MotoGP 09/10

I'm also given a demonstration of the solid new career mode, which in terms of functionality looks set to vastly improve upon the rushed attempt that was in MotoGP 08. As well as dealing with the actual racing itself, players will now get the opportunity to hire and fire their own engineers, team managers and press officers while aiming for MotoGP glory.

This off-the-track element seems to be more about statistics - and unfortunately it doesn't look like you can level-up the loyal pit-crew who got you through those first races - but it'll be interesting to see how this extra layer adds to the finished game.

The other new mechanic introduced in MotoGP 09/10 is the Rider Reputation system, which anyone who's played Project Gotham will see as a direct rip of the Kudos system. Players are given a point score at the end of each race with positives given for actions like showboating, slipstreaming and overtaking and negatives given for crashing and colliding with other bikes. It seems this score is more than just superficial as a high Rider Reputation will net you better sponsorship deals and contracts with more esteemed racing teams, whereas a lower score will have the opposite effect.

Furthermore your accumulated Rider Reputation points can also be used to upgrade your bike, with areas ranging from the frame to engine and suspension. I'm not sure how exhaustive this process will be, but if Monumental can strike a good balance between risk and reward - especially with pros for showboating - then it could help to keep those mid-season races interesting as you strive to get better upgrades for those final tracks.

Plus, who can resist pulling off a wheelie as you head towards the finish line, with the slight possibility of flipping the bike completely over for a hilarious blunder.

The scope for these kinds of antics will only increase online, as players try and race to their limits without low-siding from aggressive cornering. It also seems Monumental is aiming for something big, because in addition to lobbies and mid-race voice chat it's working to get a maximum of 20 virtual riders hooning around a circuit at once. If it can achieve this with stable netcode, then the online future could be very competitive, with online leaderboards seeing seconds shaved off the lap times till the best possible time is reached.

With MotoGP 09/10 now being very late into development the near-finished product is looking like an improvement upon MotoGP 08 in all areas. Even the graphics are a significant step up with the rider animation looking very authentic and the race tracks now appearing far less static. Each race is also introduced with a skippable start-up scene between the rider and his line crew, which is handled in a strangely opaque colour scheme. Suffice to say that players can also look forward to more professional menu systems and an overall feeling of movement and speed.

But the most poignant thing I get from Monumental's interpretation of the MotoGP licence is of a game that aims towards biking simulation but without losing inventive gameplay elements that make for a fun experience. Playing MotoGP 09/10 may not be 100 per cent like riding a bike, but by not obsessing over perfect physics Monumental seems to be striking a three-way balance between simulation, gaming and accessibility.

If MotoGP 08 was the barebones beta, then MotoGP 09/10 is looking like the finished product, but it remains to be seen whether Milestone can craft the better world-class racing game with SBK X. Either way, this race is far from over.