When it comes to racing in video games, we tend to think of the car based classics like Need for Speed, Ridge Racer, and TOCA Race Driver before we think of the bike based racers, which seem to be overshadowed by the arcade car racer as they are usually a far more technical, "simulation" style game if you will, that appeals more to the bike enthusiasts than casual gamer. With SBK-07: Superbike World Championship on the PS2 however, developers BlackBean Games are hoping to change this while still maintaining a high level of appeal for the enthusiasts, and they've done a mighty good job of it too.

SBK-07: Superbike World Championship is a fully licensed game for the Superbike World Championship featuring real riders like Toseland, Bayliss and Biaggi, as well as the official track list for the 2007 racing season, so right off the bat it is clear that SBK-07 is aiming for the fans of the real world championship with its official content. To best experience said official content, the game offers a Championship mode, however this is really one of the game's few disappointments as it isn't nearly as fleshed out as it could have been - you basically just choose a rider, make adjustments to your bike settings if you wish, go through the various stages of a race weekend and then move on to the next track/weekend. Some sort of career mode here would have definitely been ideal, but the mode is still quite enjoyable as it is.

If you just want some pickup-n-play racing, the obligatory "Quick Race" and "Time Attack" modes are present, as well as a "Race Weekend" mode, allowing you to experience a full race weekend outside of the Championship mode, and a "Challenges" mode, which is exactly what it sounds like - a mode offering various unique challenges such as skidding, acceleration tests and picking up and winning races in specific scenarios. Also available is a "Multiplayer" mode, which allows for up to two players on the same machine to race via a split screen. Finally, rounding off the main menu game modes is an "Extra" sub-menu, which showcases items that you have unlocked, such as cheat codes, photos of "Umbrella Models", and videos. These are unlocked by obtaining either Black, Red or Gold cards, which are given when you meet certain criteria, such as finishing on the podium in Race Weekend or Championship modes, or beating inbuilt "staff" ghosts around tracks.

Also on the main menu and accessible before you get into the action in most modes is an "Options" menu, and this is where the first impression of the game's versatility really shines through. Here you can not only toggle between a "Arcade" and "Simulation" pre-set profile, but there is also an absolute bevy of other much more specific set of options available that influence the in-game riding difficulty, ranging from braking and weight assist options to whether you have realistic inertia or tyre wear. You can even enable rider health, which means any spill could potentially result in a race ending injury.

There are so many options available here and so many possible custom setting combinations that I think the perfect configuration for any enthusiast will be possible to achieve, if you have the patience to play around a bit anyway. For those brave enough, the game's absolute maximum realistic settings should offer a real challenge because let me assure you, the physics and 'feel' on offer when you take a full dose of reality in this game are unbelievably hard to master and should please the hardcore enthusiasts out there immensely - it's just a shame there is no official training mode so you can master it in a more appropriate environment than a full on race. Outside of the level of detail attributed to game options, the game also offers the ability to define bike specific settings just before races in areas you'd expect of a bike racing game, such as the type of tyre for the rear and front, suspension settings, a weight setting, and a few more. This is probably an area where the game could have seen a bit more detail but what's on offer will more than likely be adequate for the majority of gamers.

For the casual gamer who does not consider themselves overly in tune with the Superbike scene, the stock standard Arcade mode setting is basically as easy as the game can get, and coupled with the ability to define the CPU rider difficulty in three stages accessible from another pre-race menu, just about anyone should be able to jump on the Dualshock 2 controller and start racing with SBK-07. Once you get the hang of the game's mechanics, you can bump up the CPU difficulty while not disturbing the Arcade feel to create a good balance of challenge and fun.

The only concern I have with the game in this regard is the fact the CPU riders still race very realistically even when you're on Arcade settings. This is a problem because on the arcade settings you can basically go nuts when it comes to heavy late braking but the CPU riders will continue to approach corners realistically like tyre wear was a factor, which means anyone not overly skilled in this area (like me) could create a lot of collisions (like I did)  approaching corners due to CPU riders stopping suddenly ahead of you well before you thought it was necessary to slow down. In fact, even with the ultra realistic settings considered, I reckon the hardest part about SBK-07 is trying to avoid contact as even on the game's easiest settings it would take a reasonably advanced feel for the game and knowledge for the motorsport to mimic the realistic riding necessary to avoid excessive collisions, by which time you'd probably be playing on Simulation anyway. On the other hand though, I guess creating crashes is half the fun for casual Arcade mode gamers so it isn't a huge issue, just a minor annoyance for those who would like to play semi-seriously without going all out.

Speaking of crashes and other significant events in any given race such as impressive overtakes and passes, SBK-07 has a very nifty highlight segment after each race which condenses the action into a TV style video reel going for about a minute or so. This wouldn't seem like that cool of a feature for most other recent consoles these days, but the PS2 by default lacks a HDD which has prevented most developers of sports and racing games in the past from implementing highlights in their PS2 games so the fact that SBK-07 can do it is pretty cool. It doesn't add a whole lot to the experience from a practical standpoint, but it certainly adds to the overall presentation of the game.

When it comes to the controls, the game again fairs very well by adopting a full analog system by default - meaning steering is analog with the left thumb stick, and acceleration/braking is analog with the right thumb stick. This is necessary as controlling your throttle and not simply flooring it is vital for a good clean race even on the easy settings, which the right analog stick allows for very nicely. For a PS2, the graphics are about what you would expect with most detail going to the bikes and riders, but the environments aren't too shabby either, particularly the tracks themselves which are well done in all regards. There is absolutely no frame rate skipping or pop up to speak of, and considering there are 22 total bikes in any given race often in close vicinity, this is quite an impressive feat on the PS2 hardware. Audio wise there are no surprises to be had as replicating bike sounds isn't exactly rocket science although it must be noted that no commentary is present at all, which can be either a good or bad thing depending on what you prefer. Personally, I don't mind a voice over even if it is a little repetitive particularly in a game like SBK-07 which otherwise does a pretty good job capturing that TV broadcast feel, but it's not really something you think about after a while.

SBK-07 is proof that, first of all, the PS2 can still feature some enjoyable racing gameplay, but more importantly, that the bike genre of racing can be at least semi "pickup-n-play" without limiting the other end of the spectrum; the hardcore enthusiasts looking for a realistic challenge. While it isn't a completely fleshed out experience, the gameplay on offer is solid to great, and the fun factor is right up there with the best of the bike racing genre. It's not quite what I would call a game for everyone as I think some pre-existing interest for the Superbike World Championship or just bike racing in general is required, but for those who are even just half interested and are still gaming on their PS2, you really can't go wrong with SBK-07. Luckily, for those without a PS2 or PSP, we should be seeing this gem later in the year on the 360 and PC.