The original Bike or Die game is something of a handheld classic, so I was excited to see what the revised version for iPhone was like.
Bike or Die 2 Lite puts you in control of a bouncy BMX on which you need to complete a number of obstacles. There are five levels included in this free Lite version, in which you get to perform jumps, traverse icy hills, pull off mid-air flips and even cycle along a ceiling!
Perhaps the best thing about Bike or Die 2 is its graphics and animation. Although the backgrounds aren't that exciting, the physics of the bike and the way it moves are very fluid and realistic. The crashes are awesome and it's great fun to watch your rider fall off, break his bones and spew blood everywhere, all in slow motion. At least, it was for me anyway.
The controls in Bike or Die 2 are fairly simple. You hold down the 'Go' button to accelerate, and use the 'Stop' button to slow down. There are also finger-friendly buttons for turning and rotating your bike around. It takes a while to get used to the timings of everything but each level comes with an instructional tutorial at the beginning.
One of my favorite features within Bike or Die 2 is the way you can manipulate the view of the game area. You can pinch the screen to zoom in and out, or swipe around to view the whole playing area.
Purists will argue that Bike or Die 2 isn't very realistic. After all, what bikes can ride upside-down across a ceiling, and people don't normally die every time they fall off their bike.
But I love Bike or Die 2, and this Lite edition gives you the chance to marvel at this unique gaming experience for free.
