For most fair-weather motorbike racing fans, there’s only one real show in town: MotoGP. As the biking equivalent of Formula One, Moto has it all: the high tech bikes, the glamorous locations and a star studded array of the world’s best riders, such as Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner. It even has a British rider for the nation to cheer on in the form of James Toseland.
And it’s been very much the same story with bike games. Traditionally, all the two-wheel-loving gamer has needed to do was wait for Climax’s (or, at a push, Namco’s) annual MotoGP update to hit the shelves, and they’d be sorted for the next 12 months.
But while Moto may be dominant, that’s not to say there aren’t alternatives: case-in-point, the Superbike World Championship. If the glitzy, high tech nature of MotoGP makes it the ‘Formula One of motorbikes,’ then the Superbike World Championship is the biking equivalent of touring car racing.
As with touring car racing, SBK’s production-based machinery may not boast the same mental levels of performance as its esteemed rival (even if the difference is less than between Formula 1 and touring cars). But yet, its use of production based machines gives it a charm of its own.
And now, Black Bean is hoping that – with the help of veteran Italian racing game developer Milestone – it will be able to translates these same charms into a compelling racing game, in the form of SBK08.
With no new MotoGP game this summer (presumably due to the licence being transferred to Capcom), this could be a golden opportunity for Black Bean to steal a lead on its rival – even if the early selection of screenshots would seem to suggest that SBK08 is little more than an underwhelming MotoGP knock-off.
However, looks can be deceptive. Granted, there are similarities there – not the least of all because both titles employ bikes, and largely the same selection of circuits.
But once you start playing the game, it soon becomes apparent that there are some substantial differences between the latest instalments in Climax’s award-winning series and what Milestone is creating here.
First up, there are the graphics, which look considerably more convincing and fluid. Some sacrifices have had to be made – the tracks, for instance, looks somewhat less detailed.
But whether it’s the way the way edges are smoothed off, or the slight speed blur you get when driving at speed, SBK08 manages to avoid the slightly sterile, clinical nature of its rival, and feels altogether more lifelike.
The same is true of the handling, which is much more accessible. This doesn’t mean you can start taking hairpins at full throttle or pulling off huge powerslides at leisure, but when you do make a mistake, you won’t be ruthlessly punished for it.
Rather than pitch you off your bike as soon as you miss a braking point, get on the throttle too early or put a wheel on the grass, SBK08 gives you just enough time to sense the error, back off a bit and stabilise the bike.
Admittedly, this does take the edge off the sensation of speed – although given how hectic things can get with the Moto games, some may argue that’s no bad thing. And besides, if you’re really fussed about it, there’s a dazzling array of driver aids you can tinker with to stoke up the challenge.
Of course, there are some familiar elements as well. The full game will feature all the usual assortments of game modes, such as championship, time attack, single race and suchlike.
It will also feature all the circuits, teams and riders from the Superbike World Championship, although regrettably, we couldn’t find a paint-your-own-bike option in the build we played.
This especially was surprising (and, if were honest, a little disappointing), given how much value is placed on being able to craft your own identity in the community-led world of online gaming. Still, as long as it plays well, we’re sure it won’t matter too much.
There were a few areas that still needed to be touched up as well. The shadowing effects were either warped or just non-existent on certain circuits, while some of the animation routines of the riders seemed a little jerky as well.
We certainly hope that Milestone can sort these small issues out. While we can’t see this being a problem with the PS3 version, which is due out this Autumn (we’ll leave the fanboys to squabble over why), with the 360 and PC versions due out on 20 June, hopefully there’ll still be sufficient time for these problems to be addressed.
Assuming they are, it looks like we should be on for a decent little game. Although we’re not expecting SBK08 to go challenging the likes of GRID, Gotham 4, GT5 Prologue and the like for outright dominance of the racing genre, it should be a solid enough bike racer nevertheless.
