TT Isle of Man finally brings an authentic motorbike racing game that captures the look and spirit of this famous race, it has been a long time coming but now the 37.73 mile course of the Snaefell Mountains has been faithfully reproduced on this iconic island.
When it comes to looks TT Isle of Man is stunning! with countryside backdrops, Forest and Hedges scattered along the side of the circuits and every small villages you race through have been done with incredible detail, the only downside is Spectators cheering you on at the side of the road seem to be lacklustre in movement.
As this is an officially licensed game the incredible detail extends to the bikes and riders creating all 25 official riders in detail, from the leathers they wear right down to cracks on the windscreen, to the tyre treads on there bikes making this one of the best looking racing games i have played to date. In Addition to this the rider animations are spot on as they balance themselves on the bike as it turns into a corner is so realistic.
You have multiple camera angles to race your bike from Helmet, Dash, Near and far positions which i prefered the far camera angle from the back of the bike which allowed me to see what was coming up ahead. Whereby the helmet and dash cams gave a better sensation of speed it was a bit more difficult to race the bikes in these views.
As for in game sound you get the authentic sound of the bikes as they speed around the courses, if you pick up enough speed the sound of the wind passing your helmet adds more depth and sensation of high speed, even the exhaust sounds differ over time as more crashes can damage your bike changing the sound your bike makes this game as realistic as possible.
Control has been created from the actual riders of TT which for me came down to the knowledge of the track you are racing on and practice at throttle control is essential as the bikes can be twitchy under cornering, which got a bit frustrating as i did crash a lot because of this, and it also applied when changing direction as you lean from one corner to the next and any sudden movement could cause you to crash even at low speed, with two types of braking in the game i preferred the combined braking over the split braking as after a while i could control my cornering a little better.
Even though the game is centred around the Isle of Man TT race there is so much more on offer with other tracks to race on in 10 other location set in Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales creates a good mix of races which can either be done in Time trial or a race against other AI opponents.
The Games AI is brutal with 4 difficulty settings, you even struggle to keep up with the leading bikes on the easy setting, but this will depend on your ability to stay on the bike as to determine if you are victorious or not.
Your ability to win could be just down to the bike you are riding and though at the start of the game your options are somewhat limited over time you can unlock any of the 38 bikes covering 8 Manufactures from BMW to Yamaha from the Superbike or Supersport classes.
TT Isle of Man does have extensive gameplay depth with online Multiplayer which allows you to join up with friends in online lobbies, for me this was something that i couldn’t really get into not because it was bad but more of my focus was spent on the games career mode.
Career mode allows you to customise a rider and compete in various event and locations over a calendar year. These events can be selected from your menu system giving you choices on how much you earn in these events and how many races are in the event. The more money you earn the quicker you can unlock better bikes to race on but be careful as money will be deducted for entry fees to certain events and any maintenance on your bike if it sustains damage.
TT Isle of Man has so much to offer and is one of the best bike racing games out there.
SUMMARY
Even though i’m not a fan of bike racing, i was taken in by this game with its stunning looks and high speed racing. There is a sufficient amount of modes including an extensive career to play with some great locations to race through.
Even though there are a few niggling issues this for me is one motorbike game i enjoyed playing.
