SuperBike World Championship
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SNAT TECH
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SuperBike World Championship PC Game Free Download Full Version
SuperBike World Championship It may not be the most realistic racing
game ever created, but it certainly raises the bar for PC motorcycle
racers.
You might expect Superbike World Championship to be just another
arcade-style racer, a fun and flashy game with very little realism and
nothing much in common with the sport it simulates, save the namemotorcycle enthusiasts, Superbike from EA Sports has a
lot more going for it than a fancy 3D engin and a thumping soundtrack.
Superb gameplay and a substantial dose of simulation style realism make
this one of the best motorcycle games to hit PC screens in quite a
while.
Superbike offers the same basic gameplay options you'll find in any good
racer. Both single races and championship seasons are available, and
you have the choice of either action or simulation mode for each. Six
additional game options (difficulty, weather conditions, and so on) let
you tailor each race to your tastes and skill level. If you choose
simulation mode, you can also adjust nine realism settings, including
the use of real Superbike rules, computer-assisted acceleration,
braking, and the occurrence of engine failures.
The game includes 12 Superbike tracks, including Phillip Island, Monza,
and Laguna Seca. Each is well rendered with plenty of detail to create a
reasonably realistic racing environment. Just about every track has at
least one particularly memorable bend, twist, or curve - Laguna Seca's
trademark corkscrew turn, for example.
There are five bikes to choose from: Ducati 916, Honda RC 45, Kawasaki
ZX7R, Yamaha YZF, and Suzuki GSXR. Each is evenly matched but offers a
slight variation in instrumentation, engine noise, and color scheme (for
the aesthetically minded gamers among you). In simulation mode, you can
modify your bike's chassis (rake and trail), transmission (gearbox
sprocket, rear-wheel sprocket, gear ratios), suspension, and tires for
optimum performance. There's even a nifty telemetry analysis tool that
lets you see how your bike performed in a particular race, so you can
make the necessary adjustments. As with most racing games that let you
modify your vehicle's setup, it's best to leave things alone unless you
know what you're doing.
Action-mode races and championships are fairly straightforward: You pick
your bike (and your track, for single races), select automatic or
manual transmission, and then hit the track. Simulation mode gives you
more options but also ups the challenge level quite a bit. Single races
involve an entire racing weekend, including practice, two rounds of
qualification, and two official races. It seemed odd that no overall
winner was crowned after the second race, but that's the way the
Superbike Association does things, apparently.
Gameplay itself can be quite challenging, especially if you've let your
reflexes and driving skills go to mush with pure arcade racers like Moto
Racer 2 or Redline Racer. Superbike has more in common with UbiSoft's
F1 Racing Simulation and Papyrus' Grand Prix Legends than with the
arcade crowd, so be prepared to crash (and lose) often in the early
going. Thankfully, the game lets you practice at your own pace and also
lets you scale the difficulty to fit just about any level of driving
skill. Another bonus: Even if you do wipe out a lot, Superbike offers
some spectacular crash animations, as your bike skips along the ground
with sparks flying, and your driver tumbles along behind. You can even
choose to walk your bike back onto the course manually if you want (the
default setting just plops you back on your bike at the point of the
crash).
Unlike arcade racers, where the brakes are optional and you can bump and
smash your way to victory, Superbike is all about finesse and control.
Most of the tracks are very curvy, so you must slow down to take the
turns - on the best possible line - to move ahead of the pack.
Unfortunately - and this is one of the game's notable flaws - the AI is
not all that great, and computer-controlled drivers will not always pose
much of a challenge. They tend to follow the track well enough and will
certainly take advantage of any mistakes you make, but your biggest foe
is the track itself. If you crash a lot, you'll lose. If you stay on
your bike and on the best possible line around the track, you'll win. In
fact, if you manage to get the pole position during a championship
season, you have to really screw up horribly to lose the race.
Graphically, Superbike is stunning. The tracks, bikes, and riders all
look great, and even the distance rendering is pretty good. Fantastic
animations for crashes, turns, and angry fist shaking (when another bike
bumps you) make the game very lifelike. A decent array of sound effects
helps also, though the engine sounds can become annoying after a while.
It was pretty cool to hear the crowds cheering when I passed the
grandstand, however.
I did encounter one weird graphics problem with Superbike: The interface
graphics shimmered a bit when I loaded the game using a pair of Voodoo2
cards as my primary 3D device. And occasionally, the game would quit
abruptly, claiming a DirectDraw error. When I switched to my Riva TNT
board, everything worked fine.
Despite the minor graphical glitch, however, Superbike is one impressive
game. It may not be the most realistic racing game ever created, but it
certainly raises the bar for PC motorcycle racers.
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