From
the people that brought you the Gran Turismo series,
Tourist Trophy specifically focuses on the world of
motorcycle racing. You'll spend less time tweaking
your machine in the garage and lots more time on the
track doing what it is that you do best - racing.
by Mike Chasselwaite
April
5, 2006 - Tourist
Trophy could be considered a sim but don't let that
scare you into thinking this is a difficult game.
The bike is relatively easy to learn how to operate
but it does respond very realistically which is where
the sim factor comes in. You can tune aspects of the
bike but you can't purchase upgrades to turn a broken
beater into a supreme machine. If you don't know a
magneto from a petcock, not to worry. You don't win
money in this game so you can't purchase upgrades
anyway. Instead you will be awarded new bikes for
winning races. This takes the anxiety out of making
decisions that you may not be all that knowledgeable
about. All you've really got to do is focus on keeping
your bike on the track and ahead of the pack.

There
are more than 120 bikes, all nicely detailed with
different characteristics that are easily distinguishable
when controlling them, although there are some bikes
that display similar characteristics as they do in
real life. Bikes range from smaller 125cc, two-stoke
engines to 1000cc beasts with models from the 70s
to present day. There is what might seem to be an
unbalanced majority of Japanese bikes such as Yamahas,
Hondas and Suzukis but these are the most popular
racing bikes in the world, and since this is a sim,
you're getting the full-meal deal here. Other bikes
such as the Triumph, BMW and Ducati are featured but
only in limited quantities.
The
bikes all handle exceptionally well, as long as you
respect them and know what they are capable of. The
smaller bikes are very easy to corner with but the
larger bikes are much more difficult to control. The
larger bikes excel on the straightway where they can
reach speeds over 200 mph. The smaller bikes are agile
and more response, and while they can accelerate quickly,
they reach their top speed much quicker which may
not be all that fast with bikes that are 250cc and
under class.
There
are two main modes: Arcade and Tourist Trophy. The
Arcade mode is not more forgiving in terms of control
and physics, it should actually be called the Arcade
Sim mode to avoid such confusion. The only difference
between the Arcade and Tourist Trophy mode is that
you aren't committed to a tournament-style competition
in the Arcade mode. You can just have one race in
the Arcade mode if you so desire. You can race against
the AI or you can race against another player in a
two-player, split screen mode. Only four bikes take
part in any race at any given time. While this may
raise an eyebrow considering that there were up to
16 cars on the track in Gran Turismo, these empty
tracks give you a lot more freedom to strut your stuff.

In
Trophy Tourist you won't be stuck racing on the same
track over and over until you come in first or second.
Instead, there are simple objectives that you have
to accomplish to move on. Sometimes you will have
to stay in the lead for a predetermined amount of
time, win a three-lap race, or just avoid collisions.
Players are awarded points instead of money and the
player that amasses the most points at the end of
a series is the winner.
Before
you can race in any of these events you have to test
for a license. There are five different classes of
licenses and you can try to get all of them before
you start the series. Think of them as small training
modes. Once you get your licenses you will unlock
a series of races for each class of license that you
have. When you win a series, you will unlock a new
track and challenge, in addition to receiving a different
motorcycle for a new class of racing. In no time at
all you'll have a pretty well-stocked garage of bikes.
There
isn't much in the way of bike customization. You do
have the ability to tweak things such as the brakes,
exhaust, suspension and gear ratio. You can notice
the differences but you have to know how these differences
will benefit you for each upcoming race and track.
You can also customize your riding style. Head roll,
body lean and aggressive or conservative riding styles
will result in different performances. It's not as
deep as the customizing options in Gran Tursimo but
at least it gives you some room for experimenting.

The
tracks aren't all that different from each other.
They are composed of turns and straightways. Some
snake more than others but they are basically ovals
or slightly irregular rectangles. The sharp turns
are the most crucial areas of the track. This is where
races are won or lost. The AI tends to slow down more
on the turns seemingly to goad you into taking them
faster and getting yourself into a dangerous situation.
Arguably the most unrealistic aspect of Tourist Trophy
is getting into an accident. If you lost control and
hit the rail at full speed, you will instantly be
teleported back on the track as though nothing happened
- never mind having your smoldering remains chucked
into the back of the morgue wagon.
The
best view is the first-person perspective. It puts
you right in the middle of the action. When you corner,
the ground will come up to meet you. It's a very realistic
perspective where you can keep an eye on your speedometer
and gauges. You can hear the wind whistling when you
whip your bike down the straight sections - hell,
you can almost feel it. The bikes not only look authentic
but they also sound and respond like the real thing.
If you're into motorcycles, there no reason not to
get this game.
Features
- Critically-acclaimed
development team: from the developers of Gran Turismo,
the best-selling worldwide racing videogame franchise
with more than 44 million units sold.
- Real-life
simulation: perfected game physics, graphics and
the balance of the rider versus the bike are accurately
captured to offer the most authentic motorcycle
racing simulation available.
- Motorcycles:
Tourist Trophy features more than 100 licensed motorcycles
from more than a dozen worldwide manufacturers that
include BMW, Honda, Ducati, Buell, Kawasaki, Triumph
and more.
- Courses:
Tourist Trophy features more than 35 international
courses that include closed-circuit and city tracks.
Introduction of new tracks and the return of popular
tracks from the Gran Turismo franchise include Tsukuba,
Laguna Seca, New York City, Suzuka and more.
- Game
Modes: Tourist Trophy offers two modes of play,
Arcade Mode and Challenge Mode. In both modes, players
have the opportunity to select their bike, track
and difficulty level.
- Arcade
Mode: players have access to a quick race for single-player
or two-player battle. In two-player battle, players
have the option to race in split-screen.
- Challenge
Mode: it serves as a career mode for players to
earn their way up the ladder by participating in
the license school missions, various race events
and more in an effort to upgrade and unlock new
bikes and related accessories. The license school
will include various tests that will strive to better
the player's driving skills in driving a motorcycle
in various conditions and at various speeds, taking
into account the rider and their riding style. Upon
obtaining a license, players will have access to
various race events based on engine class (250cc
to 1500cc), course selection and more. In between
race events, players have the opportunity to participate
in a Time Trial on various courses to improve lap
times and access their garage.
- Photo
Mode: To further improve their racing skills, in
Challenge Mode, players have access to Photo Mode,
which allows them to take snapshots of their favorite
bike and race gear by freezing frames of an actual
race from a replay. Upon taking a photograph, players
have the opportunity to save it to a Memory Card
(8MB) (for PlayStation2) or a USB storage device
and share it with friends. After doing so, players
can have the opportunity to print photographs directly
from their PlayStation 2 USB port by using a printer
that includes a PlayStation driver, such as Epson's
PictureMate.
- Licensed
Accessories: With the incorporation of the motorcycle
driver, players have access to a wardrobe where
they can customize their rider by selecting from
numerous licensed helmets, suits, shoes and more
to further authenticate the riding experience
- Rider
Editor: Players have the opportunity to customize
their riding form through a variety of parameters,
whether it is preference to riding "out"
verse "in" and so forth.
- Customization:
Players have the opportunity to earn credits and
upgrade their motorcycles to enhance performance
of their bike.
- In-Game
Soundtrack: Tourist Trophy will offer a selection
of original and licensed tracks.
By
Mike
Chasselwaite
CCC
Freelance Writer
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