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Suzuki TT Superbikes
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Contacts:
Reviewer: Andy
"Vesper" Levine
Introduction Superbike racing is one of the lesser known sports for the most part. However, the Isle of Man TT is infamous for high speed thrills at breakneck speeds with over 37 miles of pavement designated for racing. From 125CC engines all the way to 1000CC and even sidecars, Suzuki TT Superbikes is the perfect racing game for anyone who owns a crotch rocket in real life, and even if you don’t the realistic effects will make it feel like you own one!
What is TT Superbikes? TT Superbikes offers a single player campaign that consists of the typical rags to riches story. Starting off with nothing more than a 125CC Suzuki bike, the racer must compete in a variety of championship circuits on the Isle of Man TT in order to unlock new bikes, modifiable parts, and even new outfits. Before you start whipping around corners at hundreds of miles per hour, you must first obtain the proper license exams for each engine class. From there on out, the game is filled with nonstop action that surprisingly never seems to wear off. Technical Standpoint Considering the lack of motorbike video games for any console, the developers at Jester Interactive were certainly going to have to develop TT Superbikes from the ground up. The driving physics are much different than a car; shifting your weight will immensely affect how your bike will handle. The left analog stick is the weight shift button; moving it left and right will have the biker turn, while moving it up or down will balance out the vertical weight. Obviously, the bikes are so light that when throttle is applied fully the bike will have a tendency to lift up on its own, but luckily the weight transfer allows you to keep both tires on the ground. Using weight transfer, the biker can cut down on wind resistance on straight-aways and brake faster when nearing sharp bends. The game features a dynamic weather system that will alter your ride’s performance, and to make the game even more realistic the developers surveyed the actual Isle of Man TT to make sure each part of the track was similar to its real life counterpart. Simply put, it’s easy to tell that a lot of work went into making TT Superbikes an authentic racing experience.
Aesthetic Aspects Visually speaking, TT Superbikes is far from being king of the mountain, so to speak. The character models are bland, but the customizable outfits and helmets attempt to create a feeling of individuality. All of the models could use some smoothing it, and to top it all off the textures aren’t exactly top notch either. The lighting effects are fairly decent and sometimes you can even see the individual spokes rotating in a shadow. Even though there is much to be desired here, when you’re blaring down crowded streets a simple house model or a blotchy tree are really the least of your worries. Redline Whines To add on to the aspects of realism, the motorbikes actually sound lifelike. The engines sound differently between the different classes; the 125CC engines have an extremely high pitched whine, while the 1000CCs have a much throatier tone. Changing different camera perspectives will change the resulting noise, so the driver seat view is much louder than the outside camera. When drafting off of another racer you can hear the wind rushing past you in a slipstream effect. When it comes to the last straightaway in a neck-to-neck battle for victory, the roaring of the maxed-out engines is unforgettable.
All racers to the starting line! Above everything else, TT Superbikes should be renowned for its unique style of racing due to the physics engine. It takes a lot more skill to be able to handle a motorbike than it would be to handle a car in real life, and the developers are well aware of this. During the first license, which involved a 30 second test segment with a few minor bends, I was all ready to complete the exam with ease. When the light turned green, I applied full throttle and within seconds I was lying on the ground, dazed and confused. Luckily, a message popped up explaining how to properly use the weight transfer system. Pushing all of your weight to the front of the bike will prevent accidental wheelie occurrences. When nearing slight bends, a little bit of pressure should be applied to the left analog because overdoing it will lead to trouble. Not only do bikers have to lean sharply to turn, but they do also have to come back up, and the wind pressure above 100 MPH makes it extremely difficult to turn on a dime. Braking in the middle of a turn will almost always result in the biker losing control and heading straight on to the nearest wall. The only real way to get a feel for handling corners is by practicing over and over, and eventually you should be able to time excessive braking into sharp corners with hardly any trouble. Even though there isn’t a designated stunt mode, there isn’t anything preventing you from popping a few wheelies every once in a while. Even though it will make turning more difficult and also prevent you from seeing the road ahead in the cockpit view, these simple added thrills make racing motorbikes more exciting than driving a car. The two player mode is essentially designed for split screen head to head races, but it can easily turn into a stunt contest. In some cases, it is possible to do wheelies over other racers as well as jump over them in some of the more hilly regions. Aside from all of this horsing around, crashes are bound to occur and the penalties are disastrous. Plowing into oncoming traffic on Mad Sunday or even not anticipating an upcoming turn can result in the biker flying in the air, only to come scraping down to the harsh reality of pavement. It takes roughly five seconds to respawn, and building up to speed with the other races can be costly. Even so, you can still fool around with the motorbikes like it was your own without having to worry about real life penalties. The arcade mode is basic; you can select bikes from different engine classes and race them throughout various stages. Before racing, you can choose from anything you have unlocked from the single player campaign, including aftermarket exhausts, wheels, and even stronger bikes. Once the biker is geared up and ready to race, a variety of variations of the 37 mile drivable terrain is at your disposable. Some of the longer races will truly separate the advanced bikers from the newcomers, but the action here isn’t as intense. Races lasting over ten minutes tend to have the drama wear out once a substantial lead, or lack thereof, has been acquired. The shorter races lasting for about a minute and a half are all about aggressiveness and brute acceleration. Drafting is extremely important, but above all you mustn’t baby the turns, but instead you must push the bike to its limits around every corner, even if you have to slightly rub against the wall. The best part about these races is that determining a winner on your own is near impossible. Most of the stages end off with a substantially sized straightaway, allowing for the stragglers to make a comeback. Even if victory appears to be yours, a nearby rival can slingshot past in a balls out battle for the checkered flag. Feeble attempts to lean into the other racer can sometimes decide the victor by just a few hundredths of a second. Unless there is a major accident right from the start, the shorter races are always filled with palm sweating actions that lead to photo finishes. Aside from all of this racing goodness, TT Superbikes does have its fair share of flaws. To start off, accidents can put you far behind the rest of the pack, making seemingly untouchable leads vanish. The driving physics can become jerky going in and out of turns, and trying to compensate for this can sometimes be costly. The course variation is ok for the most part, but towards the latter part of the game the environments seem very familiar. The sidecar races are certainly a nice added touch, but these races don’t offer the same intensity as the motorbike ones. All else aside, TT Superbikes makes for a solid racing game, but there is still room for improvement.
The Future of TT Superbikes TT Superbikes isn’t quite Game of the Year material, but nonetheless it offers some cheap thrills and exhilarating races allowing gamers familiar with the physics to pick it up and get a few quick races in. The already outdated graphics engine may turn some gamers away, but anyone who can appreciate a game for how it plays won’t have too much to complain about here. If a sequel is ever made, we can hope for a larger environment, a few new game modes, online support, and even more unlockable parts and customizations.
Conclusion In conclusion, Suzuki TT Superbikes for the PS2 is sure to catch the eye of any bike enthusiast. The fully licensed vehicle selections with brand name parts will allow anyone to posses the bike of their dreams. While fans of this specific genre are sure to enjoy it, gamers not too familiar with the biking scene might have some trouble adjusting to its differences from typical driving games. Still, Suzuki TT Superbikes is definitely worth a rent, and even purchasing is not out of the question.
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