TT Isle of Man – Ride on the Edge 2 – Nintendo Switch Review

TT Isle of Man – Ride on the Edge 2 – Nintendo Switch

Release: January 1, 1970
Publisher:
Developer:
Genre: Racing, Switch Reviews
PEGI:
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Earlier this year, our own Kevin Austin reviewed TT Isle of Man – Ride on the Edge 2 on the Xbox One. We will be sharing many of his same opinions in this review, with a heavier focus on the Nintendo Switch differences in this title. If you want to read his entire review, feel free to click on the link above! For my own part, I’m not generally big into racing games, especially those that involve a bike. But over my 15 or so hours of play, I found TT Isle of Man a fantastic experience that I’m sure to come back to time and time again.

The game premise is pretty easy as it’s structured in a Time Trial format as mentioned above, so no real pressure to be the first one to cross that finish line. Your objective is to have the best time as possible, and try not to fall off your bike. As you compete in practice sessions and various races you of course, in standard game format, unlock more money to upgrade, enhance and customize your bike and crew. There is a pretty good depth to this mechanic with a lot to choose from and even “classic” bikes you can unlock to take to the track.

The expanded career mode, as well as the classic bikes addition mentioned above, give a little more reason to keep coming back to and finding other ways to enjoy this game. By all accounts, the lack of great content or much of a career mode at all, plague the initial Isle of Man title, so seeing this here is a welcome change. There is also a free roam track where you can take the various bikes out and have fun however you see fit, or practice to nail down those tight turns. It’s a big like a Forza Horizon game when you venture out into free roam, but on a much smaller scale. The potential for this mode is humongous, but unfortunately it feels like something the company might use at a trades show to show off the game, rather than a mode that anyone will spend much time in.

One of the things that always made me cringe while watching bike racing in real life is how they take turns, keeping their knee inches away from the ground. TT Isle of Man gets this perfectly and gave me the same anxiety while playing. When controlling the bike, you are always seconds away from eating asphalt. Just like in real life, if you are going 100 mph on a bike and you hit or brush up against a different surface, you will come off your bike. You can tell they spent a lot of time researching and testing crash physics in this game as they are legit and brutal. Oh yeah, in case you were wondering, this game is HARD.

From start to finish, there is no shortage of content in TT Isle of Man, which is great for bike enthusaists, and those looking to jump into the genre for the first time. TT is one of the more accessible biking games currently available on console, giving players tons of control over various aspects of their bike, and the races themselves. For my part, I’m not sure I’ll ever disable the lane assist! But the accessibility of TT Isle of Man made getting into the game – despite my skepticism – much easier, and made my attempt to play a franchise I might normally have never touched. That’s a big win for the development team, worthy of a few review points just on its own. When games are accessible, I’m a happy man!

But the game also rewards learning and chance taking. While things get harder as you turn of assists and up the difficulty, there are also bigger rewards to be one for doing so. And the rewards are incredibly tempting, making me often thing long and hard before upping that difficulty for extra rewards. Sure, I might not be ready for it, but..what if?

When comparing the Xbox One and Nintendo Switch versions of the game, the reality is that there isn’t a comparison. While things look outstanding on Xbox One – and I’ll guess PS4 was well – the game just takes an overall hit in presentation on the Nintendo Switch. To be fair, this is of no fault to the publishing team, who maximized where they could based on the hardware provided. But if you are looking for that ultimate experience, and have the ability to play on Xbox One or PlayStation 4, there really isn’t much of a reason to grab this title over on Nintendo’s flagship console.

If you are looking for fun on the go, however, then of course the Nintendo Switch is the way to go. In my busy life, and busy home, I’m playing handled on my Switch over 80% of the time, and a game like TT Isle of Man might never get played if it wasn’t for off TV support. I can accept the downgrade in performance and visuals if it provides me great flexability of when I can play. and in that way, this is a major hit for me, and my family, on Nintendo Switch.

A copy of this game was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.