First off, and to give a general idea of what is on offer, Tourist Trophy is packed with over 35 racing courses that include international circuits and well known tracks. It also features over 100 licensed bikes, but they all pretty much look the same, just a different colour and handling attributes. This is not to say they don't look good, but to the average punter, nothing really sets them apart.

You have three modes from which to choose from: Arcade, Photo Mode and Tourist Trophy, which is pretty much career mode. Arcade mode features a number of "mini racing" type challenges. Go one-on-one, time trial, two-player splitscreen or just play a general race.

Tourist Trophy mode is where the action is. Build your career by working through the various challenges to unlock more and to collect bikes along the way. First, though, you have to go through License School where you learn the intricacies of racing. The better you get, the better the quality of prizes you will win. You can also personalise gear and even create your own racing style with 'Riding Form'. Make the riding style your own by altering the various body positions to better cut through corners. However it may be better to use the preset forms as they appear more fluid and move more gracefully around bends.

Although Tourist Trophy mode does offer more than arcade gameplay, it still doesn't really take off. Challenges are very much the same and given your skill you probably only need a handfull of bikes to gain entry and you can use them throughout the modes. Even customisation is difficult to achieve. Unlike cars, changes are not very noticeable, and again, to the average punter, the bikes all look the same. The bonus, however, is that money is not a factor: no more racing the same challenges over and over again to buy top-of-the-line rides and starting from scratch again; all of the prizes are unlockable through winning the challenges.

You could say Photo Mode is for the vain. At the end of each race you can take photos of your rider while watching the replay. Or you can turn on the "Best Shot Photo" option, which automatically takes pictures for you. If you want you transfer your pics then you can via USB and print them out or do what ever you please. Some have touted this as a cool feature, but really it is more of a gimmick than anything.

The general setup of the Tourist Trophy is pretty much standard, but what does make it impressive is the look and feel. Aimed at being realistic as possible, the creators have done well to reflect the variances in speed. As you ease into corners you can see and get a sense of the bike pulling back and then leaning into the corner and gilding an inch from the ground. The feel of the bike is also reflected in the controller where you can feel the weight and the slightest bit of traction as you take the bend. The controller is very sensitive, to a point where that even the slightness nudge around a bend will see you crash out in a ball of flames.

With sensitivity comes difficulty. Tourist Trophy does take time getting use to, and for many will be very frustrating. Although most bikes look the same, most feel different. The right weight is the key. Lighter bikes seem to handle corners better, but then you sacrifice a bit of speed on the straight. Bigger bikes pick up a pace a lot quicker, but then you need to slow down and bend into the corer a lot earlier. Trial and error is the best way to learn.