MotoGP 3

MotoGP 3 (often stylized as MotoGP3) is a Grand Prix motorcycle racing video game developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation 2. Released in 2003, it's the third game in the Namco series, which coincided with the THQ series for a number of years.

For other meanings, see MotoGP 3 (disambiguation).

MotoGP 3
Developer(s)	Namco
Publisher(s)	Namco
Composer(s)	Hiroto Sasaki Tetsukazu Nakanishi Rio Hamamoto Go Shiina
Series	MotoGP
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Release	JP: February 27, 2003 NA: March 17, 2003 EU: May 2, 2003
Genre(s)	Racing
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer

Gameplay

The gameplay is very similar to past games by Namco, like MotoGP (PS2) and MotoGP 2. MotoGP 3 is based off the 2002 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, but with the introduction of four stroke bikes, the gameplay has some slight differences. The new 990cc 4-stroke bikes are faster, but tend to be a bit of a handful while the 500cc 2-strokes are less faster but slightly better to handle.

Features

MotoGP 3 has far more tracks than the previous game, with 15 real world courses which include Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Paul Ricard, Motegi and Mugello. There are also a combination of fantasy layouts which can be as simplistic as a straight line or as complex as having a cross road in it. When starting the game up for the first time, as per usual with Namco MotoGP games, players will be allowed to create a custom rider. After that, they will be brought to the menu screen where they can access a number of options. The first is arcade, where the players can choose the bike they wish to ride as, number of laps, weather, difficulty and settings to do a race. Season mode puts them into a season with any team (depending on difficulty) and the player races on a combination of circuits to try and win the championship. Time Trial is like Arcade, except rather than racing against a number of opponents for a number of laps, they're racing against the clock to try to get the best time for as long as desired. Challenge mode is, as the title suggests, a series of challenges that players can play. They range from beating another rider, riding between cones, setting a specific lap time in Time Trial or winning a race at a specific track. Completing challenges will unlock riders, movies and pictures. Multiplayer allows players to race against their friends, which can be up to four of them, at the same time. Legends mode is, like Time Trial, similar to Arcade mode, except rather than facing riders from 2002, they face riders from past seasons, including the likes of Kevin Schwantz, Wayne Gardner and Mick Doohan to name a few. Then there's Options to make the game to the players liking and a Load/Save section.

Riders

2002

Team	Constructor	Machine	No.	Rider 1	No.	Rider 2
Antena 3 Yamaha d'Antin	Yamaha	Yamaha YZR500	6	Norick Abe	20	Pere Riba
Fortuna Honda Gresini	Honda	Honda NSR500/Honda RC211V	74	Daijiro Kato	None	None
Gauloises Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	Yamaha YZR500	19	Olivier Jacque	56	Shinya Nakano
Kanemoto Racing	Honda	Honda NSR500	17	Jurgen van den Goorbergh	None	None
Marlboro Yamaha Team	Yamaha	Yamaha YZR-M1	3	Max Biaggi	7	Carlos Checa
MS Aprilia Racing	Aprilia	Aprilia RS Cube	55	Régis Laconi	None	None
Pramac Honda Racing Team	Honda	Honda NSR500	31	Tetsuya Harada	None	None
Proton Team KR	Proton KR	Proton KR3	9	Nobuatsu Aoki	99	Jeremy McWilliams
Red Bull Yamaha WCM	Yamaha	Yamaha YZR500	8	Garry McCoy	21	John Hopkins
Repsol Honda Team	Honda	Honda RC211V	11	Tohru Ukawa	46	Valentino Rossi
Telefónica Movistar Suzuki	Suzuki	Suzuki GSV-R	10	Kenny Roberts Jr	15	Sete Gibernau
West Honda Pons	Honda	Honda NSR500/Honda RC211V (Barros Only)	4	Alex Barros	65	Loris Capirossi

Legends

Team	Constructor	Machine	No.	Rider
Marlboro Yamaha Team	Yamaha	Yamaha YZR500	1	Wayne Rainey
Lucky Strike Suzuki	Suzuki	Suzuki RGV500	1	Kevin Schwantz
Repsol Honda Team	Honda	Honda NSR500	1	Mick Doohan
Rothmans Honda Team	Honda	Honda NSR500	1	Wayne Gardner

Fantasy

The game also includes fictional riders based on Namco game franchises. Susumu Hori is only available in the PAL and Japanese version of the game.

Team	Constructor	Machine	No.	Rider
Namco Team	Unknown	Unknown	0	Jack Slate
Namco Team	Unknown	Unknown	0	Susumu Hori
Namco Team	Unknown	Unknown	76	Hitomi Yoshino

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score Aggregator Score Metacritic 80/100[1] Review scores Publication Score Edge 6/10[2] EGM 8/10[3] Game Informer 7/10[4] GamePro [5] GameRevolution B[6] GameSpot 8.2/10[7] GameSpy [8] GameZone 8.6/10[9] IGN 8.5/10[10] OPM (US) [11]

The game received "favorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[1] MotoGP 3 was successful in Italy: Sony Computer Entertainment Italia reported just under 100,000 sales by March 2004.[12]

References

1. "MotoGP 3 for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic.
2. Edge staff (July 2003). "MotoGP 3 (PS2)". Edge (125).
3. "MotoGP 3". Electronic Gaming Monthly (165): 116. April 2003. Archived from the original on May 6, 2004. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
4. Kato, Matthew (April 2003). "Moto GP 3 [sic] (PS2)". Game Informer (120): 85. Archived from the original on February 23, 2005. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
5. DJ Dinobot (March 21, 2003). "Moto GP 3 [sic] Review for PS2 on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 1, 2005. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
6. Gee, Brian (April 2003). "MotoGP 3 Review". Game Revolution. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
7. Winegarner, Tyler (March 20, 2003). "MotoGP3 Review". GameSpot. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
8. Rice, Kevin (April 18, 2003). "GameSpy: MotoGP3". GameSpy. Archived from the original on December 16, 2005. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
9. Valentino, Nick (March 29, 2003). "MotoGP3 - PS2 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 5, 2008. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
10. Hwang, Kaiser (March 18, 2003). "MotoGP3". IGN. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
11. "MotoGP 3". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine: 90. April 2003. Archived from the original on May 6, 2004. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
12. https://web.archive.org/web/20040823065932/http://www.multiplayer.it/b2b/articoli.php3?id=10959

External links

• MotoGP 3 at MobyGames