Ducati 3D Extreme

You've got to admire motorbike racers. There's something special about a person who actively chooses to cling to a skittish chunk of metal with nothing to protect them but a thin layer of leather: tearing around the track, leaning their bikes at unreal angles into corners, and attempting audacious overtaking manoeuvres to shave precious seconds off their time.

If that sounds like fun, Ducati 3D Extreme could be right up your carbon fibre exhaust pipe. Given the name, you won't be surprised to hear that you'll only be racing a certain Italian brand of bike – but what bikes they are! The game maps the course of your racing career, starting you on a souped-up version of a Ducati street bike and ending up with a race-spec superbike.

It won't be the longest career in the world, however. Not because Ducati 3D Extreme is overly challenging, but because there are only four different regions of Italy for you to race in; rather than taking to racing circuits, you'll be burning up the tarmac in Sicily, the Italian Alps, Tuscan hillsides, and the Amalfi coast. However, each location does feature three or four different challenges for you to enter, from racing other speed freaks, to sticking to the racing line. Do well, and you'll earn prize money to spend on a better bike or performance parts for your existing ride.

All very well, but what's 'Extreme' about it? Well, Ducati 3D uses fancy 3D visuals to really pull you in, such as detailed bike models, varied tracks, and your rider's 3D mug shot and gleefully waving arms when you ride to victory. A tremendous feeling of speed is conveyed in the game and (despite the odd pause) you can almost feel the g-force as you ratchet up through the gears on the straights. Sadly, the sound isn't up to the same standard; the menu music is pretty classy, but the only sound you'll hear while racing is the odd squeal as you drift round tight corners, and the sickening crump of a bone-cracking crash.

Another fly on the visor is getting to grips with the controls. You don't change speed in the usual way by pressing on an accelerator or brake button, but by changing up and down the gears instead. It may be a simulation of engine braking, but it doesn't feel as responsive as you'd expect a high-performance Italian superbike to be. The fact that most phone keypads weren't designed as game controllers doesn't help here. If you've got big fingers or your phone has dinky buttons, you might encounter problems trying to lean into corners whilst changing gear in an attempt to slow down. On a brighter note, you're able to change the controls to something you find more comfortable – a handy feature that other games should include, and one that reflects the game's polish.

Indeed, overtake these minor obstacles and Ducati 3D Extreme will reward you with high-powered pocket racing, which you'll keep coming back to like a favourite stretch of A-road. Or a particular pair of leather pants.