Being an old school, or merely just old, gamer, I hate the PlayStation dual shock sticks. I don’t use them when navigating Grand Turismo because you can get away with it but for MotoGP14 it’s a necessary but in a good way.

With cars, you don’t have to worry about getting the bike up on to the fat bit of the tyre to maximise acceleration or, in my case on the first few cracks at this, stopping a whopping highside almost everywhere, such is the playability of MotoGP14.

Producers Milestone have done a bang-up job with the latest incarnation of the MotoGP series. Those of you who have the latest MXGP game - also a Milestone product - will find a very familiar feel with the as the career mode is identical.

You beigin as a wildcard in Moto3 and then progress as you attain your goals (beating Brian Schouten for 15th place is one) and then if you’re good enough, Niki Ajo sends you a contract, which is nice.

Make no mistake, though, this is a tough game. Having ridden since the age of three and played enough bike games (including Sega’s Hang-On back in the dim and distant day), it takes a while to re-program yourself that you can, no, have to brake deep into turns at 50+° of lean where previously, that is an instant trip to the Clinica.

I have only so far got halfway through a season of Moto2 after coming second in my debut Moto3 season (AI oppostion set to easy) with the aforementioned Red Bull KTM team and it is far from a walk in the park.

All the tracks are well represented even down to the shadows at Qatar but don’t expect Gran Turismo graphics levels - after all that is a multi-million dollar operation.

What makes MotoGP14 fun (apart from making Colin Edwards do a Rossi leg dangle, which I have never seen him do) is the modes that surround the main championship.

In Challenge the Champions, you can be Wayne Gardner on an evil NSR500 V4 at Le Mans, trying to attain second place. But the style of riding required means you have to be on the case. Adopting the same style of deep trail braking on the NSR as you did on Rossi’s YZR-M1 in Time Attack means a trip into the gravel, as does getting on the power early as there are no electronics.

Then there is Real Events which allows you to re-live pivotal moments in last year’s championship. Rossi’s Qatar dice with Marquez or make sure that Jorge Lorenzo doesn’t get nerfed by the Repsol Honda man at the last corner at Jerez, for example.

In all MotoGP14 is a game that will statisfy fans of the sport. But don’t try it post-pub…