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Le Tour De France Review
Chris Leyton
00/12/0000
Le Tour De France is perhaps the only cycling game out there, but does that make it worthy of a purchase? Read on to find out...
āHow did I end up with this oneā, was my first impressions when Le Tour De France arrived on my desk for review. I have a strong liking for sports titles, but cycling, I mean how can you make an exciting game out of long and monotonous racing? Well it seems Konami have nearly done the unthinkable and produced the first solid cycling title.
Le Tour De France, for those not in the know, is without doubt the biggest competition in the cycling calendar. The event takes place across several different regions throughout France; the winning formula is often a mixture of stamina and strategy as most of the stages take place throughout Franceās mountainous regions, taxing even the fittest of cycling professionals.
Thankfully the game accurately portrays both of these aspects admirably, this isnāt a button bashing shallow racer, instead youāll have to think carefully about the varying tactics youāll employ and keep a careful eye on your stamina gauge.
The main game is focussed around the titular Le Tour De France mode, here players create a character and are presented with a calendar highlighting key events and races. Players have a number of choices in between the key races, ranging from training your character to competing in local races to raise your official ranking and to earn some much needed cash with which to improve your bike and its various components.
Thereās a lot of depth to the management options, which conveys the level youād need in the real-life event, races are definitely won and loss depending on the decisions you make here. The cycling enthusiasts will love the scope available, however those who have little or no interest will be put off by the level of attention youāll need to pay to these aspects.
On to the actual races and things continued to impress me, the races require you to carefully plan each race; where to conserve your stamina, where to peak, when to use your essential energy drinks, etcā¦ The races usually involve 32 opponents, and the trick to winning involves clutching up in a pack to shield yourself away from the wind and conserve your stamina.
The control system is nicely thought out; rapidly pressing the X button will make your rider pedal faster yet deplete his stamina gauge quickly, holding onto the X button will restrict your pace to the current speed allowing you to conserve some stamina and stay in touch with the pack. Youāll have a limited amount of vital energy drinks, which can be used by pressing the triangle button to top up your stamina when youāre running low. Konami seem to have accurately captured the feeling of cycling through the control system, it doesnāt just feel like a slowed down motorcycle game, instead bikes bend into corners and brake like youād expect. My only criticism with the controls are that there is only one brake button, the game pays so much attention to the finer points that make it all the more surprising that there arenāt two brake buttons, surely this would have topped of the level of detail and depth that cycling enthusiast would want. On the whole however, thereās no concerns with the way the game plays, in fact itās quite surprising at how well it does convey the sport.
After awhile and with sufficient training and upgrades youāll begin to push for the top places and eventually earn some recognition in the world rankings. The next stage is taking part in the gruelling Tour De France events, here the competitor count notches up to 149, so youāll have to ensure your character is up to scratch. Unfortunately the problems begin to surface once youāve reached this point. Firstly the Tour De France races take place over the same courses as the drab local races, it would have been nice to have seen some difference between the two besides the increased competitor count, as this is what youāve put all that hard training in for, it all seems slightly anti-climatic. Elsewhere thereās a critical flaw in regards to the position you finish and the position you start the next event in, no matter what position you finish the previous stage in, youāll start the next one at the back of the pack. Instead youāre given points based on your performance which then affect your overall position, itās certainly knocks your morale as you come to terms with the fact that that yellow jersey is so far away from your reach.
The biggest complaint is the visuals however; Iād be complimenting them by calling them first-generation, with the unbelievable lack of detail or definition in the textures youād be forgiven for thinking that youāre playing a PSOne title and not a game released amidst third-generation Playstation2 titles. Itās a real shame as some nice environments across picturesque France would have really added to the experience, and heightened the level of immersion and captivation, just take one close look at the spectators by the roadside and youāll see what we mean. On the plus side the riders animation is quite good, the frame-rate on the whole stays smooth, and thereās a neat motion blur effect when you run out of stamina, but really this is one of the worst looking title Iāve ever seen on the PS2.
Elsewhere the game has a number of different modes ranging from arcade to multiplayer, however this isnāt the type of game youād pick up for fun with your mates after the pub.
