not exactly as in-depth as say, Forza Motorsport, but it is an admirable effort, and more importantly, it is very easy to get stuck in there and get editing straight away.

Another nice feature, which may not be anything revolutionary as such, however it's nice to be able to join an online match which is in progress and instead of having to wait in the lobby for the race to end; you are able to spectate in the match that is currently taking place.

Control wise, the game remains identical to last year's version. This is not a problem, as the controls seem perfectly fine for this type of racing game. The only real control difference between MotoGP and other racers is having individual brakes for both the front and rear wheels, the brakes can be applied with the use of the Xbox 360 controllers trigger buttons. Lightly applying one or both brakes and quickly double tapping the throttle can potentially make some of the more tight corners that bit more approachable at high speeds. Obviously, as with any racing game you're best off on the track, so try to avoid the grass at all costs, as you will ultimately lose control if riding into a corner at a ridiculously high speed without either releasing the throttle early or braking hard into the corner.

As you progress through the career, you will be awarded with credits; these can be used to increase bike performance, such as top speed, acceleration, cornering and braking. If like me, you only have fun when you're winning, then these credits are actually really useful. I found I struggled with corners, so applied several of my awarded credits to that specifically and then applied more to braking and so on, which also helped to assist my progress further and make the experience that much more enjoyable. Again, as with last year's game, this all seems so backwards. MotoGP'07 for newcomers will certainly be more challenging than inviting. I understand that practise makes perfect, but then again why have the game challenging and then easier as you progress? This again brings me back to the much more arcade like and easier to get to grips with: Extreme mode, which really could act as a fun way to learn the player the basics before driving head first into the tarmac of the Grand Prix's career. While Extreme can be played in Quick Race, we would have liked to have been able to just jump in and spend hours with the Extreme mode and then switch gears to the more serious, Grand Prix mode.

Graphics:

The first thing I noticed after playing MotoGP'07 was the much improved frame rate over last year's release, (MotoGP'06 had some very bad screen tearing/v-sync issues on the Xbox 360). The MotoGP'07 developers, Climax have thankfully solved this problem in this latest release.

Visually MotoGP'07 looks to deliver a visceral treat, while last years release could have been considered one of the best looking racers at the time, the same can't be said about MotoGP'07, unfortunately. The game essentially delivers the same visual impact as last year's game, but only this time it is not plagued with bad screen tearing issues, which is actually, a mighty fine improvement on its own. Though, I would have liked to have seen more eye candy, surfaces such as the grass in GP just don't appear to be as detailed as they should be, although the bikes and actual riders look vastly superior to the courses on which they are racing on; the same of which can also be said about the previous game. The one thing I can't work out is why there are what looks like military jets flying above... some just fly from the side of the screen and some fly forwards in groups. I wouldn't have thought that these RAF style jets would be flying over a MotoGP race, at least not in real-life anyway?

Audio:

MotoGP'07 features what I can only describe as an atrocious punk-rock soundtrack, which detracts, and in some instances, can even be considered as severely and bone crunchingly off-putting from the gameplay at hand. On the bright side of the music front, it can at least be switched off (Woo-hoo!), if music is a must for when you're racing, then feel free to play some music from your Xbox 360 Hard Drive, streamed from your computer or USB memory device.

MotoGP'07 features some pretty convincing and roaring engine sounds, each sounding uniquely different to the next. Also, helicopters are visible and you can distinctively hear these in the sky above. The crowd always gives a roaring cheer as you speed past too. However, with the in-game music off, these sound kind of flat, it seems then that music was always meant to hide that aspect of it. I would prefer to race without the music, but I also like to keep the sound effects too, so it's a matter of finding some music which is suitable for MotoGP racing, the developers have clearly not found this either yet.

Longevity:

There are two main modes of play, Grand Prix and Extreme; these alone should provide a lengthy playtime to fully complete, especially if you factor in the different difficulty options, and of course, the one thing that keeps many gamers playing the same game over and over again, online multiplayer over Xbox Live. Competing with buddies and unknowns online is easily one of the Xbox 360's biggest strengths as a gaming platform.

I'm sure there are many original Xbox Moto GP Heads online, that are all too familiar with the MotoGP series, and this is where the real challenge is present, in online multiplayer competition.

Overall:

Many fans from the early days of MotoGP on the original Xbox may be satisfied with the quality of gaming sequels which they have played. I however, only see the milking of yet another franchise, with little significant improvement over MotoGP'06. As I sit down and play MotoGP'07, I can't help but think to myself this is essentially MotoGP'06 but it's fixed, meaning the screen tearing issues which were present in last year's game, have now been solved. I kind of wish developers would focus more on supporting their products with new tracks and riders in the form of downloadable content. Climax and THQ can't be criticized though, especially when you look at the likes of EA Sports, which release the same game every year. While these may have significant enhancements, from time to time, it wouldn't be so bad if these yearly released games were also released at a lower price point. Still, for someone who has yet to sample the delights of a MotoGP game on the Xbox 360, then this is definitely the one you should be picking up.