MotoGP 2014 heads for provisional pole on PS4

This is what next-gen motorbikes look like

Remember how Namcos MotoGP game was the best racer on PS2 until Gran Turismo 3 came out? History could well repeat itself on PS4, as Milestones MotoGP 2014 looks to set preliminary pole on Sonys next-gen machine.

Not only is MotoGP 2014 an exhaustive recreation of the new MotoGP championship season (and its sibling series Moto2 and Moto3), it also contains a highlights mode of the 2013 season, allowing you to recreate the best moments from last year on your PS4. But it goes further than that: the new Legends mode will allow you to recreate famous battles from the series history, meaning you can reshape history as you see fit.

The next-gen visuals are a clear improvement. Huge draw distances with no visible pop-in and naturalistic lighting fill the screen in true 1080p on PS4, locked at 60fps. The physics engine is three-times as detailed, resulting in an incredibly smooth and solid simulation of the tyres against the track.

Grip is calculated dynamically and tyres lay down rubber over the course of the weekend, making for grippier lines as the sessions wear on. Add in realistic damage and real-time weather changes and youre looking at a sim thats technically more feature-rich than Xbox Ones Forza 5.

As with last years game, you can shift the weight of your rider around in the saddle, which becomes much more necessary as you switch off the assists. Traction control is dynamically altered mid-race via up and down on the d-pad, which is useful. Sometimes its just too frustrating to keep falling off.

With split-screen and online multiplayer present and correct, this has everything you'd expect from a modern racing game, with the exception of Ghost mode in Time Attack. We are, however, promised 3D paddock areas unique to each track, so itll be interesting to see how deep the live the life-style presentation really goes.

Right now, at about half-finished, its already very self-assured. Definitely one to watch if youre after a racer of substance and dont mind the occasional road rash. Click on through for more screens and more information.

Online multiplayer will have better corner-cutting detection this year

Riders all have real-time expression changes on their faces. The eyes have it

Sometimes the rider will almost fall off but hang on instead

The lighting system was used in the E3 2012 Final Fantasy demo

And the animation system was used in BioShock Infinite

Motion capture has been used for cut-scenes (but we only have pictures of bikes)

Over 100 riders are present, along with 18 tracks

The game engine is all-new for PS4 and PC

The game is also coming out on PS3, 360 and Vita, only much less shiny

Career mode will let you choose a team as a goal and roadmap how to get there

The demo included Assen, Jerez and Catalunya (pictured)

The slow F1 chicane isnt used in Catalunya's penultimate corner. Hooray!

The full game will have 2014's bikes in it. But they're not approved yet for screens. Hence there being no bikes in this screenshot. LOL