Game Reviews

SBK16 review - As close as you'll get to riding a real bike?

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SBK16 review - As close as you'll get to riding a real bike?
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If you come into SBK 16 expecting a relaxed, casual bike racing experience then you're going to be disappointed. There's little concession given here for anyone who doesn't want to jump into the action face-first.

Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, but it's a point that needs to be made. This is a game that demands a good chunk of your time if you want to get to grips with it.

And if you don't get to grips with it you'll spend most of your time playing it going very slowly in gravel traps.

But if you're willing to put the time in, you'll discover a racer that pushes you as close to the edge as anything else you can get on the App Store.

Being the official game of the Superbike world championship, everything here has its proper name.

From the riders to the bikes to the circuits you're thrashing around, everything is as close to the real thing as is possible on current mobile tech.

Hard time

There are a bunch of different modes, but the long and short of them all is finishing first. Whether it's finishing first in a single race or playing a complete championship season and sitting at the top of the standings come the end of the year.

There's also a challenge mode. Here you'll be able to try and beat the best times of other players from around the world on a variety of different circuits.

It's an interesting addition and it keeps things exciting as you shift around the leaderboards.

Hard corners

SBK 16 isn't without its problems though. The learning curve is steep, and there are a whole host of different control options that you'll need to try out to discover the one that works best for you.

This is an unforgiving experience, even when you've got it on the easiest setting.

Some of the control schemes just don't work as well, which can lead to some really frustrating moments when you're trying to take a corner and just end up going straight on.

But, and this is a big but, if you're one of the people who bemoans the lack of depth on the App Store, then SBK 16 deserves your attention.

It's about as far from casual as you can get on mobile, it looks lovely, and while it does have its fair share of problems, the tenacious will be able to get past them.

SBK16 review - As close as you'll get to riding a real bike?

A slightly daunting prospect, but one that's fun if you put the work in
Score
Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.