Ultimate Ride

STORY / GAMEPLAY
What's the story on a racing game? To WIN! Before you start a race you have to choose a bike from the following six: Kawasaki ZX10 Ninja, Honda VFR750R, CBR 600 Hurricane, Suzuki GSXR 1100R, Yamaha FZR400 and V-MAX! Upon selecting a bike, you must then fit the most suitable tires. Every modification will depend on the weather conditions of the race as well as the type of track you're going to race on. The game offers a variety of racing tracks while it also includes an editor! THE ULTIMATE RIDE is too tricky to play though, even when racing on rookie levels since this game is mostly a bike simulator and not an arcade-style racer. So, expect your bike to behave as the real thing! If you go off road you will easily crash onto objects like tunnel walls, rocks and trees or even signposts that'll bring your bike to a dead-stop! Just keep in mind that you are allowed only five faults before disqualification so you must first practice a lot! Apart from its challenging level of difficulty, this game has great 3D visuals and some nice racing sampled sounds from the very start to the very end!

GRAPHICS / SOUND
The game's visuals are mediocre while the bike selection and modification screens are quite good and detailed! To the race, each track is a full 3D environment with a variety of polygons and a detailed bike panel, though the mirrors are...black! THE ULTIMATE RIDE's sound includes a rock-style introductory tune while each bike has its own sampled engine sound, though we would expect more clear samples and more "real life" engine sounds (as in the Test Drive & Test Drive II for instance)!