diz

@shindig: There is a sidecar category on the leaderboards - currently greyed out. I heard some talk of it before I noticed that too. It couldn't be complete without the sidecars - the category that many 2 wheeled riders of the track would dismiss as utter madness.

I'm down to 20:17, but am waiting/hoping for the stabilizers update. It would be nice if there was a TT Zero update too to showcase the electric bike event.

@unastrike: GBW always sounds far better than GBE to my delicate ears. The background is not such an issue to me, since when stuff is going on, you can't notice it any more and I think you gate it well anyway. What I'm trying to say is thanks for doing good sound. I do appreciate it.

I do have a soft spot for niche driving games. Also, the Manx Tourist Trophy competition at the Isle of Man is my "Superbowl" sports event. So an official video game simulating this most prestigious race was right up my alley! (It's out now for Xbox and PS4 - soon for PC)

The TT is the oldest motorbike competition, starting in 1917. It takes place on the Isle of Man, a small island between Wales and Ireland. and The Snaefell course over the island covers laps of 37 miles - you could easily fit over 2 Nordschleifes in there! The lap record of 17 odd minutes was done with an average speed of over 133 mph - all on country roads, through villages, over mountains, past houses, over drain covers and kerbs. There are high accident and fatality rates for this event and the riders who dare to take part are modern day heroes - they do it for the reputation - and for chuff all prize money.

The sense of speed from this game is insane. There are plenty of long sections of straight where the vision is funnelled through overhanging trees. It gets hypnotic to be in the speed zone, with the sound of wind being all you can hear. The game is quite hard and unforgiving too. slight taps against the scenery are rewarded with harsh angular ricochets, then there's no time to correct.

It's tough to learn such a long circuit, along with the bike handling mechanics. I don't think the assists do too much either. Bike sims have always been less successful than car sims because of the physicality and balance involved in riding a bike - and ideas like counter-steering not really having any direct facsimile on the joystick.

This game does have some other tracks too - 6 or 7 imaginary tracks aimed at road racing bikes. They are fun, much easier to learn and fresh. But some of them are a bit dark in the afternoon time setting. The game is really all about the TT track for me. It's hard enough to drive round the full circuit without falling off (there is an unclaimed achievement waiting for it). I just looked a the ghost of the fastest xbox rider's time (16:02 - way faster than any real lap) and he fell off 3 times!

The choice for bikes is either "supersport" or "superbike". The supersport category contains the usual 600s with the Triumph 675 3 cylinder as well. The Superbike category has the 1000cc R1's BMW's and Fireblades, but also has the 1200cc EBM V twin, a mental Norton V4 and a 2 stroke 500cc, so there is some variety and the bikes do sound and feel quite different to each other. There are sidecars coming with a free update in a couple of months. I can't wait to try that out.

The career mode has an "email" based storyboard and lets you decide on which races to participate in. It seems like the TT event is always a long way off and you're limited to the supersport bike until you start winning, so I haven't given the career mode too much of a look. There are time trials where you can break the track into sections and specify start and end points for your trial.

Although initially very frustrating with all the falling off, the game now gives me glimpses of what it would be like to tear it up in the best race there is. My hopes of any Giantbomb coverage is minimal, given the fit of this game to their oeuvre, so this thread is my own personal thumbs up to the game instead.

(I'm UsernamePending on XBL and I just did 21:16, while staying on until Ramsey - race me!)

@shindig: It's certainly an acquired taste! If bumping the corners didn't deflect so much to make it impossible to correct. I'm on xbox if you want to try multiplayer. I agree, it is bad, but I feel compelled to try one more go because I've seen other people play it and they don't keep falling off.

@oursin_360: From what I know, it's UDC who have the main patents (there are 1000's for OLED) and they licence the manufacturing of large OLED screens to LG, who invested heavily.

@shindig: Right. I did think about trying to get my PS2 out and find a copy a few years ago, but convinced myself it looks a bit rubbish by modern standards. Although it was very well received by fans.

Have you seen Mark Higgins and his attempts to drive the course in a WRC spec Prodrive Subaru STI car? It's crazy fast, but still not near as fast as the bike record.

My dream has come true. I just now found out this is coming out on 6 March! - in 3 days!

The race in June is the perfect antidote to the halo-mongering and wrestling style presentation being introduced in F1.

This game looks rather great, if you are a fan of the course and there a quite a few tuning options, although it looks rather serious and difficult.

https://www.iomtt-thegame.com/en

The best race in the world is now a game too! Do you think you can memorise a 37 mile track at an average speed of 130mph?

@rorie: We love it

I'd had some similar intermittent problems a few years ago and changed the video card, then motherboard before I found out my PSU was knackered.

I think Sony cornered the market with their Trinitron TV patent in the 1960's. Back then Sony Trinitron CRT's were noticeably better (and more expensive) than the competition. The patent expired in 1989, so the competition developed their own similar products, then soon after that flat screens came along. I think this explains why Sony were brand leaders then, but would dispute that they were the premier brand in audio and video, except for their pioneering personal stereos with the Sony Walkman. It was the innovation and patents that made Sony stand out in the market at that time. But they doggedly hung on to Betamax and didn't make anything VHS for a good while. Sony audio quality has always been bettered by other specialist brands though, in my view. Today, there's not as much to differentiate Sony from other brands in quality or function.