Namco is exploding off the starting line with its latest motorcycle game, Moto GP4. The latest edition of the long standing series includes new bikes, riders, and tracks to race on, as well as some nifty camera modes and most importantly, online play! I hopped onto this bad girl and took her for a spin, and I'm happy to report that she's one mean ride. And no...I am not a pervert.

The biggest edition to this year's game is the online play. Up to eight people from all over the world can race against one another, and Namco has made setup very user friendly, as in all you have to do is select Internet from the main menu, zip through some options and you're good to go. Plus, there's very little lag, and to make things even sweeter, you can mix it up by dropping some bots into the mix, just in case you for some reason can't track down seven other people. But online is very cool. The game runs smoothly, finding races is fairly easy, and the bots have adjustable difficultly levels, which enables you to customize the game as you see fit.

In addition to the online play there's also split screen. It certainly works all right, but it looks and feels archaic compared to the online mode (as it should). But it's definitely cool if that's all you've got.

Past the network stuff is a robust single player campaign that's brimming with options. Now if all you want to do is race around tracks there's the Arcade mode, but if you're in need of a meatier offering you can create a Season. Here, you'll blaze through each class on your way to becoming the greatest rider of all time. You'll have the option of switching teams as you go, and you can improve your machine's performance after passing a Part's test.

The game comes with three different classes to mess around with (Moto GP, 125cc, and 250cc), each of which contains bikes from the likes of Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda, Ducati, Kawasaki, and Aprilia, among others, each of which varies in acceleration, speed, and brakes. There's also a plethora of riders to select from such as Simone Corsi, Steve Jenker, Manuel Manna, Mike Kallio, and numerous others, all of which you'll need to unlock, or so it seems. And there's a decent selection of real world tracks from around the world like Le Mans, Sepang, Jerez, Phakisa, Assen, and Donington. Overall, there's roughly 16, each of which appears to have been painstakingly recreated.

In order to unlock stuff you need to accumulate GP points. These are doled out, from what I've seen, while playing Arcade or Season, and when you're ready to spend them, all you have to do is access the Paddock, which is located on the game's main screen. Here, you can buy new riders, bikes, and various accessories, as well as view movies and replays.

There's also Time Trial, and it's exactly what I expected it to be. The game throws over 100 unique challenges at you, some of which force you to best a certain time, while others task you with defeating a couple of riders.

On the track, the game handles like a dream. I had to make some adjustments in order to get used to riding on a bike, but Moto GP4 is a lot more forgiving that Polyphony Digital's Tourist Trophy, which is a bit too sim oriented. That's not to say that Moto GP is a simple arcade style racer because it does require patience and an understanding of bikes to win, but you won't be wiping out whenever you hit something. A rider can fall off his or her bike; just not as often as in the aforementioned game.

I'm also enamored with the four different perspectives. The first is just your standard behind the back view which works just fine. But then there's the visor view (you see the action from inside the helmet), the regular old first person view (where you cannot see the bike or the rider), and then a rather odd set up where the camera appears to have been attached to the wheel. In this camera mode the turns are just a lot more pronounced, as the screen flies all over the place. It definitely took me some time to get used to.

Then there's brake assist. Before entering a race you have the option of selecting one of three difficulty modes and whether you want dry or wet weather. That stuff's all well and good, but for a motorcycle n00b, the brake assist works wonders. Basically, when you activate it, the AI will brake for you whenever you take a turn. It doesn't guarantee first place victories, but it will keep you from straying too far off the track. Plus, it doesn't rob you of control. You can still brake and accelerate whenever you want.

Overall, Moto GP4 is a solid racing game and a fine addition to the series. But whether it'll be the best motorcycle-based title is clearly up for debate, especially because of Tourist Trophy. We'll review the game when it's released on May 23.