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Motorbike games are usually dedicated to high-speed, lunch-repeating, thrills 'n spills - RVF Honda and Super Hang On being obvious examples. Harley Davidson takes a more sedate approach. Named after the US bike favoured by American Hell's Angels, it depicts the leather-clad rebels behaving much more genteely than you'd expect. Gone are the days of Sonny Barger's ton-up kids screaming around town like the Toecutter's crew in Mad Max. Nowadays they're more likely to be seen helping old ladies over the road.

You play the part of one such hairy-faced moron desperate to get to a festival in Sturgis, South Dakota. You start with a pocketful of cash, your trusty (rusty?) bog-standard Harley and the kind of biker's garb only a commuting stockbroker would wear. You have ten days to get from the East Coast to Sturgis and improve your biker credibility, in looks, machine and riding skills.

You do this during the long trek across country. Each town has a bike shop where you can buy custom engines, uprated extras and a host of mean-machine kit. You can also buy items of a more aesthetic nature, like jackets, helmets, and boots. Shopping's a simple affair; point the mouse at an item and click. You can then kit yourself out in the coolest colours and the hottest Harley this side of the sun.

For extra prestige, you participate in the events staged from town to town. These are all typical nutty biker stunts. In the Slow-Ride Contest you ride along as slowly as possible without falling off (harder than it sounds). The Weenie-Run is the dumbest of all dumb-biker tricks. You need a passenger on the pillion and she (for it is always a girl) stands up "on the pegs" and bites Frankfurthers hanging on strings above the road, while you steer beneath them. It all sounds a bit wacky, and Freudian and indeed it is. Very odd.

If you do well, you gradually receive the admiration of the rest of your biking cronies, who pop up a lot to introduce the various sub-games. If you're any good you'll progress from a wanna-be to a real highway bro' and finally to that most-hallowed of motorcycling accolades, the Ultimate Biker God (barf). If you're crap, you'll either stay at the low levels or kill yourself, both to the delight of your "friends". It's a cruel world, isn't it?

Road tripping between towns gives you the opportunity to pick up the occasional stranded female, break the speed limit and dodge junk in the road. Just the wind in your hair and the flies in your teeth as you zoom down the long road to Sturgis, love, peace and alcohol poisoning. What a life!

Harley's colourful graphics should appeal to everyone and although none of the digitized piccies win prizes for beauty, they'll certainly make you laugh.

The game's main "hook", the riding section between towns, has been well put together and is smooth and easy to control. At the same time there's a fair amount of realism, with clutch controls, realistic stalls, tumbles and crashes.

The intro music is unexciting, but the in-game sounds are better, featuring (most importantly) a believable motorbike engine noise.

Harley is an unpredictable game and its wackiness keeps you occupied for ages. If you like road race games, but you're looking for a bit more depth, Harley's what you're after. It's an easy-to-operate, good-humoured Easy Rider romp into meathead sexist prat territory. After the Weenie Run even the girls will find something to laugh at.