I have never bought into the whole “watching grown men circumnavigate an oval shaped strip of tar continuously” thing. Along with motorsport, the sport of Superbike racing simply isn’t one that appeals to me. However, even if you are a ‘petrol-head’, then regretfully…SBK 09 still isn’t the Messiah of the Superbike franchise.
Even forgetting the fact that the gameplay is linear and narrow minded, it still does not deliver anything convincing enough to win avid superbike fans over. Although the textures of the bikes might be well detailed and the plethora of different camera angles might be an appealing extra, the colossal amount of flaws that the game possesses dooms your enjoyment from the very beginning.
With the simplistically adolescent minded controls, winning is not even a challenge. Most of the times you find yourself going 260km/h and it feels like you’re doing 60. Push the tempo, and up the difficulty, and the game becomes unbearably frustrating.
The difference between the modes is such a gap, that you struggle to find a middle-ground. In Easy mode, you actually find yourself lapping guys, and in Simulation mode, one stumble and you’re destined to be stuck in last place. The other drivers all of a sudden disappear so far ahead of you that it is literally impossible to catch up with them. Apart from that, the game doesn’t really offer much else.
The lack of 2-player gameplay is a huge disappointment, and the mediocre career mode doesn’t add any lasting appeal. The game does feature a lot of bikes, a lot of drivers and a lot of customization, but the gameplay stays one the same beaten track. You race to earn money, respect and open races, which in turn allow you to customize your bike, customize your driver and customize your record…that’s pretty much about it.
The final nail in the coffin comes in the disappointing online mode. Not only was I bombarded by such horrendous lag, but I was forced to play against guys who had been training their SBK fingers since their days in the womb. With the lack of rooms, players are forced to delve into a room filled with other players, all of different skill levels, and once on the track, forced to use their clairvoyant capabilities to predict when to brake, thanks to all the lag.
All in all, if you are really a fan of the series and you watch all the racing events religiously, always hoping to one day possess a machine like the one your racing hero drives, then your best bet…use the time that you would have used to play SBK 09, and work, so that you can save the money to buy that bike. In the end, it will deliver much more fun and enjoyment than this title ever could have.
Fun Factor
The fact that there is such a huge difference in gameplay between the different modes goes to show that you are not meant to have fun. Codemasters believes in winning, and obviously stands true to the statement, that: If you’re not first…you’re last.
Visuals
Although there are some slight glints of well designed pieces, the sub-par looking terrain and flat textured crowd left us thinking that Codemasters did not spend more time on graphics. The end result is more infuriating then invigorating.
Story/Concept
Although most people would believe that racing games don’t need story lines, most of the racing greats have still been able to pull them out of their bag of tricks. Gran Turismo had the license tests, Burnout had the destruction and mayhem and Need for Speed: Underground had the car modification. SBK 09 doesn’t have any of these things. You race, race some more, and race some more. Until you feel you’ve had enough…then you race some more.
Sound
Once again, the sounds of the bikes are nothing to write home about, and although there are some good soundtrack choices, the lack of crowd sound effects is disappointing. All you’re doing is driving along to music, while a bunch of guys listening to the same music, try and catch up with you.
Originality
Most fans of the series will argue that Codemasters has finally listened to their prayers and improved on the mistakes that were present previous SBK games. They will argue that they have finally perfected the game and that they have delivered a masterpiece. One has to ask oneself…how bad was SBK 08 and how delusional are these fans? Nope. Lots of bikes to choose from, lots of riders, and lots of race tracks…no fun using them however.
Longevity
Between the extremely basic single-player gameplay, the lack of 2-player mode and the awful online mode, SBK 09 will only keep you entertained for as long as you let it. Once you lose your interest, you’ll never go back and it will be condemned to the bottom of your gaming pile. You won’t even take it out to show friends how good it looks…
Bottom line
The only people who may actually enjoy this game are:
1. Guys who actually watch the Superbike Championship.
2. Guys who bought the game, and are now forced to ‘enjoy’ it so that they don’t feel bad about wasting all that money.
3. And Italian Guys. Especially Italian guys whose forefathers never stopped talking about how they used to race Superbikes in the good old days…
For the rest of us, if we need our superbike-racing-fuel-injected fix, then there’s always Motorstorm, Midnight Club or Burnout: Paradise…
Discuss SBK 09 in the forums
Loading ...
