GAME: SBK 11 FIM WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP
Review By Anthony O’Sullivan
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Black Bean
Platform: Ps3, Xbox360
Review: SBK 11 FIM World Superbike Championship is jam packed with a whole host of Superbikes and Circuits in the latest outing in the SBK series. A number of new additions to the game including graphical and gameplay improvements mean this year’s outing is the best yet. Probably the best addition is the inclusion of the all new SBK Tour, on top of the career mode and online modes.
Your career begins with the creation of your rider, adding your own styles to the class of rider as well as to the outfit and of course your bike. The career kicks off in the Superstock 1000 series and follows pretty much as you would expect, you race, you win, you progress. Completing team objectives and winning races gets you noticed and bigger and better teams come in for your services until you reach the Super bike Championship.
The tour mode differs by mixing up the goals you are set to complete, using different bikes on different tracks rather than trying to progress through a career slowly, this is a jump in straight away kind of mode. The challenges can ranges from beating lap times to doing wheelies. While the career takes a lot of input to get your rewards the Tour mode gives almost instant rewards.
Of course there is an online mode for up to 16 players and also included are legends that can be unlocked within the game. Superstars such as Carl Fogarty can be unlocked and raced not only in single races but in full events.
The bikes themselves are modelled in a lot more detail as are the riders and scenery (if still somewhat basic). But the most satisfying part of the game comes when you’re on the track. The handling has received a number of improvements from last year. The main improvement is that it is much more forgiving, this is a major plus for people who are new enough to the game or sport. The ability to get that extra little bit out of the bike without skidding or falling over stops the game from becoming too realistic that it’s frustrating. That being said you can turn up the difficulty if you are looking for a game closer to a simulation.
Over all SBK 11 is a quality game, the best in recent years and both fans of the series and the sport will get a lot of enjoyment out of it. Players looking for a racing game that offers something other than cars will also get a lot of fun out of SBK11 although as always if you’re not a big racing fan you will get limited enjoyment out of it as with any other racer.
