Superbike 2001

Game review

The only official simulation of the Superbike Championship will let you race against the best riders taking part in this competition: teams and tracks (including Oschersleben, Imola and Valencia) are completely updated in order to include all the new elements of the championship that just ended. Available Game modes are: Quick Start, to take part to a race without preliminary stages; Quick Race, to practice, qualify and finally race; and Championship, where you can take part in all the Superbike season on all thirteen tracks. Superbike 2001 showcases perfect reproductions of all 13 tracks of the Superbike World Championship and all the bikes found in races: Ducati, Aprilia, Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Yamaha, e Bimota.

For each race the number of laps, the number of opponents, the weather and the opponents’ level can be set. For all the two-wheels lovers there are many possibilities of customising the bike: handling, suspensions, gear ratio and tires. The whole game is characterised by the maximum realism with the exact physics models of the bikes, the collisions with other bikes are realistic for what concerns the behaviour of the bike and the rider. It's possible to race in extreme riding conditions, under heavy rain or on hot tarmac. The ability to interpret data from the telemetry to create performing assets will be decisive for taking the win. It is also possible to activate driving aids such as automatic gear, acceleration and braking assistance, indicators that signal the next turn and suggest if braking is necessary, lines on the tarmac that show the best trajectory and a speedometer. Fluidity is always constant and the excellent rider animations are extremely realistic thanks to motion capture technology. AI controlled opponents will make players’ lives difficult and intense practice sessions will be necessary before players will be able to overtake them.

Superbike 2001 achieved what many thought was impossible: improve the previous Superbike 2000. The excellent graphic quality, achieved through a meticulous attention for details and the extensive use of technologies such as motion capture, gives such realistic sensation that it can make one imagine to be sitting on one of the powerful two-wheeled vehicles.