I met with Sebastien from Nobilis and he let me play Moto Racer DS. The game was built from the ground up specifically for the Nintendo DS and made to use the touch screen interface. It was possibly one of the most interesting titles I’ve seen for the platform.

The Stylus Precision Handling system is simply dragging the tip of the cursor up to accelerate, down to deccel and left or right to turn. It’s so simple it’s absolutely brilliant and reminded me of iPhone like gestures. The point of the interface was to make the game accessible to new fans who haven’t played a Moto Racer title but still be a deep enough experience to appeal to the diehard legions of MR fans.

I believe it does just that. This is not a port of the game it was solely developed for the NDS and they did a fantastic job. The interface is cool and I think will be seen in many other games eventually. Many racing games on the DS have lacked a good interface and this might be what gamers have been waiting for.

There’s also an excellent sense of speed in the game and the controls are so smooth and there is zero latency from stylus slide to game response. All in all I think Moto Racer DS might not only be one of the best titles in the series, I think it might be the best racing game on the NDS to date. I played each of the modes quickly except for Traffic and that control scheme takes some getting used to but works really well.

The game is set for a mid-October release. There is also a good amount of other things about the game including multiplayer with up to 7 buddies that I’ve gathered below.

• A multiplayer mode: up to 4 players with only 1 game, and up to 8 players with 8 DS cards via the DS’ wireless connection
• 3 difficulty levels: Beginner, advanced & expert.
• 5 camera angles, fitting to each game style.
• 8 environments for an instant immersion: Mountains, desert, forest, highway, downtown …
• 32 different motorcycles with their own characteristics (acceleration, turbo, speed, and handling!).
• 44 tracks

MOTO GP
Burn rubber with your stylus in order to show your friends that you are a speed Devil
4 different game modes: championship, single race, time trial, and multiplayer, 12 motorcycles, 18 tracks in different environments.

TRAFFIC
Race through the city and pull-off manuveres you never even dreamed, or challenge your friends to a downtown duel using the Nintendo DS wifi connection
3 game modes: duel, multiplayer, and 10 mission to even the most daring riders, like pizza delivery, slalom, wheeling, highway Star, domination … 8 motorcycles and 10 tracks. Unlock all sorts of crazy bikes (scooter, mini-bike…).

SUPERCROSS
Challenge the A.I. or up to 8 of your friends in an all out dirt bike race
4 game modes: championship, single race, time trial, and multi-player. 12 motorcycles, 12 tracks to challenge your opponents, and perform tricks! Don’t be afraid to get your stylus covered in mud in order to win the race, and best your friends

FREESTYLE
With the stylus dedicated gameplay, performing tricks has never been so intuitive
2 game modes: championship & records. 12 motorcycles, 4 tracks, 16 tricks (360°, Lazy boy, Kiss of death… and more X-treme tricks!). The goal of this game mode is to perform a lot of impressive tricks. Line-up tricks and accumulate points to be the First

About the game
Genre: Motor Bike simulation
Platform: Nintendo DS
Publisher: Nobilis
Developer: Artefacts
Release date: mid-October
Official website: www.motoracer-thegame.com