Le Tour de France 2010

Having been forced to watch more than one Tour de France thanks to a former housemate, I quickly came to the conclusion that each and every tour is, in fact, the same.

There are certain things in each contest that you can count on: the British chaps undoubtedly won't win, numerous riders will get the opportunity to wear the rather fetching polka-dot jersey, and more than one – in this day and age – will be involved in some sort of drug scandal.

Extra Live's second crack at mimicking Le Tour courts no such controversy, of course, but the race here does feel familiar.

Indeed, just a couple of minutes play is enough to reveal that, bar the odd superficial upgrade, 2010's tour is exactly the same as last year's effort. The real question is whether that's a good thing or not.

For the large part, the setup holds up just as well.

Rather than simply being a case of the fastest finishes first, Le Tour de France 2010 charges you with being patient, finding restraint when the rest of the world is passing you on either shoulder.

With just a set amount of energy available per race – bar any refuelling stations you pass along the way - success comes from knowing when to hold back and when to go for broke.

Controls are simple as a result. On the flat stretches of the race, tapping '5' speeds you up, with '8' slowing you down. The faster you go – each press of '5' essentially acting as a short-term boost – the more energy you use up.

While said energy recovers over time, if you run it to the floor your opponents will quickly fly on past you.

The setup changes a touch when it comes to hill climbs, however. Here, buttons '1' and '3' rotate the pedals, energy again a concern.

However, just like in the real tour, the addition of these climbs – and, indeed, the sprints on the flat – mean you don't necessarily have to win the stage to stay in the fight, both mini-races adding vital points to your total.

It's an engaging approach, where plugging in the brain is a necessity – learning Le Tour de France 2010's rhythm really does take time. However, this was true of the previous release, with this follow up bringing nothing new of note to the table whatsoever.

As such, if repetition is your thing, you might not mind taking to Le Tour for a second time, but everyone else will probably be better off seeing if they can grab last year's outing on the cheap for the original tour experience.