Manx TT Superbike


Developer: 

 Tantalus

Publisher: 

 Sega

Players: 

 1-2

TV System: 

 Europe / PAL

Accessories: 

 Analogue Controller

Style: 

 3D Racing



Released last Easter in Europe as one of Sega's big games. That along with Fighters Megamix shortly released afterwards was hoped it would sell Saturns like there was no tomorrow but unfortunately it never happened. Anyway big things were expected from this game as it was a huge hit in the arcades. And when it was finished it delivered all the arcade thrills except the motorbike stand of course! But how good is the Saturn version?

Graphics
The graphics are very good although there not nearly as good as the arcade's ones. In order to keep up the speed Tantalus had to cut down a lot of the frames and detail of the original but you don't really notice it when your playing as the game is very fast when you get up to a high speed. There's not the much pop up and no glitching either so the graphics are very good overall.

Courses
Just like in the arcade you can choose from two courses, Laxey Coast and the TT Course. The first being a lot easier of course with wide roads, easy bends and long roads giving you a chance to get up to high speeds. The TT course however is full up with tight chicanes through country roads, few open roads and few chances to get up to a high speed unless you can take those corners very well! Both courses are great but with only two in the arcade, Tantalus should have really two extra courses and not just reverse mirroring them. Even one would have been great and would have shown home commitment but no. This is probably Manx TT's only downfall but a huge one at that and is hard to forget.

2 Player Mode
Like Sega Rally it has options such as catch up and head starts. It doesn't suffer that much either with more or less the same speed with only a bit of the scenery taken away. Tantalus have done a great job on the two player mode as it has added to lastability and fun.

Saturn Mode
Like most Saturn racing conversions, you get some home specific features in the game. Pick the Saturn option and you get a choice of Practise or Challenge. In Challenge you pick one of 8 different bikes and race through the two courses plus two reversed mirrored versions. Come first in all races and you get the option of the Superbike Challenge. This time it's much harder though. You get the choice of 3 new Superbikes which are much faster then the other one's. But all your opponents have a superbike too making it very hard to win at these high speeds. But manage to come first in all 4 courses again and you get that sheep to ride on! Why are Sega obsessed with farmyard animals in their games?

Options
On the main screen you get the following options:

  • Arcade (Just the same with all the arcade menu's)
  • Saturn (See Above)
  • Time Trial (Like any racer, choose the laps, bike etc. and choose whether or not you want to race against the ghost rider)
  • 2 Player Mode (See Above)
  • Control Config (Change the controls in you like)
  • Sound Config (Change the sound options)
  • Records (View your best times etc.)
So is it as good as we wanted it to be? Well yes and no. You get everything the arcade version had to offer which is what we wanted but 2 tracks simply isn't enough and is pure lazy, but Tantalus did try their best to make it up with a great two player and Saturn mode. So there you have it, a great game that lacks enough courses. But since you can find it for as little as £20 these days (or less!) then I'd advise you to get this game as it's great fun and it'll last with the two player mode. It's not as good as Sega Rally but is far better then the likes of Daytona CCE and Touring Car.

Graphics: 

 86%

Sound: 

 84%

Playability: 

 93%

Lastability: 

 89%

Overall: 

 88%


Review By: Matthew Langan



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