SBK-09 Superbike World Championship

SBK-09 is the official game of the World Superbike Championship race series. In real life, 36 fearless riders compete in 28 races on 14 circuits across 13 countries worldwide (Italy has two races - Monza and Imola) in the most exciting two wheeled competiton on the planet. And the game is no different - indeed, SBK-09 takes pride in being an almost perfect recreation of the actual race series.

So all the riders are there, from Japan's Haga who has already taken a commanding lead in the series before the game's release, to Italy's Ianuzzo, who tails the pack on points. All the bikes are there too: Ducatis, Yamahas, Kawasakis, Suzukis, BMW, Hondas and Aprilias. The tracks are accurately modelled, and include realistic details down to the pits and the umbrella girls who hang around them.

There are five single player race modes, with the ultimate challenge being to win the full SBK-09 Championship. If you get tired of competing against AI riders, there are three online multi-player modes too.

Motorcycle games can be challenging if they are too realistic: bikes are nowhere near as forgiving as cars if you overcook the approach speed, or the braking into a corner. But SBK-09 offers fully customisable physics and realism, so you can tailor the difficulty level to how much of an arcade racer or sim obsessive you are. There is even crash deformation for what developer Black Bean claims is the first time ever in a motorcycle racing game. Add to this the ability to test and tune your bike with the help of the on-track engineers, and you have the most accurate superbike racing experience next to going out there and doing the real thing.