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Tour De France Review
Le Tour de France is and annual multiple stage bicycle race and definitely the most famous cycling race in the world. Tour de France is basically a time trials and at the end of the race the quickest time wins. Well know for passing through some of the most beautiful places in France and the surrounding countries, you just get that feeling that the game is going to be amazingly detailed and looking at its most beautiful… You’re wrong!
Starting with a tutorial cleverly named “Warm-Up” you’ll be thrown into the very detailed and complex gameplay mechanics. The tutorial is similar to the EA UFC franchise where you are given way too many details within a short space of time and are expected to remember it all. It sucks, but at least it’s there.
Tour De France looks absolutely appalling! I couldn’t believe my eyes as I rode alongside the French farm fields and up mountainsides because it was a true site, in an absolutely horrendous way. The surrounding areas look dull and fake, and the pop-in was horrendous and occurred at the closest range.
Tour de France is meant to be a cycling simulation game and it definitely does try hard to be just that. But it falls short in many areas. Covering all of the most detailed and important aspects of endurance cycling, Tour de France is very much for the hardcore fan. Choose your long and boring journey plans carefully if you want to truly win and get that sense of accomplishment because this game does not forgive. It’s very easy to run out of steam and hard to gain any energy back. There are boosts that you can take in order to top what you’re lacking back up, but you’re limited to just two.
The game is a total let down especially when the most important aspect of the game is ruined; the simulation. If you do find yourself getting overly puffed and unable to regain your stamina etc, you can select a team mate and take over. I thought that this made the game a little too user friendly to the maybe “non fan” and it does ruin the sim aspect greatly. I imagine that only the real fans would buy this game so give them the true experience!
You’re able to communicate with your team mates and give them instructions on how to ride and approach certain parts of a race and you do this via a radio. Bring up the riders menu and select the rider that you’d like to talk to and from here you can issue the orders, like riding hard or keep to the back to the back and creep up later… you get my drift. This is all well and good, but I don’t see how it adds anything to the game, in fact it takes you away from the race and could cost you vital seconds.
Tour de France is everything I hate in a game! It’s boring, slow-paced, looks dull and tries too hard in the wrong areas. This should have been a gorgeous looking, passionately built simulation game for the die-hard fans and instead it’s just a run of the mill game that won’t be used as anything more than an expensive drinks coaster. Tour de France fans may find some great in the game, but I failed to find enough for it to be worth a buy.
1/10
Review By wicket2961
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