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As the sun slowly rises over the race track it's time, once more, to take up the challenge of the racing circuit. You awake after a hard night of celebration your last success in traditional style, and realise you have but a few minutes to whip over to the garage and pick up your bike. Luckily time allows you to respray your bike -- now what shall it be? A subtle green? A shocking pink? A putrid purple?

Whatever colour you choose, you will most certainly need a new set of leathers to match, or clash, which ever suits you best. Once kitted out with your newly resprayed bike and shiny leathers, you can take your place on the track, ready to race.

Having selected one of the three levels of play the countdown begins, the starter waves his flag, and you're off . . .

The screen is split between the playing area -- which shows your bike, the track and competitors -- and an illustration of the dashboard which indicates your speed, rev counter and gear. The gears are represented by three lights in the centre of the dashboard. When a gear has been selected, the light turns from blue to yellow.

The first track is a fairly simple one with its fair share of curves and obstacles. Whizzing round at the maximum speed of 140 mph isn't too difficult and so leads you quickly onto the desert circuit. This track is lined with cacti -- colliding with these causes a nasty blow-out and costs valuable time. However, if you do manage to complete this track you have a chance to boost your score on the first bonus track.

The bonus tracks are basically normal tracks, but scattered along them are various flags which flap quite happily in the wind until you run over them, toting up your score as you do so.

Each track is played against the clock, so no matter how many times you crash it is still possible to win, so long as you finish the circuit in time.

The tracks increase with difficulty as you progress. Oil spillages, puddles, ice and cones cause hazards, especially when on the bridge circuit which spans a river.

Me, I'm no biker -- give me four wheels and some bodywork around me any day, and you can see why. The times I've ended up base over apex in this game. But for sheer adrenalin pumping, this game takes some beating. After a record breaking run on level 3 (he he he) I come away from the game feeling a physical wreck. As if that wasn't enough, all the little details are beautifully done: the flag at the start, the road obstructions, even the way the back of the bike bounces up and down when riding down the hard shoulder. Go for Revs if you want a simulator, but for sheer exhilaration and excitement, go for Super Cycle -- it's unbeatable.

Presentation 92%
Concise instructions and many neat options with a huge hi-score table.

Graphics 93%
The bikers are well defined and clear, and the 3D effect of the track and obstacles is excellent.

Sound 85%
Nice title screen ditty and racy FX.

Hookability 96%
Instantly exhilarating and addictive.

Lastability 94%
Ten race tracks and three skill levels to keep you racing for many months to come.

Value For Money 92%
Plenty of long term challenge for your money.

Overall 95%
An outstanding race game -- the best to date.

Super Cycle is a linear motorcycle racing game, where the driver has to reach the finish line in a certain time in each level. Apparently, the game was inspired by the amusement arcade successes Out Run and "Hang-On", but in the end it plays rather like Pit Stop or Pole Position. Before the start you can choose the colour and the design of your leather jacket and your bike. During the race itself you fight with your three gear vehicle against centrifugal forces and other motorcycles. If you touch the opponents only slightly, this has no effect except for a short dangling. But if you crash with high speed into another driver from behind, the own driver will fall, the motorcycle explodes and you have to speed up anew. In the first levels the street can be used in its full width and is cleared examplarily. In the later levels potholes (which look more like molehills), oil, water and ice puddles as well as barriers are added as diffculties. Other than in e.g. "Out Run" the driver stays behind the finish line and the race is restarted in the new level. Every three level there is a bonus level, where you can collect points by driving over flags.


Graphics: The grahpics is very fast, with maximum speed a good feeling fo the speed arises. The motorcycles are designed nicely and lean chic into the curve. The background to the left and right is quite monotonous as usual in this genre, but at least the usual mountain sceen with clouds or - depending on the level - a skyline or something similar scrolls at the horizon. In one of the last levels something unexpected happens with the landscape, but more cannot be revealed here (spoiler alarm!). The race itself takes place on half of the screen, the lower half is used for displaying the rev meter, the gear and the tachometer, below that you see the time that is left and the current score. A small graphical highlight is the flag of the starter.
Sound: In the race itself a monotonous motor sound gets on one's nerves, but the nice title music and the music in the menues compensate for this.
Highscore list: A highlight is the highscore list, which can keep 99 !! entries and is also saved on disk.