Exclusive: Ride videogame first-look plus full bike, track listing
We’ve managed to get our hands on an exclusive listing of the entire set of unlockable bikes that will be made available in the new, Ride videogame.
MCN were the only biking publication in attendance at the official launch of the new game from Milestone – the makers of the current MotoGP title – at Triumph’s Hinckley factory yesterday. And whilst all of the other gaming titles were concentrating on framerates and the quality of the ‘soft particle’ lighting, we cut straight to the heart of the matter – the bikes and the tracks.
The Bikes
It was confirmed yesterday that the title will feature over 100 motorcycles from 14 manufacturers and that all of these initial bikes will be available to unlock within game, some as rewards for progress of certain ‘challenges’ and some as in-game ‘points’ upgrades.
In addition to this there will also be a series of models available to purchase via downloadable content [DLC] through the PlayStation and Xbox networks. The two packs that are currently confirmed are from Yamaha and include next year’s 2015 Yamaha YZF-R1, YZF-R1M and YZF-R6, as well as a ‘classics’ pack that features the 1998 and 2012 R1’s and the 1998 YZF-R7. It’s expected that the majority of the new 2015 releases from manufacturers will follow.
Tracks
The track listing isn’t quite as exhasutive as some would have hoped, and sadly, we can now officially confirm that there will be no TT Mountain course for the release. But fans of British roads should be able to take solace in the ‘North Wales’ circuit which – although not confirmed by the Italian developers that we spoke to yesterday – appears to be a fairly solid reproduction of the wooded, twisty roads of Hollyhead and Anglesey.
Other road courses of note include the Stelvio National Park and the Californian mountain range of Sierra Nevada.
Customisation
Whilst much of our play test yesterday revolved around showcasing the Triumph bikes available, there were some intriguing titbits of information that came to light with regards to rider and bike customisation.
Clothing and equipment manufacturers such as Dainese, Alpinestars and Arai have made their catalogues available for use within game, as have Rizoma, Akropovic and Arrow (to name a few). This means that as well as being able to customise the clothing of a rider, the player will also be able to tweak and refine changes to their machinery too – from the purchasing of quickshifters, right down to the type of oil used.
So how does it play?
From a videogame perspective all of the expected elements are in place. There is customisation aplenty, game modes ranging from full online play through to split-screen ‘vs’ modes are all available, as are a series of challenges within the game, which upon completion will see the rider rewarded with new equipment or machinery. Tinkerers and those with a fixation on details will be mightily pleased.
We spent time with various Triumph employees yesterday, who were also taking their very first look at the game, and all seemed impressed at both the level of detail of the bikes as well as the sound of each individual model that we rode. It’s fair to say that nothing is going to come close to the visceral experience of riding a Daytona R through the streets of Milan in real-life, but the ‘helmet’ view of our rather rapid jaunt of the virtual same left us pleasantly surprised.
The handling of the virtual bikes does take a little getting used to however.
In the group of gamers I found myself within, I was routinely and savagely beaten in the quick lap stakes and had to check my ‘style’ in order to get close to being competitive. Whilst the physics and dynamics – that the developers claim to be the most accurate ever within a biking title – seem to be correct and are a lot more forgiving than the MotoGP titles, the disconnect between the rider and the bike is a mental bridge that needs crossing before you can really get the most out of the game. It certainly doesn’t play like a car game (thankfully), but it’s not *exactly* like biking either. The best way I could think of describing it would be to imagine that you’re simply ‘operating the controls’ rather than ‘riding the bike’. This may sounds slightly contradictory but I spent too long worrying about the rider’s lean angle and getting the virtual *me* to feel like he was ‘tucked in’, rather than just making sure that the breaking and corner entry speed were perfect.
Once I’d made that adjustment everything else seemed to click into place.
Gamers – and bikers – will be able to judge for themselves from March 20th (UK Release date), but it’s encouraging to see a game developer taking a chance on a bike riding title of this scale. Sure there are elements that we would like to see improved (fingers crossed for a TT license and there’s no weather attributes that we could see) but as a solid stake in the ground, Ride is as close to real biking that a videogame has ever got.
