If you like bikes then Tourist Trophy just might be the game for you!

User Rating: 7.8 | Tourist Trophy PS2
The Tourist Trophy interface looks and sounds like Gran Turismo only the cars are replaced with bikes and I recommend starting with the license tests as it will teach you the basics of Tourist Trophy. Depending on the settings you choose this game can range from an easy simulation game to one that will slap you in the face for making mistakes so this is a game where concentration is a must, and without the relevant biking experience only the dedicated need apply.

Tourist Trophy adopts a different strategy to GT. Instead of earning money and then investing it in vehicles and upgrades, the idea is to take part in 'challenges' to earn the full complement of bikes from each of the manufacturers. This being bikes however means there is isn’t the selection that you might expect from the Gran Turimso games although there is enough to suit all you bike racing fans out there (including me!)

The races though for winning these bikes and the championship events are less then enthralling to say the least with only three other bikes on track and most if not all the races are to easy to achieve a win. All this is down to the AI who just don’t race each other or leave the racing line. As you would expect there isn’t the massive scope for settings and tuning of each of the bikes but you can change the rider’s leathers, helmet and the riding style of how he leans and so forth even though it appears to make little difference in race performance.

I'm a little disappointed with TT though and this is is largely down to the appalling AI racing and the fact that you don’t use money to buy new bikes or leathers and you don’t even get the option to clean out your garage of bikes you don’t want. On a plus side the photo mode has been included from GT4 and I really do like the sense of speed you experience from the first-person view as this put you behind the cockpit like you would be when riding a real bike and all the clocks/dials have been replicated very well which shows graphical detail.