An odd thing about this, even if the transmission is set to automatic, you still need to shift from neutral to first. The transmission can be either automatic or manual. In addition to the standard controls, you can also change the viewpoint from several behind-the-bike points to a first-person view. I would very HIGHLY recommend using an analog controller with this game or you will likely be quite disappointed in the control. EA also did a real good job with the shock coming into play when riding off-road. I particularly liked how the left stick turns the handlebars while the right stick acts as the throttle and brake. I then used a dual analog shock controller and WOW, what a difference! With the analog controls, the bike responded exactly as I wanted it to (or as it should if I brake too hard or turn too fast). For instance, I tried playing this with the original digital controllers and had an incredibly difficult time taking turns and juggling the throttle and brakes efficiently. This can be quite subjective based on what type of controller you have. As you may have guessed by now, the controls are also not the easiest to get the hang of. I found the learning curve for each track tended to be longer than other race games as I really had to find a good mix of throttle and braking to keep in the race. Fortunately, there are help arrows available that can point you in the right direction until you get used to a track. It’s entirely up to you to determine the sharpness of the turn and how fast you should take it (assuming you don’t have braking or steering assist enabled). Again, the game’s "simulation" face comes into play, as this racing game does not show a map on-screen of the track while you’re racing (or anywhere else). There are fourteen tracks total to race around in either a training session, practice session, single race, or a complete championship. Unlike many racing games, you have the ability to save these settings for all tracks or each individual track, which is handy, assuming you like to do this type of thing. Like many racing games these days, this one also allows you to set up gear ratios and tire settings for your bike. Mind you, it is quite possible to dismount, but it seems as if you have to hit something pretty hard before you will. As well as the realism is handled in this game I found that all the riders, including my own, seem to be glued to their seats even as I hit some walls (and bikes) hard enough to throw the rider, everyone managed to stay on their bikes. I found that the computer controlled riders tend to ride quite well at all difficulty levels so don’t get your heart set on lapping everyone on the easiest skill level.
The difficulty of your opponents is based on which skill level you choose. The sixth (and hardest) setting makes you play a real no-rules bent race complete with penalties and potential disqualification with no adjustable options. Although the six pre-defined skill levels automatically set these for you, the lowest five allow you to tweak the settings to set how realistic (or unrealistic) you want the race, physics, and bike handling to be. There are many available settings including braking assist, steering assist, help arrows (for upcoming turns), tire wear, wheelies, and damage. Fortunately, there is a broad range of skill levels ranging from "I got training wheels" to "Wanna drag race the space shuttle?" and everything in between. The physics and handling of the bike feel fairly realistic which, of course, will make the game harder to get the hang of. In fact, if you are looking for an arcade racer, look elsewhere. This game appears to be designed with more of a simulation feel rather than an arcade-racing feel.