SBK X Superbike World Championship (Review)
The best fun to be had on two wheels so far this generation has been with Burnout’s hell-powered bikes, with Moto GP and the first SBK game missing out on the love, failing to please arcade or simulation fans.
SBK X has split itself into three modes (Arcade, Simulation and Multiplayer) right from the start menu to try and please arcade and sim fans alike. But have they spread things out too much? I’ll split the review into the same three parts to cover all bases.
Arcade
Pick a one off-race race or time-trial with any bike from the Superstock, Supersport or Superbike classes and choose any of the 14 accurately replicated tracks. Once you’ve had a few practice races you can get stuck into the Story mode. The ‘story’ is just a few lines from your pit boss and some random hot office chick. The races however are quite strange, usually involving starting the race on say lap 22/24 and being asked to finish 15th, 16th or 17th. You’ll earn reputation points as you go which will unlock more races which usually also start near the end, but with higher finishing places required. It’s an odd setup, but it feels better than repetitive 3+ lap races. The loading times are really short in-between too.
But how do the bikes actually handle? They’re very forgiving (we’re in arcade mode remember), with late braking encouraged so you can really screw it around corners, with your back wheel often sliding around without consequence. There’s an optional visual racing-line aid that changes colour depending on your speed.
