Burning rubber

It was a motorcycle racing simulator, sometimes played with a joystick or a full-sized bike you straddled like the real McCoy (although I have to admit the latter made me cringe with embarrassment).

Having owned and ridden bikes since I was 16, I soon found out I was pretty good at Hang On. I well remember one memorable summer when two of us used to bunk off lessons and visit a dingy Soho amusement arcade to trade fastest times on Hang On when we should have been studying law. These happy memories all came flooding back when Riding Spirits II arrived in the office for review.

I must admit to having missed Riding Spirits I - so this bike sim from Capcom was brand new to me.

It aims to be a Gran Turismo on two wheels and, in some way, succeeds. There's the usual vast array of bikes to choose from, a tuning shop for fettling your chosen steed, a clothing emporium for the latest leathers and a garage to keep your growing collection of bikes nice and dry.

I was gladdened to see a wide variety of motorcycles - and not just the latest models.

Aficionados of 1970s and 1980s Japanese bikes will find plenty of nostalgic kit lurking around at the back of this virtual garage. Fancy a Suzuki Katana 1100, sir? No problem, just flick to the catalogue of over 1,000cc bikes. Or how about a Yamaha TZ 250 - a direct descendent of the legendary RD 250 LC? Yep, that's present and correct as well.

About the only classic Japs missing are the Kawasaki KR 500, the Yamaha RD 350 LC and the original Honda CB 750. Otherwise I felt like a kid left in charge of a sweet shop such was the breadth of bikes to choose.

The authentic feel extends to your clothing as well. All the leather suits are taken from real designs - Dainese, Nakai and others have all agreed to lend their names to this game. Likewise helmet manufacturers Arai and Shoei.

So far so good. It's just a shame that things go downhill a bit when the on-track action starts.

I had high hopes as my bike came to the line. I'd chosen a Suzuki RG 250 Gamma two-stroke for my first race (nothing too powerful but relatively forgiving to ride and a tuneable engine) and I was heartened to see little tell-tale whiffs of blue smoke puffing out of the expansion chamber exhausts.

Capcom's game uses authentic sounds at the starting line but once the race starts proper the soundtrack goes to bits - and your bike sounds like an electronically synthesised version of the real thing.

The next disappointment is the unforgiving handling. Sure you can turn on electronic cheats like automatic braking but if you get the racing line wrong and put a wheel off the track you'll be off in an instant.

It doesn't matter if you are on grass, sand trap or simple run off - leave the track for a split second and you fall spectacularly in a choreographed balletic spill.

Bikers hoping for two-wheeled nirvana will no doubt persevere and, after a while, I was still enjoying myself.

The graphics are mostly good, although some of the crowd and catch fencing animations are a bit shimmery, suggesting the game is pushing the PS 2 to its max. The action replays clearly show suspension movement and even sparks from grounding foot pegs should you get really carried away.

Riding Spirits II probably won't go down as a two-wheel Gran Turismo but it is a brave attempt to do something other than yet another driving game.

And anything that brings back memories of Hang On is OK in my book. Now if Sega would only consider remaking that game...

MUSIC ON CD & DVD/MP3 MAKER TITANIUM 2004, Publisher: FastTrak, Price: £29.99/£19.99

DESPITE the demise of music file sharing legend Napster and the ongoing world-wide clampdown on PC users who trade tunes, MP3 remains a firm favourite.

Doomsayers who reckoned the compression technology would wither and die along with illegal file sharing failed to see the arrival of the hard disk jukebox, and the Apple iPod in particular. These little devices have made MP3 more popular than ever but how do you convert your favourite CDs?

Many of us use MusicMatch Jukebox software, and for copying CDs it is perfectly adequate, but two new programmes from FastTrak allow you to go much further.

MP3 Maker Titanium 2004 is a one-stop conversion and cataloguing stop. Converting tunes is a simple matter of clicking on them and selecting the format you require.

As well as MP3 this programme can convert to Windows Media, OGG Vorbis (another compression format that's becoming more popular), CD audio and good old fashioned WAV as well as a host of others. About the only format not covered is MP3 Pro - to add that you have to pay a nominal sum for an online upgrade.

Converting to MP3 is fast and accurate. Impatient types not too bothered about the final result can click on "turbo" for even faster performance.

Once your music is converted you can burn it to disc or download to your portable player.

MP3 Maker even allows for basic re-editing but if you really fancy yourself as a sound mixer better to opt for Music on CD & DVD.

This programme is perfect for PC owners with a stack of old tapes or vinyl. It makes the digitisation process a simple matter of following the on-screen instructions. If you make a music DVD it even allows for the creation of a menu with animated buttons and background music. If you enjoy your tunes both of these programmes will take your hobby to a new level. At less than £30 each they represent cracking value.

Virus Watch

Anti-virus specialist F-Secure has raised the alarm about the Wallon email worm that is spreading throughout Europe.

Wallon does not send itself as an attachment. Instead it sends a link in a HTML message. The link is made to look like a link to Yahoo web pages, and once the user clicks on it, the virus uses the Yahoo redirection service to open another web page that downloads "terra.html".

The "terra.html" contains an encypted link to another "count.html" page.

This page downloads and runs a file called "sys.chm" file which in turn downloads another programme to over write the Windows Media Player file "wmplayer.exe".

When you open Windows Media Player either directly or via a web page the virus is activated.

Additionally, the downloader changes startup search pages of Internet Explorer to point to the following website: www.google.com.super-fast-search.apsua.com

* For more details, visit www.f-secure.com/v-descs or www.f-secure.com/weblog

Published: 21/05/2004