TRACKS/COURSES:
- Magny-Cours
- Sugo
- Circuito de Almeria
- Imola
- Donington
- Salt Flats Speedway
- National Park of Stelvio
- Kanto Temple
- French Riveria
- North Wales
- Sierra Nevada
- Miami (City)
- Milan (City)
|
Bikes |
Manufacturer |
Bike Name |
Year |
|
1 |
Aprilia |
RS250 |
2001 |
|
2 |
Aprilia |
RSV4 APRC ABS |
2014 |
|
3 |
Aprilia |
Rsv4 Factory APRC ABS |
2014 |
|
4 |
Aprilia |
RSV4 R APRC – Racing Version |
2014 |
|
5 |
Aprilia |
RSV1000 |
2003 |
|
6 |
Aprilia |
RSV1000R |
2003 |
|
7 |
Aprilia |
RSV1000SP |
1999 |
|
8 |
Aprilia |
Tuono V4R APRC ABS |
2014 |
|
9 |
Aprilia |
Tuono |
2004 |
|
10 |
Bimota |
Tesi 1D |
1990 |
|
11 |
Bimota |
Tesi 3D |
2014 |
|
12 |
Bimota |
Tesi Naked |
2014 |
|
13 |
Bimota |
DB8 |
2014 |
|
14 |
Bimota |
DB8 Oronero |
2014 |
|
15 |
Bimota |
DB8 Italia |
2014 |
|
16 |
Bimota |
DB9 Brivido |
2014 |
|
17 |
Bimota |
DB9 Brivido S |
2014 |
|
18 |
Bimota |
BB3 |
2014 |
|
19 |
Bimota |
BB3 Racing Version |
2014 |
|
20 |
BMW |
S1000RR |
2014 |
|
21 |
BMW |
S1000RR – HP4 |
2014 |
|
22 |
BMW |
S1000RR – HP4 Racing Version |
2014 |
|
23 |
BMW |
S1000R |
2014 |
|
24 |
BMW |
F800R |
2014 |
|
25 |
Ducati |
1199 Panigale S |
2014 |
|
26 |
Ducati |
1199 Panigale Superleggera |
2014 |
|
27 |
Ducati |
Desmosedici RR |
2006 |
|
28 |
Ducati |
1098R |
2008 |
|
29 |
Ducati |
998R |
2002 |
|
30 |
Ducati |
Streetfighter 848 |
2014 |
|
31 |
Ducati |
Monster 1200S |
2014 |
|
32 |
Ducati |
Diavel |
2014 |
|
33 |
Ducati |
Monster 696 |
2014 |
|
34 |
Energica |
Energica EGO |
2014 |
|
35 |
Eric Buell Racing |
1190RX |
2014 |
|
36 |
Eric Buell Racing |
1190RS |
2014 |
|
37 |
Honda |
CBR1000RR Fireblade |
2014 |
|
38 |
Honda |
CBR1000RR Fireblade SP |
2014 |
|
39 |
Honda |
CBR1000RR Fireblade Racing Version |
2014 |
|
40 |
Honda |
CBR600RR |
2014 |
|
41 |
Honda |
VTR1000 SP1 |
2001 |
|
42 |
Honda |
VTR1000 SP2 |
2005 |
|
43 |
Honda |
CBR1000RR Fireblade |
2004 |
|
44 |
Honda |
CBR600RR 2006 |
2006 |
|
45 |
Honda |
CBR900RR |
1995 |
|
46 |
Honda |
RVF750 RC45 |
1994 |
|
47 |
Honda |
VFR750 RC30 |
1987 |
|
48 |
Honda |
NR750 |
1992 |
|
49 |
Honda |
CB1000R ABS – Barracuda |
2014 |
|
50 |
Honda |
CB1000R ABS |
2014 |
|
51 |
Honda |
CB650F ABS |
2014 |
|
52 |
Lightening Motor |
LS-218 |
2014 |
|
53 |
Kawasaki |
Ninja ZX-10R |
2014 |
|
54 |
