Tour de France 2015 (PlayStation 4) Review

As a rule, home consoles tend to gravitate towards the more mainstream competitive sports that play at a fast pace, are reliant on a certain level of skill and are better suited for playing in short bursts. Given the almost superhuman nature and sheer scale of the Tour de France, this approach just wouldn't work here, so Cyanide Studio has wisely opted to take the simulation/strategy route. As a result, Tour de France 2015 possesses a surprising amount of depth and detail that will require some serious time management skills to succeed.

This isn't a game that can just be fired up for a quick ten minute session here and there, as playing a stage can take well over forty minutes, which might turn certain types of gamers off straight away. It does, however, prove to be quite an engaging experience once the race gets underway, as after picking one of the officially licensed teams on offer, all aspects of the ongoing race are presented - from deciding tactics in real time, all the way down to the type of feed available to the cyclists.

The competition for the much coveted yellow jersey is very much dependent on teamwork, so it's in the best interests to ensure that the squad's fastest rider finishes each stage as high up in the rankings as possible, with first place being preferable. This is where it starts to get tactical, as teammates shouldn't be there for personal glory, but instead be utilised as pawns to aid, protect and do all it takes to keep the team leader in the running. To this end, there is a radio link between all the riders, so it's very easy to bark out orders to any one member of the squad, and likewise receive crucial race updates from the tour manager.

Ordering a teammate to make an attack so the leader can slipstream them to conserve energy for an upcoming climb is a viable tactic, as is controlling the tempo of the peloton or chasing down potential breakaway groups. Knowing when to strike and when to hold back is all part of the experience, as making one wrong decision can have catastrophic effects later on in the race. The intuitive interface enables rapid switching between squad mates, which makes it very easy to react to events on track, or to simply swap to another rider should the current one be at a particularly low ebb.

As an event, the Tour de France embodies resolution, fortitude and resilience, so it's of paramount importance that energy levels are efficiently micro-managed for the entire duration of each stage of the race. Conserving power during straightforward sections of the track ensures there's some in reserve for chasing breakaway groups or tackling one of the numerous punishing climbs. Being part of the peloton provides the riders with some resistance from the wind and keeps energy expenditure low, so, thankfully, slipstreaming is made especially easy by locking onto any rider in front with the Square button.

Control wise, it's very straightforward, as the right trigger is pressure sensitive and used for pedalling in conjunction with the gear ratios, which regulate velocity. It'd be handy to have the facility to lock the speed, as holding the trigger half way depressed is actually harder than it sounds, so, more often than not, it ends up being fully depressed, resulting in a slight increase in expelled energy. Mounting an attack involves hammering the X button, although this can only be used in short bursts, and, given its impact on the rider's overall energy, should be used sparingly.

The HUD has both an Energy and an Attack meter, showing the currently selected rider's levels, and it should be noted that as soon as the energy has depleted, the wall has been hit (commonly referred to as the 'bonk') and they're out of the race. After hitting the summit of a climb, the opportunity to adopt a streamlined position and freewheel all the way down the other side does recharge the riders' energy significantly, but it's not so unusual to see riders bow out of the race 20km from the finish line if the climbs aren't tackled efficiently. With some stages having up to three gruelling ascents to contend with, it's not going to be an easy task.

Graphically, Cyanide has done a tremendous job of painstakingly recreating a suitably scaled down, but still lengthy, version of the course in magnificent detail. Rolling hills peppered with livestock make way to the kind of painful climbs that would destroy lesser men, which, in turn, lead into sleepy little villages that make a brief respite from the beautiful French countryside. This is complimented by the excellent audio work, which adds a further layer of immersion to proceedings, as the almost deafening whir of the peloton pedalling in perfect unison gets interspersed with the shouts of encouragement, car horns and vuvuzelas from the overly eager spectators. The constantly updating display of information gives the impression of a televised broadcast with the best camera angle in the house, right in the thick of the action.

While playing through the Tour de France campaign involves a lengthy investment of time, there is also the Pro Team mode, which serves more as a preparation for the main event, and introduces two shorter, less punishing competitions in the form of Critérium International and the Critérium du Dauphiné. This focuses more on the managerial aspects of the sport, as meeting race objectives will increase the available budget and add the opportunity to recruit legendary riders in the pre-season transfer phase. There is also a Challenge mode, which is perfect for practicing the lengthy descents and incentivises replay with the addition of medal-specific targets. Sociable gamers are catered for, too, with local split-screen co-op or competitive multiplayer rounding up a package that's crammed with plenty of pedal-based entertainment.