 1-9ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
|
|  | | Title: | SBK-08 Superbike World Championship |
| Release: | UK 01-08-2008 | | NORDIC 31-07-2008 | | US 28-10-2008 |
| |
|
 | | In the breakneck sport of two wheels, tight cornering and parenthood jeopardising leather there are two major contenders; THQ's Moto GP series, spearheaded by developers Climax, and Capcom's SBK series, which is handled by the Italian group Milestone. While Milestone has been steadily closing the gap over the years, SBK hasn't quite managed to overtake its Moto GP rival – something that could well change given that this is SBK's debut into the next gen. But will the bump up in visuals be enough to produce a podium finish?
Straight off of the starting grid, SBK 08 is a hardcore motorcycle sim and isn't nearly as approachable as the Moto GP series. Sure, the game provides you with numerous settings to dumb down the realism (which we'll touch upon later); but even if you make the requisite adjustments to make the experience something closer resembling 'Super Hang On', most amateur racers may still go arse over tit – and not in a totally awesome 'contortionist burlesque show' kinda way. This is largely because these high-powered beasts don't casually slide around bends like most cars do, and you absolutely need to be one hundred percent prepared for every corner.
Central to the SBK experience is the standard championship mode, which plays out exactly as you'd expect it should, with qualifying runs before the main races and earned championship points getting tallied up across the season. In addition to this you're also given access to the obligatory 'instant action', quick race', and 'time trial' options for some swift gratification. But the best diversion available are the twenty odd challenges to tackle, which include scenario tasks where you're required to overtake a rival racer on the last lap, reach a checkpoint within an allotted time period, or contend with various mechanical faults during a crucial point in a race. Successfully completing the challenges and earning all of the virtual gold medals is no mean feat, and it helps to extend the longevity of the package.
There are twelve real life tracks on offer in SBK 08, including Monza, Donington, Salt Lake City, and our very own Phillip Island. And whereas the Moto GP series concerns itself with custom built crotch rockets that are non-street-legal offerings, SBK instead has you turning and burning on these tracks using modified commercially available models. Basically, this means you'll get your greasy mitts on the new 2 cylinder Ducati 1098 that Troy Bayliss is currently using to win the 2008 season, or you can ride some of the beefier four cylinder rides like the Honda CBR 1000RR, or the Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K7.
One of the most rewarding challenges offered by SBK 08 is learning how to properly tune your super bikes and set them up to best suit your riding style, and to do this you'll need to spend some time in the pits - an area in which Milestone has concentrated a great deal of its efforts. Getting your grease monkey on you can happily tweak a multitude of bike settings, such as spring characteristics (stiffness, compression damper and rebound amper), steering (rake angle, tail distance, etc), plus you can mess about with the standard options like gears, chain adjustment, brakes, and tyres.
If you're in a hurry to race you can always preset your bike with a quick 'qualifying setup', a 'race setting', or you can load a setup that you've prepared earlier. For those of you hoping to learn the fine art of bike customisation, you can sit down and have a technical meeting with your pit engineer where he'll give you a comprehensive list of tips that will vary depending on the particular team you're racing for. Different teams get different advice and help based upon their unique strengths and weaknesses (official teams, for example, generally have a large amount of money and more options than other teams). Couple this setup advice with a robust post-race telemetry system and SBK can make you a better rider and teach you to stop coming unstuck on Coppice corner at Donington.
| | |
 | |  |
|
|
