The rag doll tumbles, twists in the air, a whim to the spin of action, a victim of the circumstances. The only problem is that that rag doll represents you.

Suzuki Alstare Extreme Racing – from Criterion Studios, RenderWare and Ubi Soft – is a motorcycle racing game that pushes the limits of racing action, combines it with awesome graphics and teaches the difference between acceleration and brake through a harrowing maze of courses.

This program features the thrills and chills of high-speed spills. The first reaction to seeing a rider tumble, splat against rock walls, or twist away over the cliff’s edge or into the trees was breath-taking.

This program features some the best racing graphics of the year. Counter that with some elements that disappear during the course of the racing action. The lap counter, placement or even the course map does sometimes experience graphic dropout. Other than that, you are strapped in to a four-camera shot of high-speed action.

You can enter the game by selecting your path to certain extermination. Racing as a single entity or in the main game, which will run you through several levels, courses and ability levels – only letting you advance to the next action on your score – you are treated to race bikes which reach speeds in excess of 240 miles per hour. Select from one of four camera angles. You can choose biker’s view, which tilts appropriately for the turns, or go from back bumper to two distance views beyond the bumper. Each is intriguing and challenging. You can only advance along the path, from the original three tracks, by successfully completing the challenge and finishing in the top position.

From desert pavement, to tropical sand, mountain ice-covered snake paths to orchard paths and city streets, the tracks are varied and will entreat and force you to configure your bike for each track. Compete with computer opponents, or in a head-to-head competition using different controllers on the same system, this is thrill ride.

Again, and it bears repeating, this program features some of the most spectacular crashes seen in a driving sim. Your rider will leave the bike at excessive speeds, slam into a wall, or bounce across the terrain to hit a solid object with a resounding thud that will make you wince.

That’s gotta hurt – bad!

The audio elements are a terrific blend of metal scraping asphalt, and the roar of bikes revving on high speed or braking to adjust for hairpin turns

Controls are accessed by a variety of DirectInput devices, such as keyboard, joystick, game pad or steering wheel. You can even configure your machine for automatic or manual transmission. As you progress, you can go beyond simply manipulating speed versus steering versus brake action of your machine.

The options package does seem a little bit tighter than the steering of this machine, but still is satisfying.

Suzuki Alstare Extreme Racing is the best motorcycle racing game since the Superbike title from EA SPORTS™. This game has it all, high-end graphics, sweet sound and extreme thrills, plus course-challenging action.

Tested with several novice gamers, this product scored big in the thrills department. Girls and boys, from 12-year olds, to an older age group thought this game was amazing graphically. Yep, Ubi Soft and cohorts have delivered a program that, though it may not deliver on the force feedback front, still manages to swipe breath away from gamers and furrow brows in concentration.

This program is rated for Everyone, but does not support multi-player action beyond splitting controls on a single machine.

Install: Medium. Though this program eats up a relatively small amount of hard drive space, the install takes some time. However, from the moment you launch a game until the moment you are in the driver’s seat takes a small amount of time, making this a quick turnaround.

Gameplay: 9. The track layouts and racing action are seamless. There is a bit of delay between one track and the next, but it is incidental.

Graphics: 9. This program features some the best graphics seen in a racing game, though there is some break-up in extraneous graphical elements.

Sound: 8.5. From the incidental scrape of hard iron against the pavement, to the revving of the engines, the audio element is solid and realistic.

Difficulty: 8.5. Driving the bike is not a difficult task if you have the proper input device. However, adjusting the motorcycle for the right track proves a tough task, and the course gets tougher as you advance in the game.

Concept: 7.5. This program takes extreme racing a lot farther than even Superbike 2000 from EA SPORTS™.

Overall: 9. This is a terrific racing game that fully involves players in the action. Suitable for any age group, this will delight any racing fan.