PGR does bikes!

Two wheels better than four? There's only one way to find out...

We can finally confirm one of the worst kept secrets in recent videogame history... you'll be able to race motorbikes in PGR4! The game will feature both cars and bikes on the same track at the same time, with unique "Gotham style" handling. One thing's for sure: this isn't bikes as you've seen them before...

Of course, this brings a massive new dimension to PGR racing. Not only do we have the dynamic weather system to mix it up, but now you'll have two wheeled machines to master. Even the familiar circuits (London, Vegas, NYC, Tokyo, and the 'Ring) will now be untested territory when you're experiencing them first time on a bike. Expect it to feel a lot different to what you're used to, but not in a bad way!

There are two big areas we've tried to hammer home with the PGR4 representation of bikes. The first is sheer detail. Our bikes are just as detailed as our cars were in PGR3, including working clocks, moving chains, throttle/clutch levers, and of course an animated rider with a healthy dose of attitude!

The second big thing is Fun, with a capital F. This sounds obvious, but when's the last time you rode bikes in a video game and didn't struggle with the handling? PGR4 aims to rectify this, and take it even further. Not only will you be able to wheelie and endo as you might expect, but you can powerslide too. You earn special bike-specific Kudos for doing this, meaning that it suddenly makes sense to get your front wheel in the air on a long straight.

Not only that, but you'll earn Kudos for using the new "Stunt button". Hitting this one will do some crazy move (like the one shown above), earning you Kudos and showing your opponents who's boss. Adding this to the normal animations of the driver, like stretching his hands out on straights, dragging his knee around corners, and wiggling his butt back into position after leaning into a hairpin, and you've suddenly got a vehicle which is easy to pick up, extremely exciting, and incredibly fun to ride!

Controversy

We know the decision to bring bikes into the fold will be a controversial one. We've already heard both sides of the story internally! Some have said they love the fact that they'll be able to get on bikes and earn Kudos in a whole new way. Others are the opposite, and are die hard car only drivers. There's definitely a certain status which videogame bikes are usually branded with, and we're trying to defy the convention and bring some new ideas to the table.

PGR4 won't force you to ride bikes if you don't want to. Cars are still a massive part of the game (there are actually still more cars included than there are bikes), and the career mode is open enough to allow you to use either if you choose. That said, we expect 99% of players to take the bikes out just as frequently as the cars!

Which is better?

Cars Vs Bikes? I know other games have tackled this issue, but personally I've never found a game in which I've felt the two vehicle types handle sufficiently different enough to one another. Either the bikes are a pig to drive, or they just feel like cars with a smaller frame. This was one of the biggest challenges facing our dynamics team: how do we make riding a bike a totally different experience, whilst still being fun and (most importantly) equal to cars?

You won't find our bikes are drastically better or worse than a car of equivalent class. In fact, we've bundled both cars and bikes into the same vehicle class in the game, so you can be confident that if you're driving a Class A supercar and they're in a Class A motorcycle you're in for a tough race. Sometimes the bike is better, and other times the car will whip it. It really depends on the track, and your skill with either vehicle type.

Generally you'll find that bikes have faster acceleration than their four wheeled equivalents, but they don't take tight hairpins nearly as easily as cars do. Any experienced Gotham driver knows that when you're racing in a fast car, you can throw the vehicle sideways into hairpins and rely on the traction of tyres against tarmac to slow you down. If you clip the barrier it's not such a big deal... you might lose a few seconds but at least you'll be facing the right direction.

Bikes don't have that advantage. If you bash the barrier hard, you'll fly. However, we have created a "Hollywood" style race experience which means that bikes can fight and tussle with the cars for position, and hit barriers quite hard before falling off. You're always going to have to think about that one heavy collision which might take you out, even though you're smaller and more nimble than the cars on track. Experienced PGR players will need to make some adjustments to their style to get the most out of bikes. Expect to have to take corners wide and sweeping, and rely on the superior acceleration out of hairpins to push you back up to the front of the pack.

So what happens when a car rams a bike? Surely the dude surrounded by four walls of steel is at an advantage here? Well, in real-life yes... but this is PGR and we're all about fun. Internally our codeword is "Hollywood" when we talk about car-on-bike collisions. Where's the fun if you go flying off your ride every time the guy in the Ferrari clips you? In PGR4, the bike will scrape and judder against the car bodywork in tough corners, just like in car-on-car collisions. However, if you crash hard into a barrier on a bike then expect to taste the tarmac. Generally the rule is: if it's your fault then you'll come off. If it's not, you won't.

Vehicle selection

As you might have read, our focus this time around is "iconic". These vehicles are in the game because they have achieved something special or are recognized for some reason. There are no standard vehicles in PGR4; these are all prize winners, best of breed, or popular icons.

The same goes for the bikes. You won't see any boring scooters; all of these are recognised and/or widely acclaimed. It's worth pointing out that they're not just the fastest of the fast... these motorcycles go from slower rides right up to bleeding edge superbikes.

Let's see it then...

We'll be showcasing part three of our sneak peek video series in the next week or two... as soon as we get the go-ahead from MS. In this you'll not only see motorbikes showcased, but a city brand new to the PGR series: Macau, China. Famous for its motorcycle racing, it's a natural selection for inclusion in PGR4. More on Macau and bikes in general in the next few weeks. In the meantime, we hope you'll enjoy these new screenshots exclusive to BizarreCreations.com (and you guys say we don't give you anything!).