MotoGP

THQ Wireless' MotoGP games have traditionally been the best two-wheeled fun you can have on a phone, alongside the bikey bits of Gameloft's recent Asphalt Urban GT games. We're still blissfully unaware of developments on the real-world MotoGP circuit, but on mobile we've loved it through three iterations.

MotoGP 2007 is the fourth, and certainly the best looking of the bunch. On decent handsets, it's gone fully 3D, with solid-looking bikes and attractive scenery. Equally important, developer Rockpool has kept the frame-rate up, ensuring that this scenery flashes past fast enough to give a good sensation of speed.

The controls are satisfyingly one-thumb, with an auto-accelerate taking care of speeding up, leaving you to concentrate on turning. However, this is where MotoGP 2007's main flaw becomes apparent: it's simply too hard.

Our first few races were hugely frustrating, as we slalomed across the track with no hope of catching any rivals. As a result, we can't help wondering if novice gamers would try this a couple of times, and then never come back.

Which would be a shame because the good news is that persistence pays off, and eventually you'll be battling it out with your fellow 11 riders for top spot. By then, MotoGP 2007 will have revealed itself as a rewarding racer with varied tracks and a neat skill-development system.

If the sensitive steering had been slightly tweaked, this would be a stone-cold classic. As it is, it's still the best motorbiking racer available for mobile.

Download: Rapidshare Link

[get this widget]