Tourist Trophy

Hey! What's up guys? The big news (may not be new, I'm slightly unplugged from realtime reality, you see) is that Polyphony Digital, those computer gods who make the stunning (and seriously addictive) Gran Turismo aka GT series of PS2 driving sims have finally embraced the two-wheeled world. It's called Tourist Trophy and from what I'm reading, it powerslides and smokes the rear wheel and laps almost every other two-wheeler sim that came before it. Super news, I thought. The game was released in the US in November 2005, but it's beginning to become big news I think now. Right, so if there are no posts here, you know why. I'm off to find a copy on the shelves, then.

• Read a review here
• Read an interview with the makers here
• Visit the home page of the game here
  

The launch press release is below:

Nov. 9, 2005

GRAN TURISMO DEVELOPERS OFFER MOTORCYCLE RELEASE TO RACING GENRE WITH TOURIST TROPHY FOR PLAYSTATION®2

Based on Gran Turismo Racing Technology, New Release Aims To Raise The Bar For Motorcycle Riding Simulations

FOSTER CITY, Calif. November 9, 2005 - Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. announced today the Spring 2006 North American release of Tourist Trophy, available exclusively for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. Created by Polyphony Digital Inc., developers of Gran Turismo™ – the best-selling worldwide racing videogame franchise, Tourist Trophy offers players more than 80 licensed motorcycles to race in various game modes amongst more than 35 international courses. Featuring gameplay for up to two players,Tourist Trophy captures the fluid movement of man and machine like never before with perfected game physics and graphics for an authentic true-to-life motorcycle riding simulation. Featured licensed motorcycle manufacturers include BMW Motorrad, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, Triumph and more.

“Since the inception of Gran Turismo, it has been a labor of love for us to offer players the most authentic racing experience possible, and we are excited to build upon this foundation with our new motorcycle entry titled Tourist Trophy for PlayStation 2,” said Kazunori Yamauchi, famed creator of Gran Turismo franchise, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. “With motorcycle racing background, our development team for Tourist Trophy follows the Gran Turismo standard in realism, taking into account the various parameters of individual motorcycles, riding style, environments and how they react to the player’s moves.”

Gameplay Description / Key Features
Tourist Trophy offers two modes of play, Arcade Mode and Challenge Mode. In Arcade Mode, players have access to a quick race for single-player or two-player battle. In both modes, players have the opportunity to select their bike, track and difficulty level. In two-player battle, players have the option to race in split-screen.

For the Challenge Mode, it serves as a career mode for players to earn their way up the ladder by participating in the license school missions, various race events and more in an effort to upgrade and unlock new bikes and related accessories. The license school will include various tests that will strive to better the player’s driving skills in driving a motorcycle in various conditions and at various speeds, taking into account the rider and their riding style. Upon obtaining a license, players will have access to various race events based on engine class (250cc to 1500cc), course selection and more. In between race events, players have the opportunity to participate in a Time Trial on various courses to improve lap times and access their garage.

To further improve their racing skills, in Challenge Mode, players have access to Photo Mode, which allows them to take snapshots of their favorite bike and race gear in their favorite location, as well as freezing frames of an actual race from a replay. Upon taking a photograph, players have the opportunity to save it to a Memory Card (8MB) (for PlayStation®2) or a USB storage device and share it with friends.

With the incorporation of the motorcycle driver, players have access to a wardrobe where they can customize their rider by selecting from numerous licensed helmets, suits, shoes and more to further authenticate the riding experience.