MotoGP stars Rossi and Lorenzo take battle to Gran Turismo 5
The 2011 MotoGP season may have ended, but two top motorcycle racers are continuing their racing rivalry via Gran Turismo 5 during the break.
Valentino Rossi endured a tough first season riding for Ducati, failing to record a single victory for the first time in his 15-year career, so was possibly trying to boost his morale when he issued a Gran Turismo 5 challenge via Twitter. “I’m issuing a challenge: Gran Turismo 5. Nurburgrïng. Driving the Zonda R. A lap time of 6.14.211. Can anyone beat that?”, and clarifying the rules with “Simulation mode, not driver aids except traction control at level 5. With the steering wheel.”
Given than he has almost 250,000 followers he was probably expecting a challenge, but possibly not from Yamaha MotoGP star Jorge Lorenzo, whose title challenge had ended after he was forced to miss the Phillip Island round of the championship due to injury. After asking “That was a warm-up lap, right”, Lorenzo followed it with photographic evidence of a 5:58.2 lap, which he has since dropped to 5:48.7. Rossi took the response in good humour, responding “5:58.2 Jorge? Nice lap. I have to practice!”
Valentino Rossi has famously raced in various rallies, including the Rally GB, and tested Formula 1 cars with times comparable to many of the permanent F1 drivers at the time. But Capcom are probably wondering why they chose to battle via Gran Turismo 5 rather than MotoGP 10/11!
Incidentally, if you wanted to take up the challenge and don’t have a wheel, don’t forget we reviewed the awesome Thrustmaster T500 RS, which is the officially licensed GT5 wheel and pedal set. And with Christmas almost here, it’s not too late to drop a few hints to anyone who might buy it for you! Or to potentially pick up a bargain on ebay at the moment.
Revive these racing games: #1 TT Superbikes
The first in a series looking at classic racing games which really deserve a current generation update features TT Superbikes, a game which still has gamers eager for a sequel posting on the official forum 6 years after it was released for the Playstation 2. How often can you say that about a non-MMO game?
The reason for the fanatiscism is simple – TT Superbikes was the closest thing to a perfect simulation of motorcycle handling that has appeared on any console, and pretty much on any computer as far as we’re aware. Other games may have surpassed it visually, and certainly in the 6 years since we’ve seen some stunning motorcycle racing games on the PS3 and Xbox 360, but noone has quite nailed the handling model in a way which really conveys the feeling of excitement and fun that you get on two wheels.
Not only did some of the development team, Jester Interactive, actually race bikes, but when I had the chance to speak to them in one of my previous jobs, they revealed they were huge fans of 250cc two-stroke bikes, and owned a couple. That’s possibly what seperated TT Superbikes from its closet rival, Tourist Trophy, which was produced by the far larger Polyphony Digital under the creative lead of bike racing Polyphony man Takamasa Shichisawa. When your obsession is the legendary class of bike famed for its cornering prowess, it gives even more reason to really nail the handling and cornering of bikes tackling the legendary Isle of Man TT course.
So why a new version of TT Superbikes?
So why would we beg, pray, and promise to fund a remake of TT Superbikes if we ever win the Euromillions lottery? It’s simple – in addition to the awesome handling, the immense Isle of Man TT circuit, and the fact that graphically we’ve come an amazing distance in the console generation since the game was released, there’s an element which I mentioned to the team back in 2005 as an original Xbox owner.
Online.
The actual Isle of Man TT races feature riders being sent from the start line at regular intervals rather than a massed start. This means you could theoretically have a persistant race world in which games come online and start racing at any time, with times etc updated in real-time in a similar fashion to the Need for Speed Autolog.
Imagine taking on the 37 mile course in solitude, just as a real racer would, and either seeing times updating each lap for your friends who have started earlier or later, or even being caught by someone who started 2 or 3 minutes behind you, just as can happen in the real race?
Give us global leaderboards, an in-game Autolog, some type of level progression for bikes, classes and riders, and some type of spectator mode with similar camera views around the course to normal TV coverage, with feeds out to online video sites.
In fact, it’s a shame that the motorcycle developers of the time couldn’t have made some type of bike game supergroup, as the perfect solution would be bike models by Polyphony Digital, the online lobby and multiplayer set up by Climax Racing (later Black Rock and now defunct), and all the handling by Jester.
Of course MotoGP has come a long way, and the current Capcom MotoGP 10/11 incarnation is pretty much the best yet – meanwhile Milestone have continued their 20-year World Superbike obsession and SBK 2011 is also damn good, and is pretty much the best handling motorcycle game of recent times. But even now, we’re clamouring for Jester to return with the kind of bike control only normally available to John McGuinness or Joey Dunlop…
Win World Superbikes tickets by entering our SBK 2011 series
We’ve got a pair of weekend tickets for the Silverstone round of the World Superbikes championship up for grabs, courtesy of SBK 2011 developers Milestone, and you can win by entering the first ever OnlineRaceDriver SBK 2011 series.
