Demo Review 47: MotoHeroz

There goes another game I don’t like. MotoHeroz doesn’t really have a plot, although it seems to take place in a military program of sorts, which I don’t get since this appears to be a racing game. Not any kind of racing game, either; a platformer racer, where the entire point is to drive forwards – or backwards – and keep the motorbike balanced so that it doesn’t turn upside-down.

The first level teaches the basics – moving forward with 2, moving backwards with 1, repositioning the bike with Left or Right on the horizontal remote (in case it’s about to land upside down), using items with A. If, by a streak of bad luck or a missed landing, the bike falls upside-down, you must shake the Wii remote to bring it back on its wheels. Sounds simple so far? Oh, it gets tough. The mountainous areas this game takes place in are full of climbs and descents, and a bike going fast enough will fly off the road, which is why you need to always keep your wheels towards the ground. Easier said than done.

By level 3, the game introduces ghost racers that you must beat. Oh yeah, and you can’t skip them. You must always beat the ghost racer to get to the next level, and those fuckers are fast. Best case scenario, they’re gonna be very close to the goal when you reach it – and that's, of course, if you’re ahead. The difficulty is too great; the timing is too close. The ghost racer is too good compared to an average player. This is way too difficult. Plus, it takes a moment to get used to the physics. Also, if at any moment against a ghost racer you flip upside-down, you can pretty much kiss victory goodbye, as it will take too long to flip back up and resume the race. It’s a good thing that you can start over at will by pressing the – button on the Wii remote! The last level I played required to be good at both going forwards AND backwards, and needed some luck too. I just gave up.

I can understand if someone likes this game – it’s challenging alright, the 3D in the levels looks good, and the characters have funny proportions. Plus, the Tutorial is self-aware and cracks a few jokes at video game conventions (such as being unable to use more than one power-up at once). The controls also work well, but the problem here is that you’re not given enough time and levels to master them before they toss you into playing against a ghost racer. As a result, I really didn’t like the demo. But hey, that’s just me. Try it if you want. As for me, there’s no chance I’ll ever buy this game.