There are two things the Isle of Man is most famous for, one is producing the hit record making Bee Gees and the other is the amazing Isle of Man TT race.
It’s pretty amazing that this annual race is still going strong despite the danger involved, but it’s a constant favourite of the biking calendar and has a unique set of challenges and skills required to tame the 60km track.
239 racers have been killed over its 106 years but enthusiasts still flock to watch and take part in the event.
It’s fair to say that the original TT Isle of Man game didn’t set the Switch alight, but the sequel does a lot of things to correct this. It doesn’t just focus on the main TT race on the famous island, the game also features 17 additional tracks set over Ireland and England plus 18 different official motorbikes and official riders.
Ride on the Edge 2 certainly has a packed roster in terms of bikes and tracks, there are some wonderful looking tracks to race around from classics through to the TT race itself. The Irish tracks in particular have some great scenery. One great addition which makes even more use of these is the freeroam mode which allows you to ride around to your heart’s content without worrying about any of the other game limits. It’s surprisingly fun to just take your bike and explore all the tracks after you’ve unlocked them in main races and there are some really nice scenic rides for you to explore here, including cliff top courses and open fields.
In addition to freeroam you have quick races and time trials as well as the main challenge of the career. All of these require a level of skill that you’ll need to hone by continually practising, this is not a game for arcade racers. The freeroam and time trial modes do help here and the career mode gradually ramps up the bike types and challenge, all helping you cope. It’s par for the course in the sim world though and the reward you feel for winning a race is greater because of this.
Graphically, Switch can’t obviously compete with the other consoles here but it does a fairly good job. Handheld is prettier as it hides some of the rougher edges and is that bit smoother. I’ve ridden around the tracks on handheld a lot and there’s no slowdown, everything feels really smooth even at top speeds (until you hit something and end up flying through the air, sans bike). On the TV it’s more of a mixed bag as you can easily see the rougher edges on landscapes as you pass them. Trees and the clouds in the background, in particular, look like assets from a previous generation but at least it means the game itself still runs well.
TT Isle of Man Ride on the Edge 2 isn’t something you’ll dip into in the arcade sense, it requires practice and skill, like any good sim, but the reward is a feeling of achievement for a job well done when you start to feature higher on the score chart and start winning races. The Free Roam and new courses help to make this a much more favourable package than the last game and it’s well worth investing in if you’re a fan of the race or of bike sims in general.
TT Isle Of Man: Ride on the Edge 2
Pros
- 17 tracks to race around
- New free roam mode is excellent
- Good set of bikes and riders
- Feels suitable scary
Cons
- It takes skill and patience
- Graphics on Switch are really paired down in places