We’ll be hosting 5 races, taking place on consecutive Sundays to crown our first SBK 2011 champion – so if you’re looking for other SBK 2011 players to race with, and fancy some fun and competitive racing on a Sunday evening at 9pm UK time, then sign up. We’re currently running the tournament on Xbox 360, but will extend it to PS3 and PC if there’s enough interest.
And every person who signs up and takes part in the first race evening will be automatically entered to win a pair of weekend tickets to the Silverstone round of the World Superbike championship (limited to gamers in the UK so they can get the tickets in time and actually make it to the event which takes place July 29-31, 2011). The tickets will give you grandstand access for the weekend in addition to entry to the circuit itself, so it’s a pretty great prize, especially with British riders competing for victory at their home round.
To enter:
Register on the OnlineRaceDriver forums, and post in the registration thread with your gamertag. Please also include if you’re based in the UK, and can therefore be included in the ticket giveaway.
If you aren’t approved on the forum straight away due to our attempt to limit spam accounts, just post your forum name below in the comments and we’ll get it approved straight away.
And then be online from 8.30pm on Sunday July 24, 2011, as we organise the right amount of lobbies for the entrants and run a 15 lap race at Silverstone.
The OnlineRaceDriver SBK 11 championship: Details
The ORD SBK11 championship will consist of 5 races on consecutive weekends, with each taking place on Sunday evenings at 9pm. Each race will be a 15 lap World Superbike class event, with collisions on, and AI and Damage off, run in Medium Simulation mode. Currently we plan on running the Xbox 360 version, but we’ll try and extend it to the PS3 and PC with enough interest. We’ll be running the following tracks:
- Silverstone: Sunday 24th July.
- Assen: Sunday 31st July
- Monza: Sunday August 7th
- Phillip Island: Sunday August 14th
- Valencia: Sunday August 21st.
In addition to the WSB ticket draw, we’ll try and sort a prize for the eventual winner and top placed finishers in the championship which is suitable for a global championship, whether that’s game-related, or an ORD T-shirt from the ORD shop. But either way, you’ll be able to hold the title of SBK 2011 champion in front of over 10,000 racers who visit the site every month!
So do you fancy taking part? Go and register now!
And if you don’t have a copy of SBK 2011, then we definitely recommend it as a good bike racing game. You can find it at:
Jeremy McGrath’s Offroad announced for Xbox Live and Playstation Network
There isn’t much in the way of the detail yet, but apparently Jeremy McGrath’s Offroad will be released for Xbox Live Arcade and the Playstation Network this summer, with what appears to be different publishers as D3Publisher are referenced for Xbox and Reverb Publishing for Playstation.
Either way, we know the game will feature legendary seven-time AMA Supercross champion Jeremy McGrath, who retired from full-time off-road motorcycle racing on the eve of the 2003 supercross season, but continues to compete in off-road trucks, occasionally stock cars, and sometimes back on two wheels.
He’ll be up against some tough competition. Following McGrath in legendary American off-road racers is Ricky Carmichael, and Ricky Carmichael’s Motocross Matchup is out now for iPhone, whilst current racer James ‘Bubba’ Stewart not only features in MX vs ATV Alive, but his private off-road track also plays a part.
So that’s three of the greatest off-road riders of the last 10-15 years, with one in a full console game, one in a downloadable console game, and one on your mobile phone. It’s a good time to be an MX or SX fan looking for some entertainment!
MX vs ATV Alive: James ‘Bubba’ Stewart Compound Video
Ricky Carmichael’s Motocross Matchup out for iPhone
Ricky Carmichael’s Motocross Matchup is now available as a free download for the iPhone and iPad, featuring the legendary American motocross and supercross rider, and the chance to win real-world rewards for in-game achievements via the Real Rewards platform.
The goodies you can win by playing the game include Ricky Carmichael Signature Series Oakley goggles, metal from his Monster Energy Chevrolet Silverado, Ricky Carmichael action figures, and the mention of Suzuki dirt bikes up for grabs in the coming months.
The game itself includes a gesture-based stunt system, a progression mode to earn performance upgrades for your bike and character, and full Game Center inegration for online racing and in-game chat, with head-to-head races letting you rank up global leaderboards.
