What's Good	What's Bad	2.0 out of 5.0
Good multimedia tutorials Many customizeability options Nice graphics Controlling the bull is fun	Poor gameplay in both single and multiplayer mode The whole thing just seems a little bit silly

Before I launch into my review of this game, I should point out that I am not currently and never have been a follower of the rodeo. I have never found any of the events particularly interesting and I would probably not even attend a bull-riding exhibition if I was given a free ticket to one. However, I have also never gotten into golf or hockey on a professional level, and yet I can still appreciate and enjoy a game based on one of these sports.

The reason I make this disclaimer is because there just doesn't seem to be a great deal of strategy involved in professional bull riding. Basically, you get on the bull, the bull bucks you off, and then you run away from the bull. You do get extra points for "spurring", or kicking your feet up from the bull as you'e riding it, and it is true that you have to remain on the bull for 8 seconds before receiving a score. However, other than this the game becomes a twitching exercise completely devoid of required brainwave activity.

The controls you have as a cowboy are "lean forward", "lean backward", "lean left", "lean right", "grip the bull", and "spur". After eight seconds, pressing the "spur" or "grip" buttons dismounts you from the bull. Essentially, all you do to stay on the bull is lean in the direction the bull is bucking or twisting, and while it does take a little while to figure out how to do this, the process is no substitute for exciting gameplay. Once you dismount or are thrown from the bull, you simply run to a fence, jump on, and start the whole process all over again.

In today's gaming spirit of playing the bad-guy, you can also control the bull. This aspect of the game is a little bit more fun; with the combination and power moves you can execute, this part of it resembles a fighting game. Plus, if you press the two buttons on your controller at the same time, the bull jumps about ten feet in the air. I have never seen a bull do this, but it is funny. Once you knock the cowboy off your back, you get to gore him. You actually get extra points as a bull if you slap the cowboy around a little after you knock him off.

In fairness to the programmers and designers at Sierra, they put a great deal of effort into making the game the most complete bull riding game ever assembled (and since I can't think of another bull riding game, I give them this mantle by default). There is a very complete tutorial section narrated by two apparently well-regarded bull riders, and the graphics that accompany the lackluster gameplay are as good as you could make graphics of a game of this type. Every stadium in the 20-city circuit is well detailed, and in the cowboy/bull creation section (yes, you can make up your own cowboy or bull) you can choose different colors of chaps, boots, hats, or skins -- only if you're a bull; one of the more minor annoyances about the game is that you can only create "white" cowboys. Each cowboy and bull is rated in 4 separate categories, from "stamina" to "rankness" -- for bulls, this is the chance that they'll come after the cowboy after they buck him off.

If I have ever seen a sports game that is not suitable for young children, this is it. Why? Well, about five minutes after I started playing the game, the object changed from "stay on the bull as long as possible" to "get bucked real quick and see how far the bull will throw me." The same thing happened when my high-school age younger brother tried it out, and when his friend played it as well. Perhaps we are victims of the TV generation, but I can practically guarantee that this idea will infiltrate the mind of any 10-year old boy who picks this game up shortly after playing.

Sierra once produced a wide line of games that were engrossing and fun to play at the same time. They had some stinkers in the past, but even these were based on a sound basic premise. Unfortunately, with the demise of their football and baseball games and the rise of "bargain basement" games such as this, it is apparent that they have elected to take another route with their sports games.