28.3.2015

It's a funny game, Ride. In so many ways, very old fashioned and out of touch with modern car racers like Driveclub and Forza Horizon 2...but that's not a bad thing! Let's get the negatives out of the way first.Graphically, this not really any better than a good PS3 game. Trackside objects repeat too often, the rocks and road have that shiny waxy surface so beloved of last gen developers, trees lack foliage and the lighting is only adequate. Character models may be customisable, but they lack facial animation and the skin and hair has the same plastic surfacing as early last gen games. The previously mentioned games blow it out of the water, visually. But Milestone is a tiny company, in comparison,and where they've expended all their efforts is in the bikes. The attention to detail on them is as good as anything Polyphony and Evolution have put together to date, and you could argue that bikes require more intricate detail than cars, so all credit to the devs for the effort.Aurally, things are merely good, not great. Bikes do sound like their real life counterparts, but the sound has a bit of clipping in the samples and there's not much post processing dynamic range to them. They sound real, but not exciting.The structure of the game is also very dry. Choose a class. Choose a championship. Choose a race. Earn more money. Customise your bike. Rinse and repeat. Save up enough to buy a new class of bike. Start again. It's very old fashioned and doesn't really inspire you to carry on. There are some concessions to variety. Not every event is a race. There are also time trials and track days (get ahead of another rider in a certain amount of track distance and be rewarded for how long you're ahead for) but the basic formula is still not very imaginative. It's no different from decades of other racers.So why does it get five stars? Because, if you're in the right frame of mind, it's glorious to ride on track. If you overlook the slightly dumb AI and don't treat it as a racing game, but as you against the track, it fully rewards you. Milestone's physics engine has come on leaps and bounds lately, and this is the fruition. Even on basic physics, the feel of weight movement, of tyres against tarmac and the pleasure of getting your braking, lean and exit throttle just right, especially in a succession of tight bends, is just right. It can be a sim if you want it to be and that is even more rewarding because the difficulty ramps up considerably. It's been a long time since virtual bikes have felt this right. Probably not since Climax's Moto GP games on the original Xbox, and that's why it gets 5 stars. Modern racers have become far too forgiving on console. Dumbed down, barrier riding approximations to cars and bikes that reward clumsiness and hold back people prepared to put in an effort. Hopefully, Project CARS will change that for the better but, in the meantime, Ride, while destined to be a minority title from a tiny developer, is the closest I've come to the good old days of being rewarded for actually putting in some effort. Even in the first few races, rather than blitzing every race in 1st place, nearly lapping the AI, as Driveclub seemed to be focused on, making you feel like a driving god until you realise that it's an empty feeling, you'll be shouting for joy just to come in 5th place, well out of the rankings, because that's as good as you'll get at the beginning, and it doesn't feel like punishment. It just makes you want to get better.Put in some effort and you'll love this game but do be warned, you do need to put in that effort. Expect a modern day, dumbed down, everyone's-a-winner, modern racer and you'll be disappointed. Ride is old school, and all the better for it.

