MotoGP 17 suffers from two major issues. One is incremental improvements over the years which never really feel enough to justify a new game. The other is their dated engine, which leads to poor visual and gameplay design. Even in 2017, the game looks like a five year old game, and that itself is bound to put off newcomers to the series. It also frustrates veterans by not giving them a game that feels fresh and worthy of their time.
It’s not all bad though. MotoGP still has the core of what makes the series enjoyable. The high speed races and skillful driving is still addictive, and getting corners just right to gain a few short seconds on the opponents is immensely satisfying. Valentino Rossi: The Game added a whole bunch of new modes to the game, and it felt like a significant upgrade over MotoGP 15. For some reason MotoGP 17 decided to do away with a lot of those features, instead adding lacklustre Managerial Career, which is a husk of what was offered last time around.
There’s no story mode to speak of, you just pick races and go driving. That not too bad, since driving is the highlight here, but it is an add decision given how much more there was last year. The Managerial Career allows you to manage an entire team – hiring riders, putting them on races, getting sponsors, new bikes, etc. As your riders participate in races they start stacking up XP, and thus earn you money. You can then put the money into R&D and increasing your roster of riders and getting more staff.
Sadly, the management lacks any real depth, and everything you do is pretty basic and surface level. There is a promise here that is never delivered upon, and is a let down. The racing itself is still a lot of fun, with 18 tracks to pick and race on, offering a decent challenge and variety. Sadly the same variety does not translate to the bikes themselves which all end up feeling more or less the same.
You can pick a rider of your choice and there are some customization options. Sadly, because of the dated visuals, none of the character designs look all that good. In fact, the same lack of visual detail and attention is seen across the game, The tracks look bland and so do the environments. The audio is even worse here, since there’s nothing much going on apart from the sound of your engine. You can only listen to the sound of a single motorcycle for so long before you turn it off completely.
MotoGP 17 has fairly decent gameplay, but is marred by everything else surrounding that gameplay. Poor audiovisual design and a barebones Managerial Career leave you ultimately disappointed.
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