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Manx TT: Super Bike review

Game: Manx TT: Super Bike
Platform: Saturn
Genre: Racing
Developer: Tantalus Interactive

Featured reader review by pickhut

March 14, 2007

Up, up, down, down, left, right, z, and y.

With that simple input at the transmission screen, you'll get the opportunity to see something very amusing in Manx TT: sheep. As the race starts up, you'll see that all of your opponents have been replaced with sheep. You, on the other hand, still have your racer, except instead of sitting on a motorcycle, you'll be sitting on one of the sheep. That's only the beginning of the quirkiness, because once the race actually starts, all the sheep will be running off at break neck speeds. As you ride your little animal to victory lane, goofy sound effects like birds chirping will be heard as you turn, and a tune that sounds like a remixed version of Mary Had a Little Lamb will be playing in the background. What's even more hilarious is seeing the sheep crash, where they just spin around on the pavement as you pass them. It's cruel, but priceless.

It may be a small aspect of the game, but it's the only enjoyable thing that'll happen in Manx TT. The actual racing itself is just broken. I don't mean anything like unresponsive controls or sloppy steering, but the rubber band AI that you're forced to deal with. In this game, skill almost means nothing, because no matter how well you drive on a track and make the first place position, the other racers will magically speed up and pass you. At first, I thought it was because I was driving in automatic transmission, but the same deal happens in manual as well. Really, the only way you can even attempt to complete a race in first is to be next to perfect, that means driving really good and not hitting walls or opponents. And even then, they still end up passing you. I've pretty much lost count of how many times a bike passed me when I was literally two inches away from the finish line.

To top it all off, there's not even that many tracks to race on. In the arcade mode, you get only two tracks.... two. Doesn't help that they almost look exactly alike. The Saturn mode doesn't offer you much, either, with the arcade mode's two tracks, along with two other tracks... which are only the two arcade tracks in reverse. You can pretty much play the game for the first time and be sick of it in under 30 minutes, maybe less if you're just that frustrated with the AI. Manx TT is honestly not worth the time with its annoying rubber band AI, two courses, and basically the lack of anything enjoyable at all. The sheep code was a cute addition, but you won't lose any sleep passing it up to avoid this disappointing title.

Rating: 2/10

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