TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge (PlayStation 4) Review

As far as pure racing simulators go, Isle of Man has a more arcade-like feel to the movements and controls of the motorbikes, but this easily makes the game a lot more accessible than other two-wheel driving games, such as MotoGP 17. The opening tutorial helps to lay out the simple control scheme for the automatic driving, although it teaches how to drive it manually also, even if that option needs to be flicked on in the options. Using the left stick to steer and the right stick to accelerate and brake feels a little janky at times, but the top trigger buttons can be used for a more natural feel.

The main mode here is Career, which begins the journey of an up-and-coming rider. There is a handy calendar, which helps to keep track of all the upcoming events, and up to three events can be entered per month. While, at first, there will only be singular choices for events, as the rider progresses through the various stages, there will be multiple choices on offer with which to decide between. The first event might offer a higher prize money, while the second choice might unlock a new motorbike to purchase.

Races consist of Time Trial events along the Snaefell Mountain Course, which is broken into smaller, manageable sections, while the Mass Races consist of multi-rider races, with pole positions and the like. The aim of career is simple: win races to get more fans, to increase reputation to receive invitations to more prestigious races with higher prize pools. Manufacturers will also host their own invitational events, which unlock new bikes in each of their respective brands. However, this is as deep as Career mode seems to get. While the different bikes have varying statistics for on-road performance, modifications are not allowed to improve the two-wheeled speedsters. The only form of "upgrading" is to save enough money to purchase a faster Superbike or Supersport.

Each manufacturer's motorbikes feel very different to each other. Triumph's Supersport bikes have one of the higher top speeds on offer, but have issues braking around the corners as they tend to slide out easily, whereas a Honda has a slower accelerate speed, but turns into corners better, and the BMW Superbike seems to have a lot of oversteering issues on even the most basic of corners but has a quicker accelerate speed. Each bike is as simple as playing around with the different vehicles to see which one feels the most natural. The variety is really good and shows that there is not one perfect motorbike, while not having an "overpowered" bike that trumps the rest.

Outside of Career mode, offline multiplayer for up to eight riders gives everyone a chance to set a Time Trial lap time, thus reducing the need for Mass Races and split-screen races. This is unfortunate, as Mass Races are generally more fun to race in especially with multiple riders. For an even greater challenge than just bumping the AI up to a higher difficulty, there is always the online mode, although the community seems to be quiet and finding a game can be troublesome at times.

The visuals look stunning and are an impressive sight to behold while racing. While they are not on the same level as that of Forza, they are still pretty to look at, although the frame-rate can be a little choppy at times, especially at faster speeds. Sometimes the dust particles can leave the field looking hazy at times, and not in a pretty way, either. What helps the visuals in a big way is the realism of the bike crashes, and watching the rider get thrown off the bike in a variety of different ways. One little mistake can lead to a major accident that turns the rider into a rag-doll, and first place can quickly become seventh place with costly mistakes.

Another gripe with the Mass Races is the inconsistency with the physics of bumping into other riders. When making a pass, it seems that any sort of bump on another rider causes an accident for the instigating driver. Now, this is all well and good when it's consistent, but unfortunately AI riders have no qualms with initiating contact and causing the controlled rider to spin out or crash. Ramming an opposition bike from behind seems to have no effect on them but getting rammed from behind by the AI throws the controlled bike into all sorts of disarray. Sometimes, it can seem to be that the odds are stacked too high in the AI's favour, and this inconsistency hurts the joy that could have otherwise been had from these races.