It would not be unfair to call Tourist Trophy “Gran Turismo with motorcycles”. Both games are developed by Polyphony Digital and both provide detailed simulations of racing with a large variety of real world vehicles to choose from. In fact, if you’ve played the Gran Turismo games then you’ll instantly recognize Tourist Trophy’s menu system and license class play mechanic. None of this is a knock against Tourist Trophy as the Gran Turismo games are among the best racers available for the PS2. What it does mean though is that if you didn’t like the Gran Turismo games then you’ll probably not enjoy Tourist Trophy either. If on the other hand you are a GT fan and are interested in doing some racing of the two-wheeled variety, then read on because Tourist Trophy is definitely worth a look.

Taking a skills test.

If you had to pick one adjective to describe Tourist Trophy, the word “extensive” would make a good choice. The game includes over 120 motorcycles, all of which are based on real-world cycles. There are 35 different courses on which to race. There’s an arcade mode for when you just want to get into a race against up to three computer opponents or split-screen against another person and a career mode in which you need to qualify and then race at a number of different license levels. The career mode also includes challenges that reward success with a new cycle to add to your collection. In short there’s a lot of gameplay here that will keep you occupied for quite some time if you enjoy racing games.

As mentioned earlier the motorcycles in the game are modeled on real world cycles and as such they all drive differently. Lighter bikes are easier to take through turns, but the heavier bikes with their bigger engines go a lot faster down the straightaways. Motorcycles in the same class also have their own characteristics and you can feel the difference between them in terms of acceleration and handling. One thing that all the motorcycles share in common though is that they take a little time to get used to – you don’t have to worry about leaning too far over during a turn when racing a car and you’ll have to contend with two sets of brakes on a motorcycle. And the bikes all look great, accurately reflecting all of the details of their real world inspirations.

Like Gran Turismo, Tourist Trophy’s career mode starts out with a series of driving tests that must be completed in order to earn a license and become eligible for races in that class. Each test focuses on a single aspect of racing such as cornering and taking the right line through a turn. The tests are not too difficult to pass after more than a few tries and are actually a pretty good mechanism for giving players a feel for the game and racing the motorcycles.

For all it has going for it, there are some disappointing aspects to the game. First of all the races are intimate affairs in which you race against at most three other motorcycles. There are also plenty of times you’ll be competing against a single opponent. It’s surprising that more motorcycles per race are not supported and it certainly would have added to the excitement. Another thing that is strange is the way that crashes are handled in the game. Wipe out and you’re simply set back on your bike back on the track none the worse for wear. You may lose a few seconds, but rolling across the pavement at over a hundred miles per hour is apparently no worse than stumbling on a crack in the pavement.

Page 2 of 2 »