December 17, 1999
Web posted at: 3:59 p.m. EST (2059 GMT)

(CNN) -- It seems like everything is extreme these days. Any sport that has the slightest amount of danger involved is automatically dubbed an extreme sport. While superbike racing may indeed be extreme, "Suzuki Alstare Extreme Racing" from Ubi Soft hardly deserves such a daring moniker.

From the cover of the game you might assume that this game is a difficult road racing simulation. That couldn't be farther from the truth. "Suzuki Alstare Extreme Racing" is all about arcade-style competition, with little basis in reality.

The bikes you control are well rendered, if a little exaggerated, with a huge, tough looking rear tire. Controlling those bikes is simple enough even though the controls feel quite touchy at first. The slightest push on the analog stick will cause the rider to lean almost all the way over. Despite that, the bikes handle well and are very forgiving. The only way you will cause a crash is if you hit something head on.

Speaking of accidents, this game has some very cool, even funny, crash animations. When you hit something head on, your rider will fly about 100 feet looking like a wannabe Superman. Miraculously, he is back on the bike in less than a second and you're off again.

The courses are colorful and beautifully designed with nice textures and some great lighting effects. In addition, the game moves along at a very nice frame rate giving it a very smooth look and a fine sense of speed. The lens flare is a little overused but that isn’t a problem unless you are heading directly into the sun. The 12 courses available to race are fictional and range from a sandy stretch of beach to the winding roads surrounding a quaint mountain town.

As the cover would imply, "Suzuki Alstare Extreme Racing" features, you guessed it, lots of Suzuki motorcycles to try out. You are given one to start out with and will earn more bikes to ride as you win races. Single race and championship modes are available at the start with a reverse mode that can be unlocked later in the game.

Even with a lot of great attributes supporting it, "Suzuki Alstare Extreme Racing" still leaves a lot to be desired. It offers a fun diversion for a while but ultimately fails to satisfy due to a lack of depth. It could have been a good simulation if the handling and the courses were more realistic. Conversely, it could have been a good arcade game with bigger jumps and maybe some cool power ups scattered along the course. Rent this one if you can and enjoy what it has to offer, however fleeting that may be.