➤ MotoGP 19, the review 🎮

MotoGP 19 can count on a still very solid system, a widely customizable driving model that allows you to adjust the experience according to your needs and therefore focus on a more arcade and immediate approach or on the realism of a ruthless simulation, ready to punish any uncertainty. However, this is not new to the series Milestone, and on the occasion of the review of this new episode we were interested in verifying some aspects that in the 2018 edition of the game had been managed badly. The adoption of Unreal Engine 4 last year allowed developers to obtain a generally better visual rendering, in particular as regards the effects, but at a high price: the halving of the frame rate, passed from the original 60 frames per second. to 30 frames on console, and the zeroing of many contents and modes probably linked to the original graphics engine, which therefore necessarily required a redesign job. We can say that in some ways the situation has improved, in others not: let's try to understand how things are.

Game mode

The MotoGP 19 main screen allows you to access the Career (normal or Pro, the latter designed for a higher degree of challenge), to the fast modes (Grand Prix, championship and time trial), to Historical Challenges and two different options for multiplayer. The standard one offers the possibility to create lobbies or access existing rooms to challenge other players online or try your hand at the interesting Clerk of the Course mode, in which you improvise directors and coordinators of the race. Then there is the now consolidated eSport section, currently empty but which will cyclically see the arrival of new contents and challenges. In both cases the network infrastructure is based on server Amazon which will guarantee low latencies and great stability, but that during our tests there was no way to try: we will have to wait for the game to arrive in stores and for the lobbies to populate a little.

From the point of view of the single player experience, there are therefore several novelties, in particular the Historical Challenges, which present themselves as thematic scenarios inspired by four different eras: Heroes of the 500cc, in which we will be able to relive exciting races of the 90s in the role of drivers. like Mick doohan and a young man Valentino Rossi; Dawn of MotoGP, with the most important performances of Biaggi, Barros and Rossi again; Le Grandi Rivalità, which stages the feuds between Rossi and Biaggi, Stoner and Rossi, Capirossi and Gibernau; and finally Era Moderna, with the companies of the various Bayliss, Pedrosa, Lorenzo, Dovizioso, Simoncelli and - guess what? - Rossi. In short, we are talking about contents that wink at long-time MotoGP fans, who will not fail to get excited when reliving certain situations.

The Career, cited at the beginning of the paragraph, does not in any way distort what has already been seen in past editions, but confirms itself as the substantial fulcrum of a structure capable of entertaining for a long time, accompanying us on a path of growth that can start from the short but pleasant Red Bull Rookies Class then move on to the categories Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP as our virtual rider collects victories, increasing his popularity and obtaining useful points for improving the bike. The novelty of the class also stands out MotoE, which makes its debut this year by introducing motorcycles equipped with an electric engine capable of pushing them up to 270 kilometers per hour, which in-game boast a different behavior than traditional vehicles, very pleasant to discover from race to race.

Gameplay and artificial intelligence

As mentioned at the beginning, the riding model of MotoGP 19 is confirmed as solid, clearly legible in its facets: braking must be carried out rigorously before bending and the brake and accelerator must be carefully dosed in order to get out of curves quickly, ready to put overtaking even within confined spaces, but the dead zone on the left stick of the controller makes it difficult to "brush" and you must therefore adapt to a decisive approach, without uncertainties, which fortunately can be assimilated with a little of practice on the various circuits. The many options present allow you to increase or decrease the degree of challenge, realism and the incidence of physics on the behavior of the vehicle, going to determine a gradual progression that keeps the interest alive and prevents the races from becoming banal.

In practice, you can go from a relatively docile and reliable bike to something much more nervous, adding further nuances thanks to the manual or automatic setup, to the tire wear which in the long run reflects on the freedom of action in corners (also apparently for the opponents) and in the weather conditions, with a very convincing rendering of the wet and of what it entails in terms of speed, cornering and braking. L'artificial intelligence, let's say one of the historical weaknesses of the franchise, this year received an innovative and potentially very interesting treatment thanks to the use of a technology based on the machine learning. In practice, the pilots controlled by the system are able to decide independently how to deal with certain situations to obtain the best possible result.

We were really interested in investigating this aspect in common practice, so as to understand how many and what differences were produced on the track. Well, unfortunately we were not very impressed: a realistic management of theIA it means putting on the track pilots who also make mistakes, who make a mistake when braking, which end up off-piste, especially when put under pressure by those who chase them. All this in MotoGP 19 fundamentally does not happen: the other competitors have a better perception of obstacles and do not throw themselves at us like kamikazes, nor do they create traditional trains that follow the same trajectory in favor of a more realistic "swarm" arrangement, but we do not go further and it can only disappoint those who had high expectations towards this feature.

PlayStation 4 Trophies

The fifty-one MotoGP 19 Trophies can mostly be obtained by successfully completing the various Grand Prix, completing the championships of the various categories and the Historical Challenges. There are clearly achievements also linked to the online sector, but it is a mere outline compared to the rest, placing a clear emphasis on progression in single player.

Scenarios and technical realization

The scenarios of MotoGP 19 are those of the current season, nineteen tracks that lead us to compete in iconic locations such as the Mugello, LeMans, Misano, Silverstone, Motegi and Jerez, plus three historic tracks: Donington Park, Laguna Seca and Catalunya. Settings reproduced in a very faithful way, as well as the models of the motorcycles and the animations of the riders are well made, which cover a fair range of situations and therefore do not produce some of the blunders seen in the past. The overall glance is discreet but remains very distant from the best racers on the market: the lighting system enhances vehicles and drivers well, but the feeling on the scenarios is relatively flat, especially when the weather (which remains variable but not dynamic) is sunny.

With rain and wet conditions, the situation improves, the puddles seem to reflect the surroundings in a real way (but they could also be strategically placed cubemaps, as far as we know) and the asphalt is also more convincing, while for the rest many solutions adopted appear dated. The big problem however is the frame rate, which not even in this second edition moved by Unreal Engine 4 is able to reach 60 frames per second: we remain on 30 fps, although stable, and the options seen in RIDE 3 that allowed to decrease the resolution to achieve greater fluidity. If for MotoGP 18 the justification of the debut with the new graphic engine could have been valid, a year later it is difficult to understand the reasons for such a choice, which inevitably also affects the enjoyment of the gameplay.

Comment

Tested version PlayStation 4 Price 59,90 € Resources4Gaming.com

7.2

Readers (28)

8.1

Your vote

MotoGP 19 is richer in content than the last edition and boasts improved artificial intelligence, although far from what our expectations were when we heard about machine learning and neural networks. The system is confirmed as solid and multifaceted, with many options that allow you to adjust the experience according to your needs and possibly increase the degree of the challenge as you become familiar with the gameplay and its mechanics. From a technical point of view, however, there is little to exult: also this year the game moves at only 30 frames per second, with several reused assets and a distant glance from the best racers on the market.