Moto GP 2019: The best motorbike game money can buy


2019 has been a big year for Moto GP so far; we’ve got a genuinely competitive fight at the front between Marquez and Dovi. Suzuki are winning races, grown men cried last weekend when Petrucci, an Italian rider took an Italian bike (Ducati) to his maiden win round an Italian track. 

Marc Marquez continues to be ludicrously dominant and Valentino Rossi is still racing at or near the front, but it’s a time of change for the MotoGP video games.

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Overview

There are new (and returning) game modes; Race Director Mode makes its multiplayer debut, while Historical Challenges returns with a range of historical races for you to take part in. Oh, and you'll be able to take part in the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup using all-new zero-emissions motorbikes  because who doesn’t love reducing their e-footprint. 

Changes for existing players

As expected, MotoGP 19’s career mode has undergone some changes. Rather than being forced into competing in the Rookies cup and moving up through the classes, MotoGP 19 will allow the player to choose which class to start their career in.

Those looking for a little extra challenge will be right at home with the ‘Pro Career’ mode which restricts many of the game’s settings and rider aids to give you the most challenging experience possible.

Over 50 historical riders feature in MotoGP 19. A dedicated mode tasks the player to replicate key historical moments from the MotoGP series with goodies up for grabs.

The physics are very different from last year’s MotoGP 18 title with a particular focus on the tyres. The tyre model calculates grips levels based on elements such as tyre temperature, track temperature and tyre wear making tyre management key. To aid players, tyre temperatures are displayed across the range of soft, medium and hard tyre type.

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Neural AI

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) also sees major changes for this year’s title. Dubbed ‘Neural AI’, the small ‘brain’ made up of digital neurons (imagine a brain in a jar, I’m not making this up) can sense things like tyre grip and tyre temperature. Rather than obeying a set of pre-determined rules, the Neural AI can react to certain elements as it sees fit (albeit with some guidance from the developer).

After 100,000 laps, an AI can go from not having a clue what to do right up to being super competitive. This all results in a cleaner and faster AI, which should provide a firm but fair challenge to players across the difficulty options. In previous games you may have found the AI stepping up dramatically rather than the incremental improvement that other games like the F1 series has had for years.

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