Tour De France Pro Cycling Manager 2016 Review

The Tour De France annual games are for a very specific niche market. And while I may not be that market, it does a great job of being quite accessible to newcomers, while adding plenty of depth for the veteran cyclists. The premise is you take control of a team of racers through four game modes: the first lets you pick a pre-made team and take part in the full tour of 21 races. In the second you pick a team and work your way though some of the lesser events before qualifying for Le tour de France. The third is a downhill challenge mode, and the final is where you can pick your own race to ride.

Gameplay is fairy simple. There are mechanics for speeding up, turning, becoming more aerodynamic while going downhill to conserve energy, and "throwing" your bike near the finish of a race. Effort and energy are the keys to success- some of these races are long. Even when using the fast forward option these stages can take twenty or thirty minutes to finish. 

Teammates offer more depth by providing different commands to give them to help win the race, but most races can be one without ever even putting thought into them. The game doesn't have any repercussions for you if you ignore 80% of these more advanced mechanics so you can win almost every time by doing the same thing. This is the biggest problem with the game. There is no real challenge, the AI is plain bad sometimes, and the commentary will put you to sleep.

3/5

*Reviewed on PlayStation 4