About three years ago, I sat down in front of a monitor very much like this one (although not quite as expensive) and tapped out a review for Climax’s MotoGP 2 on the Xbox. At the time the series was in its infancy and myself along with thousands of other Valentino Rossi wannabes were amongst what almost amounted to a cult following who felt genuine excitement at a proper version of one of our favourite sports hitting games consoles.

Fast-forward to 2006 and the first appearance of a MotoGP game on Microsoft’s second console. The motley crew of biking gamers still exists, yet the feeling of excitement and enthusiasm has been dented and knocked about more than Sete Gibernau’s collarbone. The third instalment in the series – released midway through 2005 – seemed to shift its focus away from the authentic sport and towards extreme street biking, a move which confused some fans and alienated others. The other main problem the third game presented was that, despite a number of years to develop the product, the racing actually felt practically identical to that of the ageing second title, which was more than a little disappointing.

That continual power slide towards disinterest sadly continues with MotoGP 2006. The game offers both the 2005 and 2006 season’s MotoGP riders and bikes, although both sets end up using the 2006 schedule of circuits. Returning once again is the Extreme Mode, which focuses itself on fictional bikes and riders racing around fantasy circuits located in various cityscapes and offers a more Gran Turismo type career offering, although on a simpler scale. Each requires a reasonably large chunk of time investment to get the most out of, and it’s more than likely that these are the two game modes you’ll spend most time in. For those not willing to dip their wick too deeply, the game offers a Time Trial mode and an Arcade mode so you can get your quick fix.

If you’re a fan of the series you might be already thinking to yourself that this is sounding hauntingly familiar to the last version, and you wouldn’t be wrong. In fact it is hard to shake the impression that MotoGP ’06 is merely a slightly polished MotoGP 3 with a few extra riders and circuits chucked in. Whilst this might not necessarily be a bad thing, the real killer for the game is that it is practically exactly identical to its older brother when it comes to on-track action. Opposition AI still rubber bands around and at no point ever convinces you that they are simulating the world’s best riders. This problem has persisted since the original game in the series and you’d have at least thought that some effort would have been made to make the other riders feel like opponents rather than moving obstacles in the five years and four games since.

Both major single-player modes are structured identically to their previous incarnations. MotoGP mode sees you initially offered a selection of the lesser-quick bikes and given four rider attributes, which you will increase by winning races and completing mini challenges which are offered to the player during each GP weekend. As you progress through your rider will become better at cornering, accelerating, braking and will be able to reach a higher top speed, which in turn helps you have an easier time of it on the harder difficulty levels. Despite all this, the mode feels disappointingly shallow and could have benefited from a career structure similar to Studio Liverpool’s Formula One games whereby the player starts at lower teams and has to impress rival bosses to move up the ladder to the top of the sport.

Extreme Mode works slightly differently. In this, players win cash by performing well in races. As well as increasing your rider attributes for performing well you will also be able to buy new bikes and upgrade them with a number of different parts to aid yourself in your championship quest, which is played out on a number of fictional circuits across the world. To give the mode its dues these circuits are all surprisingly enjoyable to ride and offer unique challenges, be it zooming through rolling fields in Holland to snaking through a twisty Tokyo city circuit. Both Extreme and MotoGP modes also allow you to lessen your MotoGP seed ranking, which initially begins at 100 but lessens in accordance with achievement and dictates the level of opposition you will get lumped in with during Xbox Live larks.

In terms of online play, the game offers up a variety of different modes that can be tinkered with and tailored to suit various types of racing. Supporting up to 16 players online the action does suffer occasionally from lag but by-and-large is an enjoyable and competitive experience. The ability to take your custom paint scheme and rider online is a nice touch and means you can show off your creative handy work to the world whilst hopefully teaching them some track technique at the same time.

Visually, MotoGP ’06 is beautiful. Each circuit is replicated stunningly well and feel pleasingly authentic, with new additions Istanbul, China and Laguna Seca all being present and correct. The bikes themselves also look fantastic and are obviously a labour of love for a development team who love the sport, with differences in suspension forks and the like all being carefully mapped. Colour schemes from both the 2005 and 2006 seasons are included and even stretch to special schemes such as Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards’ one-off Yamaha classic scheme which appears when you race at Laguna Seca with the 2005 crew.

Despite all this, Moto GP leaves you feeling disappointed. The striking similarities with MotoGP 3 are obvious and leave you with the impression that you’re simply playing a glorified Xbox port. Things such as the uninspiring opposition AI to the shallow and unrewarding career mode have been criticised for years and it is a bit poor that now, some four games into the series, both problems still exist seemingly untouched. The dressing might be on the plate and tasting lovely, but until Climax get to work on the main meat of the game it will be hard to think of the series as being in anything other than stuck in the midfield.