From its factory in northern Italy, Ducati has been turning out some of the world’s most beautifully crafted motorcycles for over 50 years now. This begs the question -- what would possess such a highly respected company to allow its good name to be tarnished in a woeful PC racing game like Ducati World Racing Challenge?

You see, Ducati Racing is more than just a bad PC racer -- it’s an appallingly bad PC port of a mediocre console title. Developed for Acclaim by ATD (who also gave us Rollcage), the game is another of those cookie-cutter PSX-to-PC conversion jobs where absolutely no effort was made to address the latter platform’s significant strengths. It’s bad enough that no mouse support is offered for navigating the game’s menus, but when analog joystick functionality is limited to one axis (throttle and brakes are digital only) and no force feedback support of any kind is provided, well, that’s just plain lazy.

This is unfortunate too because the basic premise is actually quite sound. Apart from a stock selection of Quick Race and Time Attack modes where your stated goal is to win individual races and unlock new tracks and bikes, Ducati Racing also offers an inventive Gran Turismo-style career mode called Ducati Life. Here you tackle progressively more difficult riding tests to earn different license grades, compete in bike-specific racing leagues to earn cash, and apply your monetary earnings to the purchase or upgrade of different models of Ducati motorcycles. New and vintage bikes can be bought directly from the Ducati showroom or through dealerships and classified ads at reduced prices. A relatively simple parts upgrade menu also allows you to massage some extra horsepower out of your chosen mount while the truly frivolous can spend upwards of six figures on colorful helmets and leathers. A highly dubious two-person splitscreen competition is all that’s offered for multiplayer, however.

Ducati Racing’s D3D-powered graphics are also some of the blandest and most detail-challenged visuals that I have seen in a PC racing game in years. Low polygon counts, ongoing clipping problems, bland wipeout animations and the absence of any replay screen screams very bush league console port Even the game’s slim collection of eight urban and alpine fantasy tracks are completely lacking in challenge, character and scenic variety.

No non-Ducati motorcycles are represented in the game but this is made palatable by the inclusion of over 40 different models from the Italian manufacturer -- ranging from a classic 3HP 1946 Cuccliolo to a current generation 996R Superbike. Unfortunately, Acclaim and ATD didn’t feel it was important to impart any of these machines with any sort of real world physics so ultimately you’re left with a collection of graphically impoverished bikes differentiated only by their varying degrees of acceleration and top speed. No discernable sense of tire grip or two-wheeled racing dynamics is ever properly communicated and the game’s clueless AI, poor collision detection and lack of any damage modeling can often turn entire races into games of high-speed bumper-tag.

If you really must wrap your legs around a Ducati then either order a real one from Italy or buy a copy of EA’s superb Superbike 2001. Please understand though, prolonged exposure to an appallingly ill-conceived game like Ducati World Racing Challenge will almost certainly turn you into a Harley-Davidson fan.

--Andy Mahood