“As video games continue to evolve, I wanted to make sure my latest venture into the gaming world is on the leading edge of the technology spectrum and I think we’ve accomplished just that,” explained Carmichael. “Ricky Carmichael’s Motorcross Matchup is a mobile application and offers players a chance to play head-to-head with one another. What’s even cooler about it is that I can play my fans and they’ll know it’s really me who they’re racing against. We’re in the process of building a really cool list of verifiable celebrity riders and that’s going to help take this game the next level. I’m really stoked about the launch.”
You can download Ricky Carmichael’s Motocross Matchup via iTunes, and here’s a handy tutorial video to show more about the game
“Your Ambition Outweighs Your Talent”
“Your Ambition Outweighs Your Talent” Ok hands up – who has got overexcited at the start of a race, braked too late for the first corner and punted someone off? Oh good, it’s not just me then. We’ve all done it. Not that I meant to, and I am very sorry to those that I hit… I just got a bit… ambitious.
As Casey Stoner said to Valentino Rossi after The Doctor lost control of his Ducati while attempting an overtake on the Queensland rider in the Jerez Moto GP, “your ambition outweighs your talent”. Whilst this may not be strictly true in the case of a nine-time World Champion, it is certainly true of a great number of online racers.
After a brief affair with Gran Turismo 5, I am now spending the majority of my gaming hours back with the brilliant BAFTA-winning F1 2010. I can forgive such a good game for having a few minor flaws, but racing online can be a frustrating experience as too often a race can be ruined at the first corner by racers getting too hot-headed and steaming into turn one too fast. If I can avoid first corner collisions I am almost guaranteed a podium, but should I suffer damage, my race is effectively run. I imagine it’s the same for you too.
And then there are the quitters. F1 2010’s online lobby isn’t the greatest, and it’s often pot luck as to how long you’ll have to wait before a race begins. After a long wait tension on the grid is even higher, pressure to make a good start is heightened, and the frustration of a first corner collision can be greatly enhanced – leading to many people quitting races there and then. This can be doubly-frustrating for anyone wanting a 12-car race as there are often only a few left by the end, and no deterrents are in place to stop people exiting early. I personally find it preferable to stick with a race whatever happens and enjoy the challenge of a fightback, but would love to see some kind of penalty imposed on early quitters in the forthcoming F1 2011 to ensure a little more consistency in races. Just like middle-lane hoggers and people that don’t indicate before changing lanes on a motorway, this is bad driving behaviour that is rife because it is so rarely punished.
If you share my frustrations there are a couple of things you can do. To start with, I now prefer to do longer races, as driving standards tend to be better and there is less pressure on the outcome of turn one. In a 50-lap race there is an awareness from those taking part that the race is a marathon rather than a sprint, and any first corner contact will just feel like an unwelcome time penalty come the end of the race an hour or so later – so people take it easier. I also tend to adjust my first corner strategy depending on my grid position. If I’m at the front I’ll really go for it, just to save myself the risk of being punted from behind. If I’m at the back I’ll hang around and cost myself a few seconds while watching the inevitable accident unfold, before picking my way around the cars and debris strewn across the circuit. If I am stuck in the middle, I just pray and hope for the best.
But nevertheless I would like to appeal to all you virtual racers out there to take it easy into turn one next time you’re online – nobody wants to spin and the race can’t be won on the first lap. Unless it’s a one-lap race, obviously. And don’t quit straight away next time you get hit – it happens, so practice avoiding it – and if it does happen, deal with it more maturely. Think of poor Casey Stoner, he dealt with it really matur… oh.
MotoGP 10/11 release video
SBK 2011 – 20 new screenshots from Phillip Island
The 2011 World Superbike season kicked off last weekend with a double victory for veteran Carlos Checa at Phillip Island in Australia, so what better time for 20 new SBK 2011 screenshots from the same circuit?
Black Bean Games are developing the latest in the superbike simulation series for a May release date, and that means all the current riders and liveries should be totally up-to-date. The game engine and graphics have been hugely revamped since the last game to respond to feedback, and even the menu screens have been looked at to make it a more seemless affair to get into the races.
It’ll be available on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.
Five MotoGP 10/11 Mugello screenshots
MotoGP 10/11 is due out soon from publisher Capcom and developer Monumental Games. It’ll feature all the content from the 2010 MotoGP season in the box, with downloadable updates to get you up to speed for 2011. So you’ll get to relive Jorge Lorenzo winning the championship, Valentino Rossi’s last season on a Yamaha, and Casey Stoner on the Ducati.
And once the update arrives you’ll get Lorenzo and Spies at Yamaha, Rossi at Ducati, and Stoner teaming up with Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso at Honda.
So while you wait for the game itself, here’s 5 screenshots from the Italian circuit of Mugello to keep you going.
