Tourist Trophy (PS2)

Neziroth · Post by **Neziroth** » January 31, 2006, 6:15 pm

http://ps2.ign.com/articles/674/674186p1.html

Motorcycle racing game from the makers of Gran Turismo 3 and 4.

Same concept - way better vehicles.

Screenshots are A M A Z I N G and they're not finalized.

Release date for the US is April 4th.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » January 31, 2006, 9:08 pm

Wow, that does look cool. I'm sure ill try this one out, there has never really been a great motorcycle game, maybe this will be it.

Leonaerd · Post by **Leonaerd** » January 31, 2006, 9:39 pm

PS2

Lol0-rz.

Asheran Mojomaster · February 1, 2006, 11:15 am

Funkmasterr wrote:Wow, that does look cool. I'm sure ill try this one out, there has never really been a great motorcycle game, maybe this will be it.

WTF?! Road Rash!!!

miir · Post by **miir** » February 1, 2006, 11:49 am

Asheran Mojomaster wrote:
Funkmasterr wrote:Wow, that does look cool. I'm sure ill try this one out, there has never really been a great motorcycle game, maybe this will be it.

WTF?! Road Rash!!!

Motocross Madness was bloody good fun too.

Sionistic · Post by **Sionistic** » February 1, 2006, 12:02 pm

If they ever made a road rash in the old 3do style with overall improvements, ide buy it in a heartbeat

Road Rash 64 sucked

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » February 1, 2006, 12:32 pm

Was never a huge fan of the Road Rash games. I am thinking something more along the lines of a simulator Gran Turismo type game with motorcycles (like this is supposed to be) would be much better.

Edit: Before someone makes me eat my words, ExciteBike is exempt from any of my above comments.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » February 1, 2006, 8:51 pm

If I had a Ps2, which I never will due to the incoming next gen I would give this a check, it looks awesome

Leonaerd · Post by **Leonaerd** » February 1, 2006, 9:06 pm

Then play it on the PS3. Backwards compatibility!

Neziroth · Post by **Neziroth** » April 8, 2006, 2:32 pm

This game was released 4-5-06, I got it that day.

It's not as deep as the Gran Turismo Series, there's no money in the game. You win new bikes by completing challenges which as far as I've seen consist of you and one opponent on the same bike, with your oppenent having a head start. You have to pass him before the race ends and hold the lead for 10 seconds or cross the finish line first. You can enter certain challenges based on what liscence level you've completed.

The liscence tests are much easier than they are in Gran Turismo, so there's no frusteration there.

Bike modification is pretty limited. You can change Exhausts, tire compounds, suspension settings and gear ratios.

Rider modification is a big part of the game. You can modifiy how your rider moves on the bike during corners. (anyone who has ridden a motorcycle knows how big of an effect this has on handling.) You change how much he moves his body around on the bike from side to side and front to back, etc. (e.g. Hanging way off the bike is great for high speed sweepers, while leaning the bike more and sitting more straight up is better for low speed corners)

The game features a "dress up" mode where you can win gear and change your rider's attire to match his bike. This has no effecto n gameplay other than adding a little "barbie dress up" action.

The racing is where this game really shines. I doubt this game is going to appeal to the more action hungry crowd. It's a simulation through and through. Controlling the throttle can be done with the X button or (better way) with the right analogue stick. Using the stick is a better way because just pressing the button when you're coming out of a curve will apply full throttle and make your tire spin and you'll probably crash. That should give you an idea of how the game will play. It's touchy. There are Amatuer settings that make the handling easier and less realistic, but where's the fun in that?

You can lean to the back of the bike to put weight over the rear tire for traction during hard acceleration, but don't be surprised if you end up riding a wheelie or even flipping over backwards. You can throw your weight forward to smother a wheelie, but if you're braking then you'll have your back tire floating in the air while you're trying to corner, which doesn't work in your best interest, either. It's fun trying to find the happy medium.

Because of PS2's limited hardware and the high poly counts required to render the bikes so perfectly and the rider models, there are never more than 4 racers per race (including you). The AI is so-so, they don't really do much other than try to follow their perfect racing lines, so don't expect many last minute well thought out late-brake corner passes from them.

The replay mode looks like a real race on T.V. and those are always a treat to watch if you want to study your style to try to improve, Polyphony doesn't ever skimp in the replay department. The details are all there from the riders grabbing the brakes, their left foot moves to shift, their right foot moves to apply rear brakes and you can see their throttle hand moving accordingly.

The bikes, like I said are rendered *perfectly*. I have a 2005 Ninja ZX-6R in real life, and I was thrilled to see that the game nailed every single detail right down to the exact color choices.

I can't really rate this for everyone because it really depends on whether or not you're a bike entusiast. If you are it's a 9.5 / 10, due to limited riders per race and so-so A.I.

If you just want a racing game you'll hate this. It's hard. It's realistic. Probably more of a 5 / 10 for you.