Kawasaki |
Ninja ZX-10R Racing |
2014 |
|
55 |
Kawasaki |
Ninja ZX-6R 636 |
2014 |
|
56 |
Kawasaki |
Ninja ZX-10R |
2006 |
|
57 |
Kawasaki |
Ninja ZX-6R |
2004 |
|
58 |
Kawasaki |
ZX-7RR |
1996 |
|
59 |
Kawasaki |
Z1000 |
2014 |
|
60 |
Kawasaki |
Z800 |
2014 |
|
61 |
Kawasaki |
ZRX1200 |
2006 |
|
62 |
KTM |
390R |
2014 |
|
63 |
KTM |
390R Racing Version |
2014 |
|
64 |
KTM |
1190 RC8R |
2014 |
|
65 |
KTM |
1190 RC8R track |
2014 |
|
66 |
KTM |
Duke 690 |
2014 |
|
67 |
KTM |
Duke 690R |
2014 |
|
68 |
KTM |
990 Super Duke R |
2014 |
|
69 |
KTM |
1290 Super Duke R |
2014 |
|
70 |
MV Agusta |
F4 |
2014 |
|
71 |
MV Agusta |
F4 Racing Version |
2014 |
|
72 |
MV Agusta |
F4 R |
2014 |
|
73 |
MV Agusta |
F4 RR |
2014 |
|
74 |
MV Agusta |
F3 675 |
2014 |
|
75 |
MV Agusta |
F3 800 |
2014 |
|
76 |
MV Agusta |
F4 1000S |
2006 |
|
77 |
MV Agusta |
F4 1000R |
2006 |
|
78 |
MV Agusta |
F4 750 |
1998 |
|
79 |
MV Agusta |
Brutale 1090 |
2014 |
|
80 |
MV Agusta |
Brutale 1090R |
2014 |
|
81 |
MV Agusta |
Brutale 1090RR |
2014 |
|
82 |
MV Agusta |
Brutale Corsa |
2014 |
|
83 |
MV Agusta |
Brutale 800 |
2014 |
|
84 |
MV Agusta |
Brutale 675 |
2014 |
|
85 |
MV Agusta |
Rivale 800 |
2014 |
|
86 |
Suzuki |
GSX-R1000 |
2014 |
|
87 |
Suzuki |
GSX-R1000 Racing Version |
2014 |
|
88 |
Suzuki |
GSX-R1000 1 million edition |
2013 |
|
89 |
Suzuki |
GSX-R600 |
2014 |
|
90 |
Suzuki |
GSX-R1000 K5 |
2005 |
|
91 |
Suzuki |
GSX-R Srad 750 |
1998 |
|
92 |
Suzuki |
GSX-R600 |
2000 |
|
93 |
Suzuki |
TL1000R |
1998 |
|
94 |
Suzuki |
GSR750 |
2014 |
|
95 |
Triumph |
Daytona 675 |
2014 |
|
96 |
Triumph |
Daytona 675R |
2014 |
|
97 |
Triumph |
Daytona 955i |
2004 |
|
98 |
Triumph |
Speed Triple |
2014 |
|
99 |
Triumph |
Speed Triple R |
2014 |
|
100 |
Triumph |
Street Triple 600 |
2014 |
|
101 |
Triumph |
Street Triple R |
2014 |
|
102 |
Triumph |
Speed Triple 955i |
2004 |
|
103 |
Yamaha |
YZF-R1 |
2014 |
|
104 |
Yamaha |
YZF-R1 Racing Version |
2014 |
|
105 |
Yamaha |
YZF-R6 |
2014 |
|
106 |
Yamaha |
YZF-R1 |
2002 |
|
107 |
Yamaha |
YZF-R6 |
1999 |
|
108 |
Yamaha |
YZF-R1 |
1998 |
|
109 |
Yamaha |
YZF-R7 |
1998 |
|
110 |
Yamaha |
FZR 750 R OW 01 |
1989 |
|
111 |
Yamaha |
MT07 |
2014 |
|
112 |
Yamaha |
MT09 |
2014 |
|
113 |
Yamaha |
MT09 Street Rally |
2014 |
|
114 |
Yamaha |
XJR1300 |
2006 |
