Available on: PS4, Xbox360 and PC
Surely, motorcycle
racing games hit their peak with 1991's Road Rash for the Saga
Megadrive. If you don't remember it, it was essentially a racing game
in which you had to hit your fellow bikers with a chain or iron bar
in order to win the race. Since then motorbike games have been few
and far between and like many others I've been worried that there
might never be a game as good as Road Rash ever again.
But fear not, as this
month sees the release of a brand new motorcycle racing game, TT Isle
of Man - Ride On The Edge.
For those not familiar,
The Isle of Man TT is perhaps the biggest and most dangerous
motorcycle races in the world. Dating back to 1907 its probably one
of the oldest too. The TT (Tourist Trophy) is raced on closed public
roads around the Isle of Man – known as the Snaefell Mountain TT
course.
TT Isle of Man - Ride
On The Edge gives you the chance to race the entire Isle of Man TT
circuit from the comfort of your own home. All 37.73 miles of the
track have been lovingly recreated in game and you can ride all of
it. I have to say, even a novice like me recognised some of the more
iconic landmarks.
I'd see a demo of the
game at Motorcycle Live last year and was very impressed at the
graphics side of things. It's really good, not quite photo-realistic,
but still amazing to look at. For any gamers reading this, the rural
locations of the Isle of Man are very reminiscence of “Everyone's
gone to the rapture”.
I've been playing this
game for about two weeks now and I have to say, either it's a really
difficult game or I'm just not good at it. I get the impression it's
a bit of both. There are lots of different setting for you to get
your head around. It has the standard “easy” to “difficult”
settings, but then various options for the motorcycle too. Automatic
or manual gear change, stoppie and wheelie assists. So you can
really customize the experience.
 |
| My first trophy in the game - It means I fell off 10 times. |
What I liked most about
this game is just how much fun it is. At time of writing, I've fallen
off more times than I can remember and have not won a race. But I'm
still having a great time playing it. I particularly like the career
mode. You design your own character and work your way up to becoming
a professional rider in the TT itself. Of course, if you don't want
to do that, you can jump straight to the action with the solo races
or time trials.
One thing that was a
little disappointing was the amount of bikes to choose from. OK,
there are actually 40 unlockable bikes, but unless you know your
stuff, a lot of the models look very similar. If you're a fan of the
newer super-bikes and the machines that are ridden today, then your
favourite is probably here. I was hoping for a few of the classic
bikes to be available.(Although I do like the Norton V4 SS).
However, I understand
that some side-car DLC is being released at some point, so perhaps
some classics will be along in the future.
All in all, the game is
a lot of fun, looks gorgeous and will keep me entertained until the
next motorcycle game comes out.
Thanks for reading.
Until next time.
