Those who are regular readers of Acegamez will know that I'm a big fan of Road Rash. But then again, who isn't? I only have to reminisce with my friends and mention Road Rash to gain a heart-warming response about the good old days. Hitting people with chains and baseball bats, buying new bikes and, well, hitting people with chains. This game has coloured my view on all biking games forever and ever amen. The action packed biking title, even though it's only 16-bit, still remains one of my close favourites today. You could say that I'm the wrong person to review Moto GP 4 then, because this is about as real as it gets on a console. But on the other hand, if Moto GP 4 impresses me without chains and bats then we'll know that the racing alone is enough to pull this title through. Rev up your Honda - we're about to start.

As mentioned, realism kicks in right from the word go. Even a message on screen tells you that the Moto GP team have worked extremely hard to recreate many aspects of the real Moto GP - and they've even gone that extra kilometre to let you play as many of your favourite racers that appear in the real thing. The first thing I did was to select the tutorial from the simple, white, I-Pod kissed menu. The tutorials took me ages to get through; there are lessons for each aspect of the game, many lessons containing quite a few tasks, all taking quite a few attempts. Of course, Moto GP veterans needn't worry about trivial things like these, but I'm glad they've included a superb (if not a little harsh) tutorial to give newbies a great feel for the bikes, the controls and just about everything else that comes with it. The cornering lessons were the hardest for me - I had to follow a ghost, corner perfectly, not stray off into the grass and match the ghost's time within a couple of seconds. You can even earn medals for the lessons - perfect for those gold-star pupils.

By this time, I was on fire! So before that flame burnt out, I selected Season mode, which is the main mode of Moto GP. It allows you to race against other Grand Prix people, on tracks that may look familiar, to become the next world champion. I didn't know if I was ready for such a title, but I entered anyway! You are able to rush in there and just race, or you can play as your favourite rider from the real GP. First you must buy your riders and bikes from the Paddock if you want to take this route though. The Paddock is a great place to spend your hard earned GP points. Buy riders and circuits, watch replays and view your records too.

The first couple of races were a little overwhelming, as I was racing against 20 other bikers, making that a total of 21 people on one track at one time. Once I got into the swing of things though, I was able to cut corners smoothly, shave time off my laps and eventually work my way up to first position, which felt fantastic! I was almost forgetting about my obsession with baseball bats. Before entering Season mode you can define whether you want to race two lap races or five lap races. While I understand that these two numbers are for realism purposes, five laps feels like too much hard work and two laps is far too short to get to first. Five laps around a large track could get a tad boring if you're stuck in a last position, or if you've been first for quite a while, so it's a shame the option for three or four laps weren't in there too.

The fluidness of the gameplay makes up for this though; the bikes you drive, depending on CC, pull beautifully, handle fantastically and are just a real joy to control. Of course, this is largely down to the easy to use controls but the fact that everything is easy to perform is a real godsend. It all looks realistic too and if you're a bike lover then expect your jaw to drop in amazement, as you see your graphically rich biker lean from right to left while dodging other bikers. Things do becoming satisfying when you overtake some idiot in front that has been there for two laps already but sometimes I wish the races would be a little bit shorter and sweeter. Saying this, I put the difficulty up, stuck some bad British weather on and I found the game to be more challenging, which made up for the five laps, as every lap was just as entertaining as the last. I can't see casual players enjoying a hard, eventful race or an easy, dull race - but people who like a challenge or a lot of realism without any novelties should find this fun.

There are a couple more modes here that should keep you entertained and keep the lasting appeal up. You can play with numerous buddies online or over LAN, plus you can play some split screen modes including a versus mode and in the actual GP. Arcade mode allows you to just race with your favourite bike on your favourite track, defining a couple more options such as Melee Mode. I got excited for a moment and thought that I'd be able to whip the old chain out, but it turned out to be some feature that allows you to define your starting position. First, please! Time trial is for beating your records and setting new ones for your friends and family to try and knock out. Finally, there's a Challenge mode, which contains 125 challenges for you to complete. Some challenges have you facing against famous faces; others have you stopping in a designated area. The challenges, of course, are deadly serious, but the variety here is immense and the fact that you can just pick any challenge out of the 125 at any time is just what the doctor ordered!

The graphics are super-realistic. As I've already mentioned, the bikers look extremely curvy and detailed. Of course, you'll never get to see their faces in a race but everything's so real - from the bikes right down to the helmets the various bikers wear. When racing with your biker, he looks over his shoulder when people are coming in from behind. This not only adds detail but helps you a lot and reminds you when opposition is approaching. Things like track design is extremely realistic too and the Moto GP team assure me that everything here is just how it is in real life. It's not every day I can say I raced on a replica of one of the many GP tracks available in real life from the comfort of my own home! No slowdown, no flickering textures and superb weather effects really give this game that extra edge.

The sound backs up the graphics, being so realistic that it just gives the player total immersion, getting you totally caught up in the racing. Engines roaring, revving before you start, noises for screeching around corners, driving onto grass - everything has that real sound about it. You can just imagine the sound effects department holding a big furry microphone next to the roaring engines to record these sounds and implement them straight into the game. They work so well in conjunction with the real feel of the game and the realistic graphics too. As for the music side of things, the soundtrack does a good job of keeping the races enthralling but sometimes the choice of music isn't always appropriate for the racing mood. There are ten tunes however, so you're bound to find something you like.

Moto GP 4 impressed me in some aspects, but left me pondering over others. The realism is uncanny and I've grown to love the realistic gameplay, graphics and sound. However, the game could have done with a mode to suit causal players too - a mode that allows you to define the exact number of laps and the exact number of racers, amongst other things. Nevertheless, with a range of modes on offer including extensive training, a variety of challenges and full network play included amongst the multiplayer options, there is no shortage of things to do here. Moto GP 4 does a great job of taking you close to the real thing and if you want realism over everything else, this is the only title you need.

Reviewed by Dexter Pearson for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).