20.10.2015

Playing Ride for the first time was like playing Forza 3 or Gran Turismo 5 for the very first time, it has the same kind of excitement, because just like those games Ride is all about the vehicles, which in this case happens to be motorcycles. As with Forza and Gran Turismo, most things in Ride have to be unlocked by collecting enough credits and points. The only exception are the tracks. Some gamers love this old-school approach while others hate it.So should you buy it ?If you hate grinding, training and skill-building...then 'no', it might be too boring and frustrating for you.If you expect a hardcore challenge similar to earlier MotoGP and SBK games, then 'no'.Ride is more of a sim-arcade hybrid.If you enjoy all kinds of racing games then Ride is definitely worth getting at some point because it is a very unique racing game.If you are a fan of motorbikes in general you'll probably enjoy this game as all the motorbikes have unique handling and sound great.The Negatives:* the menu system was confusing* minor screen tears in a few places* the controller buttons for manual gearing felt rather sluggish* the physics is far too forgiving even on the highest simulation level* the game does not feature any damage modeling, neither visually nor technically* in the time trial mode you can only test motorbikes you actually own, this was very disappointing* the environments surrounding the tracks are cool in design and concept but are not visually impressive* the AI are far too slow in reacting to the player's movements, they usually crash into you if you brake earlier than they doThe Positives:* it has two first-person views, including a helmet view* lots of tracks, both fictional and real, giving you get plenty of variation* the various difficulty levels are truly well-balanced, this really impressed me* the designs and animations of the riders and the motorbikes all look really nice* the sound is fantastic, it pulls you in and makes you want to keep playing the game* the physics is reliable and consistent, the same quality you'd expect from Milestone* the physics is technical enough to be challenging, especially with the faster motorbikes* lots of customization options for each motorbike, you really do feel they are the centerpiece of the game* old-school game design where skill and training is rewarded, you even collect credits in the time trial modeBecause the AI were too slow in reacting to your movements on the track I felt forced to purposely get off the racing line, in order to avoid collisions. When the AI is this unaware in a racing game it is better to use the third-person view because restarting the race over and over again gets too frustrating eventually. In fact I only really used the first-person view in the Time Trials and Head-to-Head races. So the AI is my biggest dislike about Ride.What I liked the most were the bikes, they are truly fun and enjoyable to play around with. I also liked that the fictional tracks were tailor-made for these bikes and offered just the right balance of challenge and sense of 'go nuts you speedfreak'. This is one of those games where I'm perfectly happy just doing the Time Trial mode with all the bikes on offer. In fact that became my main goal in the game.The bottomline: this game is very unique, the last game of similar nature was the old TT game on the PS2. This uniqueness of Ride, together with all the positive traits above, makes it a good game despite some issues.

22.4.2015

I've had this game since release and I'm enjoying playing but I keep getting that there isn't enough in the game. Now it's important to remember that milestone are a small company and when you keep that in mind they've done a fantastic job on this game. However, I feel there could have been more motorcycles to make it a real racing sim. In total there is around 110 bikes which is good but I would have liked a few more e.g. 899 panigale, ninja 300, er6, sv650. I'm sure more bikes will come out in dlc's but a few more bikes at launch would have been nice. I would have liked a few 125's, cruiser bikes actually why not even scooters and dirt bikes just to make it fun? There has recently been two dlc packs.

6.8.2015

I don't know why this game gets such bad rep, I've had it for a few weeks and I'm addicted, I can't stop playing it.I would like to know what games similar to this people are trying to compare it to, it's got the biggest range of bikes, all of the ones you see driving on the road all the way up to super bikes. It's got a fairly decent modding system which lets you upgrade your bikes fairly generously.It's got a nice (not extensive) but good set of high quality tracks, high speed to technical.It has a massive amount of various class bike championships to earn your millions with, these include drag races, team races, time trials, overtake challenges, rival races.

30.3.2015

This game is good its the same as moto gp but its now street racing, I'm a fan of the moto gp games as they are the best motorbikes games available and as this is made by the same company i was looking forward to it, i even pre ordered and i am not dissapointed, the game plays out like gran tourismo, with different race catagories for different types of bikes like racing bikes, vintage, even streetfighter type bikes there are also catagories for the power of the bikes like under 700cc or over 700c and as you play you earn money to upgrade your bike or flash out your rider or even buy another bike to add to your garage and also so you can enter the different types of races.

15.4.2015

if you like/love milestone bike racing games, you'll fall in love with this game, from well known race tracks to isle of man tt style tracks this sim is perfect in my opinion :) got the game yesterday, played it for the first time for 6ish hours, 100% fun and satisfying to play, you can play the game with your own bike, and you can earn credits with racing, you can modify your own bike to improve performance, you can also rent a bike for free, must be about 10 or so bikes you can rent, then its any rented bike on any track variation, also has an online mode, you arent limited to your own bike in the online mode, you can create a custom race, and select the bike class you would like to play,

25.7.2016

In my opinion this is the best racing game currently available to ps4. There is lots of customization available for the bikes including what brakes, tyres, suspension and even exhaust system to name just a few and each of these has an affect on the handling and performance of the bikes; just like it would in a real world scenario. There is also numerous options available for the rider to wear as there are different hemets, suits, tops and bottoms available to change and upgrade. The races are challenging in different ways and therefore they're not predictable like some other racing games available. They react how a bike would in reality so you have to ensure you get the correct line for the motorbike,

