Harley Davidson: Wheels of Freedom (PC)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 2.5 stars OK
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 5.3 (2.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Stephen Poole
• Reviewed on: 12/15/2000
• Updated on: 05/17/2006
• Released on: 11/30/2000
• Originally published on GameSpot: Harley Davidson: Wheels of Freedom (PC) Review

Fire up Harley-Davidson: Wheels of Freedom, and you'll get to hear the classic biker anthem Born to Be Wild - but it's not performed by Steppenwolf or even by a first-rate cover band. Instead, it's a thin, soulless affair that'll make you think of near beer instead of Colt 45 and rice burners instead of Sportsters. The good news is that Wheels of Freedom is better than its awful version of Born to be Wild - but, unfortunately, not by much.

Five bikes are available in the game - Softail Deuce, Fat Boy, Dyna Wide Glide, Sportster Custom, and the Night Train - but despite the claims on the box, you won't get a chance to soup 'em up: All you can do is change the paint job, and you can't do even that with the Night Train. You also get to choose a character to put on the bike, dudes with nicks such as "Tiny," "Wooly," and "Cueball"; and mamas named "Sasha," "Spitfire," and "Daisy." The only difference is the way they look and the stuff they say when they have a wreck or bounce off a wall or obstacle - you'll like it when Tiny says in an Elvis voice, "I'm all right, mama," and the way all the bikers give a thumbs-up after wrecks or when passing by bitmapped 2D spectators.

Unfortunately, those are some of the only things to like about Wheels of Freedom. It's bad enough that the single-player game is so short. There are only 12 races spread across four rally locations (of course the finale takes place in Sturgis, South Dakota). It might be called Wheels of Freedom, but instead of letting you head off track to scout out the surrounding areas or even take off on simple touring rides, all you can do is practice or compete in events on courses that are hemmed in by walls both visible and invisible.

Each Rally consists of three races in which you face up to seven other bikers. The open road challenge is a standard timed race (you can set the number of laps at two or four), which takes place over a course that's marked out only by a rotating arrow at the bottom of the screen - you should take some practice laps to get used to the obstacles and quick switchbacks, especially when you reach Sturgis. There's a bit of bumpin' and pushin' between bikes, especially in tight spots like tunnels, but Wheels of Freedom isn't Road Rash: About the most threatening thing you'll see is Sasha or Daisy stick her arm out and taunt you as she goes by.

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