Now it’s time for another round of racing with THQ’s release of MotoGP2 for the Xbox, and while the game sticks to the sim-style racing that made it great, it may have become a little too complex for the casual racer. MotoGP 2 is not for the faint of heart, and while it’s beautiful to look at, luxuriously detailed and its sim qualities are deeper than the ocean, you may find it’s just a tad too difficult at times.

Like its predecessor, MotoGP 2 is all about racing powerful motorcycles against the top racers in the world on internationally renowned racing circuits. All the tracks from the original are here, along with some new ones, so with 16 tracks there’s plenty of variety for the budding pro racer. The bikes have also received an update, with two-stroke and four-stroke monsters sharing the same tracks. If you thought it was rough handling those 500cc bikes in the original MotoGP, just wait until you mount a 1,000cc monster in this game.

The core of both the original MotoGP and this freshly updated version is the career mode, which allows you to enjoy all the technical details of a professional racing career. Starting out with a scrappy bike and few skills, you’ll need to spend plenty of time building up your custom rider and tweaking his bike for maximum performance. To get you started, MotoGP 2 offers a training and trial mode. In the trial mode, you perform increasingly difficult maneuvers to gain experience points that you apply to your rider’s skill ratings. The trial mode starts out well enough but becomes so insanely difficult so early on that it will inspire moments where you put down the controller and leave the room to vent some steam.

In the original MotoGP, the trials started out simply and offered a gradual learning curve. In MotoGP 2, you only get one or two easy trials before finding yourself forced to pull off incredibly difficult maneuvers in limited space and even more limited amounts of time. I can’t imagine a single newcomer to the franchise sticking it out for more than a few of the trials. Fortunately, placing well in races will also boost your experience points, which is the way I imagine many people will play this game. Set the difficulty to "Rookie," run through the world circuit, and you’ll have enough experience to put together a halfway decent rider that you can then take through the trials and probably perform much better than you would have using a fresh rider.

The AI and physics in the game pair up to make it an incredibly realistic experience. Good racers must learn to plan their lines through the tracks, dropping into a tuck in the straightaway, powersliding those tight turns and dipping just right to make it through those chicanes. While you’re taking great care to handle your bike without laying it down, the AI riders will race like the champs they’re modeled after by making few, if any, mistakes. Annoy enough racers by bumping into them, and watch as they give you some less-than-loving taps when you’re in a difficult turn. The AI never "cheats," but as I’ve said, it’s modeled on pro racers, and those guys can’t afford to slip up at 160 mph, and they rarely will. Beginners will spend a lot of time getting used to the physics of MotoGP 2 and would do well to always practice on a fresh track.

Arcade racing fans will also find something to enjoy in MotoGP 2 with its extra game modes. First there’s the quick race, which remains heavy on the physics but spares you figuring out the details of brake sensitivity, tire pressure and suspension stiffness. With quick race, you just choose a racer from the pro circuit and hit the track. There’s also a stunt mode, which challenges you to perform a mix of stunts, from endos to wheelies and back again to some 180’s.

Personally, the career mode’s learning curve is too steep for my style of casual racing. While I had a highly customized and well-experienced racer from the original MotoGP, his skills meant nothing in this sequel. In the first game, my man Calico was on par with the pros, but he isn’t fit to polish the bikes of the pros in MotoGP 2. This meant I spent a lot of time building a new biker from scratch. After several days of racing the pro circuit, I found it was more fun to jump in for a quick race. Diehard racers will enjoy the depth of the career mode, but most other gamers will either choose quick race or return to the original MotoGP, which was a strong sim but not nearly as difficult as this sequel.

The original MotoGP showed Xbox developers just how an Xbox title should look, and with this new version of the game, Climax has once again raised the bar. The bikes are so realistic you’ll swear you were watching a live race on TV. Racers are detailed right down to the patches on their leathers, and their helmets have a good bit of reflection without being too shiny. Watch a rider lean into a deep turn or give a one-fingered salute to another racer, and you’ll be amazed at how fluid the animation is. The tracks are meticulously rendered, matching every single detail of their real world counterparts, including hazards such as deep sand and gravel pits.

Weather and lighting effects really round out the visuals in this game. Rain isn’t just there to be pretty, it’s a hazard. It will splatter against your windscreen and the pavement, making it difficult to see and even more difficult to drive in. I didn’t think anyone could improve upon the lighting from the first game, but Climax somehow managed to make it even more realistic. The sun creates flares on your windshield while at the same time generating dynamic shadows from objects and riders on the track.

The menus are easy to navigate and good-looking at the same time, which is a nice and unexpected treat. It’s a rarity to see a good menu in most current games, but MotoGP 2’s prove they certainly do exist.

After just a few minutes, you’ll realize that this game’s graphics are going to be the yardstick by which all other Xbox graphics are measured. Even on a standard TV, this game looks incredible.

It’s tough to judge a racing game by sound, since typically it’s just a bunch of engine noises and tire screeches. In that respect, the sound in MotoGP 2 does a fine job, but not a fantastic one. The engines are still a little too sewing machine-like for my tastes, but the rest of the sound palette is what I’d consider just above average. The soundtrack, on the other hand … all I can do is thank God that Climax decided to let us use custom soundtracks as they did in the original MotoGP. A mishmash of hard rock and screaming heavy metal, I replaced the stock soundtrack within about a half hour of gameplay.

The diversity of tracks, bikes and riders ensures you’ll keep coming back to this game even after finishing the career mode. While I was no fan of the career mode (it was too intense for my liking), I still came back to the game for dozens of quick races and stunt challenges.

The original MotoGP is still among the best games on Xbox Live, and Climax wisely included Live support for MotoGP 2. As with the original, the online lobbies are still the best around, making it a piece of cake to throw together a customized race or circuit with your online buddies. The Live support in and of itself probably extends the replay of this game by several months. While gamers may have ditched MechAssault a month after its release, hardcore racing fans will be playing MotoGP 2 until the next version is released.

MotoGP 2 is what most other Xbox titles strive to be: a solid combination of gameplay, graphics and variety. While some may find the career mode a frustrating experience, racing sim fanatics won’t be able to get enough of it. For those looking for a serious racing sim that shows no mercy to the player, this is it. This is a definite buy for any racing fan who appreciates an intricate and well-designed racing simulation.