Bike or Die

Reviews

Did you ever want to do a double back flip on your old mountain bike? How about defying physics and hanging from a ledge by your back tire. If so your in luck because I’ve got just the game for you.

Bike or Die is a great biking game based on a wonderful physics engine that allows you to do some pretty cool things including some things that aren’t even possible in real life. Even though Bike or Die is really just a palm game it is so much fun that it is still one of the Zodiac’s best titles.

Bike or Die’s graphics are rather basic which is to be suspected from a standard palm game. Fortunately graphics are not what make a game which Bike or Die definitely proves. The fact that the bike rider is a stick figure is a great example of how simple the graphics are. There is very little scenery in most of the levels, but there are a few bitmaps in some of the levels. The animation is very good. Including flying dirt when you hit the brakes, rotating wheels, and very dramatic deaths which send the rider, bike, and blood flying. In fact dying can often be rather entertaining.

The sound in Bike or Die is very realistic. The sounds of the accelerating bike and brakes are very good. The grunts of the rider when he leans forward or backward also add a little bit of feedback from the game. The rider also exclaims yeah or wow after doing several flips. You’ll also here the rider or bike hit the ground or a wall as well as the rider’s groans as he dies. There is also an in game option to play background music(mp3‘s stored on your zodiac). While this has obvious benefits it slows down gameplay and forces you to turn down the graphics quality to make the game play as smooth as usual.

The default controls in Bike or Die may seem somewhat weird at first but quickly become very easy to use. The right shoulder button accelerates your bike, while the left acts as the brakes. The red action button makes the rider lean left. The yellow makes him lean right. The rider changes direction when you push the blue action button. A map of the level is displayed when the green button is pressed and the function button pauses the game. The analog stick lets you look in front, behind, below, above or just about anywhere around your bike. I find these controls to be very good, but if you don’t like them they are completely user configurable.

Bike or Die is unlike most games in that it doesn’t have a main menu. Instead all options are accessible through the standard palm drop down menu. Among the more important options are the configurable controls and graphics options. You can control the level of the graphics in many ways including making the terrain simply an outline, solid, or textured. You can also decide whether or not you want dirt and blood to fly. There is also an option to play music as I mentioned earlier. There is of course a level selection option, which allows you to search through all of the level packs you have installed (read further for more info) and choose any levels you have beaten as well as the two after the last level you were able to beat in that particular level pack.

Possibly the best thing about Bike or Die is that they are nearly an endless amount of levels available and more are being made everyday. This is possible due to a free level editor entitled Bike or Design and the popularity of the game. Bike or Design is extremely easy to use and you can make your first Bike or Die level in a matter of seconds. Of course if you want to make it more interesting than riding on flat terrain it will take several minutes to hours.

The built-in levels are very good. They start out really easy and progress to become much more difficult. When compared to a lot of user levels they aren’t that difficult, but they are still very challenging. The first two levels teach you how to play the game and explain the objective as well as pointing out some of the more dangerous obstacles.

The object of Bike or Die is too guide your biker through the level picking up checkpoint flags (the red ones) and then finally picking up the finishing flag (the checkered one). You must complete this goal without having the rider hit any terrain or he will most certainly be knocked off the bike and die. You must also make sure that you don’t jump too far or fall too long as this may also cause the demise of your rider. Unfortunately there are also obstacles that cause the rider to die if either he or the bike come in contact with them.

Another cool thing about Bike or Die is that you can upload your times to the internet and see how you stack up against other Bike or Die players around the world by visiting http://bike.toyspring.com. You can also upload videos of your rides which are saved every time you complete a level (you can also choose to save the video of your last ride after you die). You can then enter a video into the freestyle competition and see if anyone votes for your ride. You can also vote for others that you think are deserving.

Overall Bike or Die is a great game despite its simple graphics. Its gameplay is fun and it never seems to grow old. User levels which are often available for free make the number of levels nearly endless. It is great for short bursts, but you won’t get bored if you play an entire level pack in one sitting either. For just $14.95 it is nearly a must buy.