GP Rider

Grab your helmet and leathers — it's time to play GP Rider, Sega's newest one- or two-player motorcycle racing game. And don't forget your kneepads, because this baby will have you scraping the pavement in those tight turns!

GP Rider puts you on a simulated Grand Prix racecourse astride your choice of a six-speed manual-or automatic-transmission rice rocket. You can race against a computer-controlled rider or go head-to-head with a friend.

Each race has four laps, and completing a lap within the designated time period wins you extra drive time. Long straightaways, banked turns, winding S-curves, and the dreaded hairpin turns will put all of your racing skills to the test. As in Super Monaco GP, an onscreen map of the circuit shows both your and your opponent's position, and also prepares you for what's up ahead.

The ride-on version of GP Rider simulates real motorcycle racing by requiring you to brake, shift, and actually lean left or right during each turn. Stereo sound and bright, colorful graphics add to the realism. Even a Harley-Davidson guy like myself has to give this simulation a thumbs-up. GP Rider brings Super Hang-On into the 1990s.

You get a lot of game in GP Rider for the Game Gear. The four play modes take you to dozens of tracks in scenic international locales. Your behind-the-rider view involves you right in the action as you race against 15 other riders at close to 200 mph. Easy controls enable you to weave through traffic with precision.

Look of a Winner

The graphics have some personality but also some problems. There's a great animation of your wrecked rider going airborne, your skidding bike coughs up smoke, and those faraway courses get identifiable details. Unfortunately, all the race data is at the very top of the screen, but all the action is at the very bottom. Checking your race status is a risky proposition on these twisty tracks. An on-screen course map would've also helped.

The sounds are only slightly helpful. You can hear your bike revving up, but not your competitors' bikes, so you never know who's behind you. Minor sound effects don't do justice to the major wrecks.

Great-Playing Rider

GP Rider has enough graphic variety and game play to make it a solid game. It's a high-octane thrill.

The full-throttle motorcycle action first popularized in the arcades makes a successful jump to the Game Gear this spring. With 16 riders, 15 courses, and three game modes, there's enough variation for everybody in this one- or two-player game.

Er... Are you sure that's not Hang-On?

Fans of Sega's classic arcade games Hang-On and Super Hang-On should really get a kick out of GP Rider. The graphics look almost identical to those earlier Sega racers, and lots of new things have been added to make the Game Gear version the most complete yet.

You can choose your game from four different play modes: Arcade, Tournament, Grand Prix, and World Tour. You must qualify before each race to determine your starting position - a much better option than starting dead last. You can also pick from a solid assortment of bikes, and there's even a two-player mode for you and another Game Gear-wielding friend.

Once you begin the race, the action is pure Hang-On, from the feel of the road to the design of the racers' uniforms.

GP Rider looks promising on its own, but why didn't Sega just go ahead and call it Hang-On? That's one classic series I'd like to see keep going.

Rider is a very good motorcycle game for the GG. The graphics are top-notch and are as good as some of the arcade motorcycle games. In this little gem, you get to choose four different types of ways to race. Your choices consist of Arcade (one tough course), Tournament (where you can choose the countries you wish to race in), Grand Prix (where you get to race in all the countries), and World Tour (you get to choose from four different difficulty levels to race in.) You also get a choice of three different bikes and each has ups and downs. There is a two-player option for you and your buddy if he/she has a GG too.

GP Rider is a very good motorcycle game for the GG. The graphics are top-notch and are as good as some of the arcade motorcycle games. In this little gem, you get to choose four different types of ways to race. Your choices consist of Arcade (one tough course). Tournament (where you can choose the countries you wish to race in), Grand Prix (where you get to race in all the countries), and World Tour (you get to choose tram four different difficulty levels to race in.) You also get a choice of three different bikes and each has ups and downs. There is a two-player option for you and your buddy if he/she has a GG too.

THE GOOD

The graphics are great and the game moves quickly without any real blurring on the screen.

THE BAD

You crash so often because turns come up all the time without any prior notice.

THE UGLY

Watching your rather expensive bike slide across the ground after you have crashed.