Pro Bike Racer

While fans of four-wheeled automotive exploits are spoilt for choice with countless mobile phone games, petrol heads with leanings towards two-wheeled travelling are comparatively under-supported when it comes to fully fledged riding titles. Pro Bike Racer has pulled up to the start line hoping to balance matters a little, and is marked from the outset by the hallmarks of quality.

Immediately, the presentation of the game's front-end and the subtle sound effects make clear that the latest offering from Gameloft is typically well produced. The menu screens list numerous game modes, from Practice and Single Race sessions to a complete World Championship, and as you dip your toe into selecting where to first twist your virtual throttle it becomes apparent that all the major superbike manufacturers have been licensed.

The inclusion of machines from Ducati, Suzuki and Honda may be indicative of the fact that some money has been thrown at Pro Bike Racer, but obviously that does not guarantee a good game. Indeed, while this effort makes for a solid and enjoyable chance to burn rubber on the tarmac catwalk, the resulting experience isn't without failings.

Despite all the lush presentation and product placement, the game itself – though fairly glossy looking and built on a solid 3D engine – looks a little pedestrian throughout. The gameplay, too, is not as many grid positions ahead of average as we'd like, lacking anything that really excites or surprises beyond what driving games have offered for years.

In other words, the racing is nothing more than a well-realised example of the rather ordinary. With a little more variety in the turns and slopes of the tarmac raceways, and more of an emphasis on both intense speed and tactical racing, things could have been so much better. Instead, Pro Bike Racer's engine ticks over gently when it should be roaring with energy.

While the controls deserve praise for their simplicity, a very basic driving system that relies on nothing more complex than pressing '4', '6', and occasionally '8' to brake does nothing to distinguish this game from dozens of other 3D racers, other than the obvious inclusion of bikes over cars.

A positive can be easily found in the way the enemy AI is well implemented, but the fact your rivals always come out of collisions better than you again feels distinctly old fashioned.

There are odd signs that the developer has strived to innovate, true, but nothing included feels vaguely exhilarating. The handling of the bikes alters nicely as you up the difficulty, offering a more realistic model and demanding more focused driving. As you progress to the 'hard' setting a guide that marks out the racing line disappears from the track beneath your tyres, leaving the nailing of each corner totally in your leather-gloved hands.

Pro Bike Racer continually benefits from high production values, a well-conceived learning curve and a large array of raceways to offer, but what it lacks is anything to distinguish it from the ordinary when it comes to playability. A game is fantastic when the end result is greater than the sum of its parts, but Pro Bike Racer is little more than a perfect equation for average results.

So it's perfect for whiling away five-minute chunks when you should be pursuing more serious tasks on your mobile phone, but unless you're definitely tired of putting pedal to the metal in four-wheeled driving games, better options do exist.