Valentino Rossi: The Game is very much a pleasant surprise once you start getting into it. Going into the game many would expect this to be a copy and paste job, with Milestone doing the old FIFA trick of changing the liveries, chucking in some VR46 content and then shoving it on shelves. But here, the Italian developers have really put some serious effort into it.
Yes, this is basically MotoGP 16 with some additional Rossi content thrown in, but all the additional VR46 features don’t feel stuck on like past additions have done. Each mode, whether that be flat track, rallying, drifting or riding the R1M Yamaha’s around Misano, all feel, control and work very differently from each other, and in turn the main MotoGP mode. Milestone’s other work has obviously had an influence, especially with the flat track and rallying, but even then, the modes feel much more than just a copy paste of Sebastian Loeb Rally Evo, or MXGP 2.
When you load the game up you’re thrown into a flat track race around Valentino’s MotoRanch, which is something that does take some getting used to. Riding the flat track bikes is very different to riding the regular MotoGP bikes, as they require different throttle control, and can almost drift round the corners unlike, for example, the Moto3 bikes.
You’re then taken into the newly revamped career mode. This year’s iteration see’s you join the VR46 academy, with the VR46 features now becoming part of this year’s career. Doing these events helps you improve your stats, which will help you become more attractive to better teams and also improve your racing ability.
The career is certainly harder this year as well, with the massive improvements seen in the AI. Last year’s title was particularly easy, even on the hardest difficulty. However, this year’s game has seen massive improvements, with gaps now being especially hard to close down, and the AI being much quicker than they used to be.
The VR46 content doesn’t just stop with that. This year’s game includes certain challenges that show important events from Valentino’s career. Whether that be his first Grand Prix win in 1996, his first 500cc win at Donington in 2000 or the epic duels with Jorge Lorenzo at Catalunya and Casey Stoner at Laguna Seca. This means that all of Valentino’s bikes appear in the game, including some special liveries such as the fabulous 2005 Laguna Seca special edition shown below.
The graphics in VR46: The Game are nothing special. They’re certainly not the worst graphics you’ll see on the current gen consoles, however, they don’t really stack up well against the competition especially when looking at the F1 games. The bike models do look well done, and almost all of them are correctly represented, minus a few errors that should really be patched later down the line.
In terms of the actual riding, this year’s game does show some improvements. One particular thing I noticed was that with the Moto2 bikes, the back end will now slide out when braking, replicating what the actual riders do on track. Also, the MotoGP bikes now feel heavier, whilst the Moto3 bikes now feel much lighter. It’s these little touches that really add to the game.
So should you pick up Valentino Rossi: The Game? Well, if you love the sport (and can stand having Rossi plastered all over the game) then definitely. This is 100% the best entry in the series so far and is a massive leap over last year’s effort. It’s certainly not perfect, especially with the copy paste job done on the sound, however, the pros certainly outweigh the cons here!
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