SBK X Superbike World Championship (From Gazette)

SBK X Superbike World Championship

2:02pm Monday 7th June 2010 in Game Reviews

I love racing games, but just can't get a handle on bike racing games.

I admire the riders in real life, but it's not my first passion when it comes to fast weeks – there are two missing.

But Black Bean Games incredible SBK series is a stunner and it goes on getting so much better each time.

I am still useless at it – just can't seem to get a grip with the amazing grip these things when you tip them over. It is disorientating when it does that, but then that's what makes this such a fabulous game.

You get three different classes to work through – they are Superstock, Supersport and Superbike. Super.

Plus on the PS3 disc you get over 80 riders and lots of bikes.

The game was developed by renowned Italian company Milestone Studios, and what a brill job they did.

It really does harness the thrills and exhilaration of this international racing series in spectacular detail.

“We wanted to create a game with bike authenticity,” said Michele Caletti, Game Director, Milestone Studios. “Racing motorbikes is worlds apart from driving cars around a track. Our objective from the start has been to give the player a genuine representation of the sport and a new racing challenge.”

The Superbike World Championship is the international racing series that features real motorbikes available in showrooms for Joe Public to buy. It's this relevance to the everyday biker that has catapulted SBK's popularity in the UK and other countries around the world since it began in 1988. Absolutely.

SBK X features 1000cc and 600cc machines from Aprilia, BMW, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, MV Agusta, Suzuki, Triumph, and Yamaha with the 14-track racing roster, which includes Germany's notorious Nürburgring, the long one.

The game features arcade and simulation modes, and there's also a Special Edition version of the game, which includes a unique Legendary Roster of the world's greatest World Superbike Series Stars. Every bike enthusiast can ride as Carl Fogarty on his powerful Ducati 996, or as Ben Spies on last year's Yamaha R1: Past versus present, ageless glories versus new heroes.