The coronavirus outbreak has led to many cancellations to the 2020 motorcycle racing and events calendar, but there are still many ways to get your biking fix.
The UK Government is recommending that we stay indoors and employ ‘social distancing’ during the outbreak, and we can play our part by staying indoors to reduce the risk of being infected, or us infecting others.
If you’re a keen video gamer, then there are plenty of motorcycle racing video games to keep you occupied while ‘self-isolating’ including the newly released Isle of Man TT Ride on the Edge 2 game.
The 2020 TT races may have been cancelled, but French video game developer Kylotonn has released the follow up to its officially licenced Isle of Man TT Ride on the Edge game on schedule. The first game of the iconic Isle of Man TT was a huge letdown, following all the anticipation and excitement building up to the first release back in 2018, mainly because the game was littered with physics issues which meant that it felt nothing like riding a real motorbike and made it near impossible to enjoy the most famous motorcycle racing course in the world.
However, for Isle of Man Ride on the Edge 2, it’s much improved.
Better physics make you feel more at one with the bike and added features make it feel more real than ever. Tyre temperatures are now featured, engine temperatures are crucial and finally, fuel consumption is added too, adding to the simulation feeling of the game.
As you can imagine, it’s challenging to focus on keeping the temperature in your tyres, not overheating your bike and trying not to run out of fuel as you’re dancing between the kerbs at Quarry Bends. But that’s what makes this game so enjoyable to the real life motorcyclist.
As well as that, you have to deal with dynamic weather conditions. The real TT doesn’t take place in the rain and that’s respected here, with no rain implemented in the game, although the weather conditions can change as you take on the course. You could start at Bray Hill under red hot sunshine but by the time you get to Ballaugh Bridge, the weather conditions could have drastically changed. With that said, by the time you get up to the mountain, you could be faced with light fog, making the challenge even more challenging.
The developers have managed to succeed in adding a more immersive feel to the game all while keeping its stunning looks and an insane sense of speed.
For the second release, the developers focused on improving the gameplay, making it easier for players to tackle the 37.73-mile-long circuit.
With massively upgraded physics, the feeling between your controller, the bike and the road feels much more at one and it feels like there is much more control when changing directions and when hard on the brakes. However, slow corners such as hairpins seem to be more difficult to navigate compared to the earlier game and even others motorcycle genre.
In terms of game modes, there is plenty to be diving into. An upgraded career mode, time challenge modes, quick races, online multiplayer and even ‘free roam’ which will give you everything you need to become an Isle of Man TT professional, from your living room. Get practicing now for TT2021!
Career mode is where most of the players will spend their time, sign for an existing Isle of Man TT team, or buy your own bike and take that around the Snaefell Mountain Course as a privateer. It goes without saying that before you get the chance to line up on Glencrutchery Road, you have to prove yourself first.
You start on the less powerful supersport bikes before progressing to superbikes and the newly added Classic TT bikes. Throughout the career mode, you can compete in other road races and earn money to upgrade your motorbike, ready for the TT debut.
Prove your worth on the mostly fictional circuits based across the United Kingdom and Ireland and rise to the challenge of becoming an Isle of Man TT winner.
Continuing to impress throughout the career mode can give you perks, such as faster pitstop times or a quicker respawn time so you limit the time lost during an accident – of which you will have many as you try to learn the demanding Mountain course.
The feeling of completing a lap around the Isle of Man TT course is something special, no matter how many times you come to grief.
All in all, the second TT game is a huge step forward. Sure, it still needs work, but if you’re looking to get your Isle of Man TT fix this year, Ride on the Edge 2 is what you need.
MotoGP
If you’re not a road racing fan, then the upcoming MotoGP video game might be the one for you. MotoGP 20, set to release in April, will bring you closer than ever before into the life of a Grand Prix racer.
Like it’s Formula One counterpart, and the famous FIFA football series, the MotoGP video game receives an annual update, not only changing the bike and rider roster for the latest line up, but adding in a number of small tweaks year-on-year.
With small improvements to the physics and including fuel consumption, power modes and a much more in-depth tyre temperature system, MotoGP 20 is set to be even better than the already much-improved MotoGP 19.
Jump onto Valentino Rossi’s Monster Energy Yamaha or take Jake Dixon’s Petronas Moto2 bike out and feel what it’s like to ride at world championship level.
Once again, there will be an in-depth career mode starting from the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, which will see you progress through to the MotoGP World Championship. Get noticed by factory teams throughout the season to gain contract offers and ultimately make your step to becoming a MotoGP World Champion.
Although we’ve not had a chance to try out MotoGP 20 for ourselves, we’re big fans of the 2019 game. It’s a tried and tested formula that should definitely keep you entertained until the MotoGP paddock roars back into life. The online races are usually pretty competitive too, if you fancy pitching your skills against other players from around the world.
If road bikes are more your thing, how about Ride 3? Ride 3 is the latest instalment of the Ride videogame series. Ride 4 is set to release in August 2020, but until then this remains the latest release.
With over 200 bikes to choose from to ride around no less than 30 tracks included in the game, Ride 3 is guaranteed to have something for everyone. The majority of bikes on offer are street bikes, digital recreations of everything from 125s to the latest exotic superbikes, and you can race on a variety of real and fictional race tracks and roads – including popular British circuits like Cadwell Park and Oulton Park.
Whether you want to have fun on a supermoto, ride an Aprilia RS125 around Donington Park or take a British superbike machine for a lap of the North West 200 or the famous Nurburgring circuit.
Ride 3 has an immersive career path, completing your way through various bike magazines which all have different races and challenges for you to take on. Ultimately, at the end of the event, you get cash to put towards buying or upgrading a bike or to upgrade your character with new riding gear.
Not only that, but Ride 3 also has a number of different things to get on with, the livery editor allows you to put your own personal touch to your bike and weekly challenges where you can win cash or if you’re lucky, a new bike.
Get dirty
But if circuit racing isn’t your thing, then why not try the MXGP or supercross games from Milestone.
Milestone, based in Italy, are the main players in the world of motorcycle video games, they develop the MotoGP and Ride videogame series, but also tackle the off-road games.
The latest MXGP video game is the dirt bike equivalent of the MotoGP game. It puts you in the shoes of an MXGP rider, taking on tracks from all around the globe in both the MX2 and MXGP championships.
Supercross is fairly similar to MXGP but features tighter stadium style tracks, in contrast to MXGP’s wide open motocross track, and it has one massive feature that MXGP doesn’t, a track editor.
That allows you to create your own circuit for you and your friends to take on. Alternatively you can progress through the Championship and Career modes offline.
MotoGP 20, Ride 3, Monster Energy Supercross and MXGP are all available for Playstation 4 (PS4), Xbox One, and Windows PC. MotoGP and Supercross are also available on the Nintendo Switch platform.
