Mounting Bike Simulator Will Take You For a Wild, Muddy Ride
Mounting Bike: Simulator ($1.99) by COMBOAPP is a questionably named app that is more of a game than an actual simulator. But, in the end it delivers what is promised, while providing some fun along the way. It features 3D graphics, accelerometer controls and OpenFeint integration.
Looking through extreme sports style goggles, you make your way down narrow terrain avoiding obstacles and using wooden planks to help you get over rocks and other objects. One twist to the game; if you hit a mud puddle, it will splash your goggles, and you'll have to wipe the screen to remove the mud to see where you are going.
The controls are touch and go in the beginning, but with some practice they seem to improve. A handbrake is provided on the left side of the screen to slow down, and pedals on the right to speed up, but I didn’t use them much.
The grungy menus make the game feel more extreme than it actually is, and the graphics are good but not great. There are five different terrains to choose from, and each terrain adds five levels. Within each level there are three difficulty settings to choose from. It is recommended that you spend substantial time on the slow incline before moving higher, though to unlock other terrains you have to collect a specific number of stars which are only collectible on the harder difficulties.
Levels unfold with little variety, and you may be wishing that you had the ability to choose to go left or right now and again as this game is very linear. It would also be nice to catch some air every once in a while as this is an "extreme" application. Hopefully these features and others will be included in future updates.
Still, Mounting Bike: Simulator can be a great ride if you give it some love. It initially started at a price of $1.99, but is now a more agreeable $0.99 which is worth what you will get. If this looks interesting, grab it and you probably won’t be disappointed.
