Milestone has taken a different step compared to previous racing sim titles with the introduction of Ride which is aimed towards casual fans of motorcycles/bikes
GraphicsMotorcycle lovers will truly appreciate the detail that Milestone has gone into to replicate the bikes of the top bike production companies around the world within the game.
Where as developers of past racing sims have struggled to focus on environments and purely focused on vehicles, there is evidence that Milestone has put thought into the detail of the tracks within the game although minor things in the distance (trees, bushes etc) don't seem to render properly in the distance during a race and only appear when nearby.
GameplayAlthough a lack of game modes have been incorporated within the game, enough content is evident for fans of racing sims to make a full retail or digital purchase.
World Tour - Within the world tour mode, players compete in events to earn reputation points which will help them to progress further up the world rankings. In addition, players will earn credits that can be used to purchase new or upgrade existing bikes that allow them to be competitive with the AI within the races later in the tour.
The overall end goal is to achieve the #1 spot on the world rankings.
To keep players interested, a number of different events have been implemented within world tour mode such as head-to-head races, time attacks, endurance races, as well as my favourite.... drag races! So it is fair to say that there is something for everybody to enjoy.
Quick Mode - The offline mode within the game which encourages local play.
Within this mode, players have a number of options to choose from including quick race for players who want to get straight into action, want to test the different bikes available within the game or have a short amount of time on their hands.
Also available is time trial where players can enjoy the different bikes and tracks within the game without worrying about AI. In my opinion, this mode is for the fans of racing-sims such as myself to who like to get to grips with the different tracks available before competitively racing against the AI.
Finally, a split-screen mode has been included for players who like to have friends round for gaming nights although the mode only allows for up to 2 players which is pretty disappointing.
Online - Within the online mode, players can create public matches or enjoy private matches with up to 11 additional players (Online lobbies allow 2-12 players before races commence.) A choice of a single race or championship is available with a variety of options to suit the host of the lobbies needs (Class of bike, track selection, laps etc.)
The difficulty of the AI within races has been carefully thought about to ensure that players who are and aren't particularly comfortable with racing sims won't feel frustrated and should as a result have a pleasurable experience with the game.
In addition, tutorials are available to players who may not be familiar with racing sims or require more information about the controls although as I mentioned earlier, the game is very easy to pick-up and play.
My Rider - As Ride is a casual motorcycle sim, players can create and customise their own individual rider with a large amount of options available in terms of the appearance of the rider and what they wear during a race. On a side note, money accumulated within the world tour mode can be spent to purchase additional gear although it is recommended that you save it to purchase bikes if you are looking to achieve the platinum trophy as quickly as possible.
TrophiesIn terms of trophies, Milestone has not implemented any trophies which appear to be particularly challenging although they encourage the player to experience all of the different game modes available within the game.
Emphasis has been placed particularly on the World Tour mode with a lot of the trophies tied to ranking progression and purchasing as many bikes as possible.
Fans of single player games will be delighted to learn that the amount of online trophies within the game has been kept to a minimum. They do not encourage players to reach a set amount of hours of online play which players of the MotoGP and WRC titles will be glad to see.
Completionists should expect the game to take approximately 15 hours to platinum which is a relatively small timescale compared to Milestone's previous Playstation titles.
Strengths- Diverse range of bikes and tracks available to choose from.
- Interesting world tour mode which is simple to understand.
- Can be played thoroughly regardless of past racing sim experience.
- Lots of bike and rider customisation options.
Weaknesses- Frustrating loading times which shouldn't occur on a PS4 game.
- Local split-screen multiplayer suffers from severe frame-rate issues at times.
3.5