Reviews// American Chopper

When we first heard the name ‘American Chopper’ we giggled incessantly for several minutes. But when we first heard news of Activision's acquisition of the Discovery channel license the laughter subsided and was replaced by intrigue. Video game adaptations of informative documentaries are not things we're used to seeing, and the unexplored potential of this approach had us unduly excited about the arrival of the first game based on this licensing agreement. We're always banging on about the importance of an original premise, and this seemed to be just the ticket. A game based on a motorbike customisation TV show narrated by thespian legend Mark Wingett (better known as Jim Carver off of The Bill) was, in our opinions, actually quite a promising idea. This American version doesn't feature the Sunhill stalwart, but his US counterpart is surely as significant a cultural icon in his own realm; and the in-game voice-over immediately gives the game that cheap and cheerful TV show vibe.

However, having now played American Chopper [US Xbox version] for too long, we must concede that perhaps it wasn't such a good idea after all, at least not in the way this has been interpreted. Despite having some original touches to work with, the game comes off feeling incredibly generic. There's been no risk taking here, and all the opportunities for unique gameplay and presentation elements have been squandered in favour of conforming with what's already out there. The watery concoction of GTA 'free roaming' and Burnout 'points for nearly crashing' influences leaves little room for making the most of the TV show idea, and so you can't help but think the developers have missed the point. There's a notable lack of emphasis on bike-building, and the presentation lacks the general sparkle that would be needed to make the TV setting come to life.

American Chopper on the telly is all about the technical jiggery pokery involved in custom building enormous and slightly absurd motorbikes. American Chopper the game, however, manages to skirt around the customisation thing quite comprehensively (despite it forming the underlying 'story'). The custom options are extremely limited considering the nature of the show, and these bear little relevance to the gameplay: you'll occasionally be given a choice between two or three parts as you gradually build up a bike, piece-by-piece, but this almost entirely superficial aspect of the game seems like an obligatory inclusion rather than a central part of its structure. During the assorted missions you do get to ride a wide variety of suitably silly-looking bikes, but most of these can't be modified: and so the brief in-garage moments between missions don't really amount to much. Which means the scope for originality doesn’t amount to much either.