Ride 3 (2018)

From a presentation standpoint, Ride 3 is outstanding. The bikes look fantastic and I love all the customization options. Unfortunately, it is lacking in terms of gameplay. With this being a video game and all, that's a bit of a problem. If you really need a bike racer then this may be the best of your very limited options, but with the harsh learning curve, lack of teaching, and uninspired game modes, there are far superior racing games on the market.

In my opinion, Milestone RIDE 3 is close to creating the perfect motorcycle racing game. In addition to a variety of motorcycles with countless customization options, I also enjoyed the different tracks a lot. I especially like the open air tracks with their many details and is a good alternative to the official race tracks, which you already know from many other racing games. Both visually and the driving feeling could be compared to its predecessor, and so RIDE 3 offers the player a very authentic gaming experience that should entertain you for a long time.

If you were expecting Ride 3 to be the perfect fusion of quality and quantity of content, then I'm afraid I've got some bad news for you: An adequate sequel that has more bugs in it than your helmet visor after a breakfast run, almost no soul to its racing spirit and the bare minimum of fun spread throughout its sporadic modes. The third time definitely isn't the charm for Ride 3.

Ride 3 is a definite improvement upon its predecessors in various domains. Of all of Milestone's recent projects, the move to Unreal Engine 4 pays off most here. The previously washed-out visuals have been replaced by something more high-fidelity, bringing it up to par with the standards of other racers of its type today. It's more polished elsewhere too, with distinctly cleaner menus, a better soundtrack and crisper on-track audio too. The title features an impressive range of different types of bike, but unfortunately, it's still difficult to discern any handling differences between bikes within the same class. It's a bit disappointing that Ride 3 doesn't step things up more in this department, but it's still a much better-tuned instalment. With not a lot of competition in sight, Ride 3 is something of a Forza-equivalent for bike racing enthusiasts, but there's still plenty of room for improvement.

I keep finding myself going back to it, every time I want to play something, and that`s the impact that all in all, Ride 3 has had.