27.3.2015

Was somewhat wary of buying this on release date, due to bad experiences with other previous racing games (mentioning no names. Oh okay then, Driveclub), but any fears were quickly cast aside.Hugely enjoyable racing game with silky smooth graphics and smart responsive handling. Nice option to brake independently with front or rear wheels. The racing is a pure joy and very rewarding. Great all round presentation with a pleasant voice-over and menu music that isn't annoying. Looks like there's loads to do, will certainly keep me occupied for a long time to come.Gripe? Character modelling is a bit clunky and unrealistic with lego hair and fairly bland features. But that's not what we buy these games for.

1.5.2015

As a huge motorbike fan i had to buy this game. At first impression i was stunned by the attention its had graphically and spent time just looking over the bikes. As a first for this title i think its a good effort, yet people expect perfection straight off. This could well be in a few series on the forza of motorbikes. Im giving this game a 4/5 as there are not many older bikes or different bike styles. With a wider variety of bikes and tracks this game could really set the standard for future titles. The biggest downer is the loading times as they are incredably slow. Dont be put off tho and give it a go. Its well worth the 30 quid as most releases these days are twice the price,

31.8.2015

Lets get this straight from the word go, I am a huge motogp fan, so I do love a bike game.Having said that I was really looking forward to this game as lets face it, there aren't many bike games other than the MotoGP franchise. Its a great idea to use real world bikes like fireblades and GSXR.The game is the usual hard as nails bike game at the start (lets be honest car games are way too easy lol), but persevere with this game and it rewards with that achievement factor!Its a great little game, and will keep you playing so you can keep modding your bike(s).If your looking for a new bike game and you don't fancy MotoGP again..This is it!

11.4.2015

Visually not up there with the best, but the way the game feels and plays is superb. this game will teach you more about getting the perfect line, hitting breaking points and throttle control better than the current cream of the crop, it is difficult at first, but when you start to learn the tracks and get into the flow you start to see how good this game is (and how fast you can go). I ride a 600cc sports bike (CBR600RR) and this game requires the same approach as the real thing, although you can push harder in the game and get away with it. It is a hard racing game, but the racing is close, challenging and incredible fun, it’s fantastic!

11.7.2016

Finally a bike game for the everyday motorcyclist! The game has a wide variety of manufacturers and models to choose from, not just the sports bikes, even electric bikes! You have the option of changing the aesthetics of the bikes and tuning them to perform better. There is also the opportunity to clothe your racer in a well-known branded gear from head to toe, with AGV, Alpinestars, Shoei, Dainese etc.The game is very playable and has several options to make it easier or more realistic depending on your skill levels.I highly recommend this game to anyone that rides or has an interest in motorcycles.

27.3.2015

This is forza motorsport with bikes, even the narrator is the same. Bike games are notoriously cra. But milestone have helped turn the tide. So much to do with racing and customization. So many helmets to choose from, with loads of Rossi variants. Graphics are good/solid but not jaw dropping like driveclub. Presentation is very good with easy menus and detailed 3d bike models. Fictitious circuits are mixed with real world circuits like Donington and Imola and they are challenging too. Overall I have really enjoyed this game so far. Give it a go

10.5.2015

At first I didn't think much of this game, but after putting some time in, buying bikes and tuning them up I became hooked. There are a few flaws and glitches but overall it is the best motorbike game I have played to date. The graphics are good, the selection of bikes is good and the gameplay is okay although a little unforgiving at times. If you could score in half marks I would rate 4.5 out of 5 but as it is whole numbers I would give it a 5. Definitely a must for bike owners. Biggest downside is waiting for each race to load.

24.4.2015

If you're a gamer and a rider this is a must. Visually in areas it could be a lot better the scenery and foliage isn't the best and the npc's in places look like early PS3 stuff, but having said that all the parts that really count like the bikes themselves and the rider gear look excellent absolutely spot on so much so you forget about the rest, the bikes also handle very well. I have had a great deal of fun with this game and look set to have a lot more kinda reminds me of gran truismo 2 but with bikes, well worth a buy.

Ride - Reviews

Info

Analysis

Detail