Before the first 3D consoles began to hit the market, racing games were limited to a very two-dimensional experience. They didn’t have the complexity of the action/adventure genre, which thrived on side-scrolling gameplay. That perspective was something racing games could not use.

There were a few gems toward the middle of the 16-bit era. Sega’s OutRun series was good for its time, and though no specific names come to mind, I know there were a couple others that moved the genre ahead.

Right now, the average cell phone is similar to the way our game consoles used to be: powerful based on what’s available, but lack the potency needed to take games to the next level. Thus, the mobile version of MotoGP4 does not look anything like the console edition. It doesn’t play much like it either. It is, however, a mildly amusing distraction from bus stop boredom, and accomplishes more than most racing games did back when consoles were primitive.

Tracks Aplenty

Jerez. Losail Circuit. Shanghai Circuit. Istanbul Park Circuit. These are just four of the 18 courses available in the mobile version of MotoGP4. The others range from well-known to obscure: Le Mans, Mugello, Circuit De Catalunya, Donington Park, Assen, Sachsenring, Laguna Seca, Automotodrom Brno, Misano, Estoril, Motegi, Phillip Island, Sepang Circuit, Communitat Valenciana.

There are also 18 riders: Andrew Pitt, Jeremy McWilliams, Alex Hofman, Alex Barros, Marco Melandri, Toni Elias, Sylvan Guintoli, Makoto Tamada, Casey Stoner, Randy De Puniet, Colin Edwards, Chris Vermeulen, John Hopkins, Oliver Jacque, Loris Capirossi, Dani Pedrosa, Nicky Hayden, and Valentino Rossi. None of these drivers are equipped with a unique control scheme – they’re mainly here for the sake of having more than one man listed in the rankings.

Game modes include Quick Race and Career. To separate yourself from the pack, start a new career and take advantage of the option to customize your bike. Four abilities – Cornering, Braking, Top Speed and Acceleration – may be enhanced with credits earned from completed races. All sales are not final. Should a racer decide that his brakes need a bit more stability, you can remove credits from one ability and apply them to another. Abilities can be reduced all the way down to zero, allowing for a balanced restructuring of your bike’s performance – or a one-sided upgrade that improves the single most important ability you want to enhance.

The controls vary by phone, but the general setup gives players the option to race with either the arrow selection circle (found in most modern phones) or a combination of keypad buttons. Either way works fine if your phone’s buttons are firm and responsive. If not, you may have more luck with one particular type. Acceleration can be set to auto or triggered manually by pushing up or the number 2.

MotoGP4’s gameplay is just what it looks like: a very basic racing game that feels like it was made for the NES. It’s a fair time-killer, but don’t expect there to be any amount of depth. The simple 2D aesthetics cause most of the tracks to run together as one big environment, where all you do is push left or right. But again, that is due to the technology powering game. MotoGP4 is not for everyone. But if you’re dying for some 8- or 16-bit racing nostalgia, this game will take you back to that memorable generation.

Note: MotoGP4 is currently live on Boost, AT&T, Sprint, Nextel, and Virgin.

Gameplay: 6.9
Straightforward controls that like to go awry. The auto-acceleration feature is great until it fails, which it does all too frequently.

Graphics: 5.5
The picture is very clear, I’ll give it that. But the game doesn’t have many colors or on-screen details. It’s a lot of the same thing being shown multiple times.

Sound: 3.0
MotoGP4’s scratchy sound effects are terrible. With the quality of ringtones improving each year, it’s about time some of that technology gets ported to mobile games. 

Difficulty: Easy
Can you push left? Can you push right?

Concept: 5.0
A throwback to the 8- and 16-bit days. No new “concept” was created in the process.

Overall: 6.7
You can’t fight technology. There will come a day when MotoGP is as exciting on a mobile phone as it is on a console or as it would be on PSP. Given that mobile phone technology is at least a few years away from reaching that point, you can’t expect more than retro-style gaming to appear on the average phone. MotoGP4 is a time-killer for the nostalgic crowd, but there aren’t any reasons for anyone else to proceed.