MotoGP 08 is the latest in what has become a series of popular motorbike racing games from Capcom. We got to check it out briefly at Leipzig, including some hands-on time to get a bit of a feel for it. There're a bunch of new features in this one, though Capcom weren't afraid to point out there's only so far you can really go with a racing game in terms of mechanics, but having admitted that they seem pretty happy with how the game has evolved to the point it's at today.

There are three different handling models available now for the game. Arcade is the simplest and easiest (and best if you're wanting to jump right on in for some racing fun), however, for the road warriors there's simulation, which definitely cranks it up more than just a notch.

In this mode you'll have separate front and rear braking and you have to set your body weight correctly when going into corners to make sure you don't spill off (among more hardcore tweaking/learning features). There's also an intermediate mode which helps with the learning curve as you make your way to sim mode.

We tested it out in Arcade mode; I struggled at first because I'd been playing way, way too much Grand Theft Auto recently and had a completely different motorcycle riding model in my head, but after a few minutes on the track I got a handle (Ha!) on it and was whizzing around comfortably. Advanced gamers will probably want to bounce up to Intermediate pretty quickly to stay challenged though.

Night racing is another new addition - the first level we saw was a Qatar course at night; unfortunately as that track is in the middle of a barebones desert there's not a lot to see, so we jumped into the new Indianapolis course. This one had a lot more juicy bits: detailed stands and much better scenery – it's a fairly pretty game overall.

While it's easy to jump into the game for quick simple races, there is, of course, the full-blown Career Mode. The career mode allows you to accumulate career points, which you can use to move between teams or racing classes (at the end of the season, that is). Points can also be used to upgrade to the more uber-bikes, such as the much-desired Ducati.

Another noted feature was the ability to have up to 35 bikes on the track at any one time, making for a busy race grid as you're trying to bob and weave your way to victory. There are multiple settings for the AI racers as well, so you can better tweak the game to match your skill level for that perfect challenge. A brief mention was also made of the online modes but we didn't get to see any of the multiplayer, unfortunately.

If you're into bike racing this is probably going to be one title you'll want to check out when it's released soon. This is also the first run of the MotoGP series on the PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii, so good news for gamers of all inclinations.

You can check out more from our AusGamers MotoGP 08 game page.