Motorbike racing as a whole has had a pretty chequered history as far as being depicted on games consoles. The field has been dominated by two franchises; the SBK: Super bike World Championships series and the MotoGP series. Capcom of Japan has been housing the official MotoGP brand since 2007.

In all honesty I don’t usually play racing games. The closest I’ve been to a racing experience has been the Burnout series. After a chat to bike nut friend of my housemate who lamented the lack of realism in recent bike games. His insider’s perspective advised that the second MotoGP is the motorbike benchmark. Suffice to say, he’s given up on them. He just rides real bikes now.

As far as my experience of bike racing, well I know it's fast and I know that I certainly wouldn’t have the guts or the skill to do it myself. Thank god for Super Hang-On. As you may have guessed, I am firmly rooted in the arcade-style race camp. I want to career around the track at breakneck speed and get a bump off the game when I achieve something. When I’m fed up of playing? I pull some ridiculous breaking manoeuvre, and send my little man careering through the other riders like little meat skittles.

MotoGP aims to satisfy. 09/10 is split into two modes: target chasing Arcade mode, and the more tech savvy Career mode.  Arcade mode scratches my immediate itch. I select a biker, hits the asphalt and rack up high scores. Career mode lets you micro-manage your team, develop your bike and take your team to the top of the rankings. The general idea of racing centres along trying to hit a perfect ‘racing path’. 

 In Arcade mode, boosts occur from slipstreaming opponents for as long as possible and bonuses are available for correct negotiation of 3 markers on the apex of each curve. In the Career mode, race wins deliver cash for upgrades or development in state of the art mechanics to give you the edge on the track. Adjust your gearbox and differential ratios, tires, suspension etc. Racing is easier said than done.

The controls are accessible, but accomplished and solid. Each corner is a challenge to hit the perfect line and tuck your racer into the pocket of the curve by making tiny break amendments. Breaking control over both front and rear wheels and shifting your weight on the bike, affect the cornering and acceleration to a pleasing degree. The graphics are functional but succeed in delivering a genuine pace from each track, which perfectly compliments the controls.

 Hitting a perfect corner feels like a real accomplishment, and the tip-of-the-hat awarded for an unfettered lap is a nice little ego boost. It offers two player simultaneous split screen, and online tournament racing aplenty. As you might’ve noticed I’ve focused almost purely on the arcade style play. I approached the career mode expecting to be reviled by a stat heavy rosebush of a game. Aside from the management and development angles, it’s essentially the same. Kudos goes out for bumping up the package value and the longevity of the release. However I can’t help feeling that my housemates buddy won’t be running out to bag himself a next-gen console to boot this up.  For the rest of us, there’s a solid challenge and meaty packaged two wheeled excitement.

MotoGP 09/10 is published by Capcom and is out now on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.