Previous Next

With their games costing £1.99, it is obvious that the new Codemasters are going for the Mastertronic/Firebird market. This is hardly surprising when you realise their principal programmers are the Darling brothers of The Last V8 and BMX Racers fame.

Programmed by Richard Darling, BMX Simulator shows an aerial view of a series of seven courses which increase in complexity as you progress from one course to the next. Each course has its fair share of berms, banks, whoops and ramps in circular and figure-of-eight configurations.

Each course features two bikes in a race against the clock as well as each other. The second bike can be controlled either by the computer or an opponent using a second joystick or the keyboard. I always find that the two player option is the best way to evaluate these types of games and its addictive qualities certainly showed through.

For most courses three laps must be completed in a very tight time schedule in order to progress to the next course. The bikes are difficult to control and I chewed a heck of a lot of cinders as I zeroed time after time. Perseverance paid dividends and I was soon thrashing round the berms like a hero.

As each race finishes, you have the option to replay the race and see just where you went wrong. Personally I didn't see much point to this, apart from having a good laugh at your opponent's mistakes as he or she is sent sprawling again after colliding with yet another obstacle.

The graphics are well-produced but the colours are a bit dull; there again I never did find soil that interesting anyway. Apart from the berm banks which help you turn at speed, the terrain varies in texture. Rough ground slows you down and it's really difficult to avoid these areas without going totally out of control.

As a first product, this augurs well for the future, especially when you consider the budget price. I've seen many full price games which would be put to shame by this program.