Moto Racer 2: Bigger and better than its predecessor, Moto Racer 2 offers more tracks, more bikes, and a custom track-editing feature that seriously enhances the game's replay value.
Bigger and better than its
predecessor, Moto Racer 2 from Electronic Arts and Delphine offers more tracks,
more bikes, and a custom track-editing feature that seriously enhances the
game's replay value. This is still not a true motorcycle simulation, but as
arcade racers go, Moto Racer 2 is one of the best.
Like the original game, Moto
Racer 2 allows you to race superbikes or motocross dirt bikes on a variety of
tracks. There are eight different bikes in each category, each with its own
ratings for brakes, grip, top speed, and acceleration. As in the previous
version, the quality of your brakes is meaningless, because you rarely use the
things. Top speed and acceleration are usually the most important items to
consider, though a good grip rating becomes vital in bad weather conditions.
One of the game's strengths is
the sheer number of tracks available to you right at the outset - a whopping
32. True, eight of these tracks are repetitive simple loops that are intended
as templates for the track editor (more on that in a second), but the other 24
tracks still represent a refreshing change from the usual "win on every
track and we'll unlock one more" formula. The tracks are split evenly
between superbike and motocross courses, and the environments include city streets,
a rain forest, the desert, and the countryside of Brittany.
Gameplay is pretty much like the
original Moto Racer. The game is not a motorcycle simulation, but it does feel
sufficiently different from most car-racing games. Also, Moto Racer 2 does a
great job of conveying the sheer speed of each race: When you top 150mph in
Moto Racer 2, you really feel like you're going that fast. The difficulty
levels are well stepped so that you can win pretty easily on the lowest setting
but will be hard-pressed to place in the top three on the highest.
After playing Motocross Madness,
some gamers may be disappointed by the limited - and relatively tame - tricks
available in Moto Racer 2's motocross mode. Some other game play elements are
disappointing as well, such as the fact that your speed drops almost to zero
when you brush another bike - even though that bike continues to fly along at
its previous pace. Also, the hard-to-spot curbs along the side of most tracks
have the same deadening effect on your bike and will virtually eliminate you
from contention after a single bump on the highest difficulty setting. Rarely
will you ever crash in this game, unless you hit an obstacle during a wheelie
(and then you might as well give up, as the game waits for an excruciatingly
long time before setting you back on your bike). In fact, if you hit a jump
poorly during a motocross race and start flying off the track, an invisible
barrier will snap you right back in bounds, and you won't even lose control of
your bike.
Obviously, the game was intended
for fast-paced arcade action, and on that level it performs admirably. So long
as you're not looking for a pure motorcycle sim with realistic physics and tons
of motocross tricks to land, you simply can't go wrong with Moto Racer 2. With
two racing modes, thrilling game play, a ton of tracks, and a track editor,
Moto Racer 2 offers a whole lot of action for any arcade racing fan.
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