Konami goes on another Tour de France

Konami of Europe is celebrating the 100th Tour de France cycling competition this year with a Centenary Edition of Le Tour de France for PlayStation 2. Following on from last year's Tour de France title, this Centenary Edition will include all the teams and riders in the 2003 competition, and many enhancements.

Konami has done some work on the controls, which now include a tuck move for extra speed, and the ability to lean back to slow down and improve turning - much like MotoGP - with a new pedalling/stamina system thrown in for good measure.

In the full-fledged Career mode, players will have to guide a rookie rider through every stage, including six new and painstakingly modelled additions to the 2003 course. Paris, Lyon, Narbonne, St. Girons and Dax are said to have been given particular attention.

There will also be more of a tactical edge to proceedings as well, and riders will have to plan which refreshments to use for which stage, and whether to spend their prize money on expensive training sessions. When not questing for the coveted Maillot Jaune in Career, players will be able to compete in Arcade, Time Trial and two-player Head-to-Head modes.

Le Tour de France: Centenary Edition is due out on PS2 later this year, and is being overseen by Konami of Europe's product development team. You can have a look at the first screenshots of the game here.