FIM Speedway Grand Prix

First off, for those not familiar with FIM, it stands for Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme and if you haven't heard of it before, I'm sure you're in the majority. FIM Speedway Grand Prix enters a crowded market of poorly designed motorcycle racing games and unfortunately doesn't help raise the bar. Although attempts were made to create a full experience offering options like upgrading your bike, and wear and tear on parts factoring in, it's plagued with control issues, numerous annoyances, and generally boring gameplay.

Although the presentation and menus might give the impression of a solid, well-designed game, the issues with FIM Speedway Grand Prix generally start once the race starts. Be prepared for a frustrating experience, as staying on the bike is an achievement in itself. It does get easier however and after a while you might even finish a complete race assuming you didn't get disqualified for hitting the starting tape, even slightly running off the track, or falling off the bike. If any of those situations happen, even before the race starts, the race is over and you have to start a new one. In addition, apparently the FIM riders are nearly perfect drivers, as gaining on them requires a perfection level difficult to achieve with the control system offered.

Considering the gameplay issues, you might expect the graphics to be weak as well but they are at least acceptable. It's nothing that will cause much interest, but there are decent textures, the riders and motorcycles are modestly detailed, and the stadiums hold their own. The audio doesn't fair as well however and could best be described as bland. There is some crowd noise and other racing sounds but generally it doesn't impress.

FIM Speedway Grand Prix puts together a generally frustrating experience that can be mostly overcome with patience and dedication. If constantly restarting races and fighting a difficult control system doesn't sound like fun to you, you might want to pass on this one.