The Ten Best Motorcycle Games Ever

Motorcycle games offer freedom rarely found in games like Gran Turismo. We look at the greatest yet.

There's a simple truth that while bikes can go anywhere cars can, those lumbering, four-wheeled brutes are left choking on dust when it comes to the most outrageous, awe-inspiring stunt-riding.

The sheer manoeuverability of bikes makes them perfect fodder for video games, an intoxicating mix of insane speeds and precision control. So with the unbelievably good Trials Evolution currently tearing it up on Xbox Live, let's celebrate the greatest rides for bedroom bikers.

MotorStorm: Apocalypse (PS3)

Off-road vehicles of every class cram into this disaster-strewn urban racer, but the vulnerability and pace of bikes make them a particularly rewarding pleasure.

Project Gotham Racing 4 (Xbox 360)

RIP Bizarre Creations, Britsoft's finest racing studio, cruelly closed by Activision. When its famous car racing series eventually diversified, it delivered a phenomenal simulation of motorcycle racing.

Excitebike 64 (N64)

The classic Nintendo series that launched with the NES in 1985 (and re-released last year on 3DS) got a swanky and extremely enjoyable 3D makeover on N64.

Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)

Rockstar's incredible adventure playground provided the ideal setting for those with the reflexes and imagination to boldly go where no bikes had gone before.

Road Rash (Mega Drive)

EA's brilliantly brutal action-racer brought beat-'em-up sensibilities to bike racing. Why just overtake, when you can hit someone in the face with a chain on the way past? A series that's long overdue an update.

Super Hang-On (Arcade)

One of the main reasons to mourn the death of the arcade is the loss of crazily expensive coin-ops such as this. The excitement of straddling the bike and leaning perilously into every corner was '80s gaming heaven.

MotoGP '07 (Xbox 360, PC)

Desperate to be the Gran Turismo of the motorcycle world, MotoGP has never quite matched the obsessive lap times of Sony's series, but it nevertheless offers the best simulation of bike racing on console.

Mario Kart Wii (Wii)

The last game we expected to find bikes in, if we're being honest. But who cares when they're this much fun in the gloriously entertaining Wii update of Nintendo's cult series.

Joe Danger (PS3, Xbox 360)

Less hardcore and in-yer-face than Trials, Joe Danger managed to win over gamers with its charming 'toon visuals and, above all, terrifically responsive stunt gameplay.

Trials Evolution (Xbox 360)

Desperate to be the Gran Turismo of the motorcycle world, MotoGP has never quite matched the obsessive lap times of Sony's series, but it nevertheless offers the best simulation of bike racing on console.

Mario Kart Wii (Wii)

The last game we expected to find bikes in, if we're being honest. But who cares when they're this much fun in the gloriously entertaining Wii update of Nintendo's cult series.

Joe Danger (PS3, Xbox 360)

Less hardcore and in-yer-face than Trials, Joe Danger managed to win over gamers with its charming 'toon visuals and, above all, terrifically responsive stunt gameplay.

Trials Evolution (Xbox 360)

An obsession to lose yourself in utterly, the new Trials is a masterpiece of games design with immense depth, breathtaking challenges and the fabulous addition of four-way multiplayer racing. Instant classic.