Crank up the testosterone tunes and you've got yourself a programme. Videogames have definitely played a supporting role, and it's fair to say that the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series is nothing less then a phenomenon. The Hawkster may have been an idol to a generation of skate punks, but it's the game that brought him recognition among the unwashed masses.
Activision will be lucky to achieve a similar response with Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX, but they've followed a similar blueprint, beginning with the endorsement of a major exponent of the 'sport.
We have to admit that's news to us, as we were led to believe that ten-time World Champion Dave Mirra was the main man when reviewing his Freestyle BMXsome months ago. We can only assume that 'vert' refers to the vertical ramps that proliferate the Hoffman game.
Considering we are now on the third Hawk game, it's not exactly cutting edge, but it's perfectly functional, as evinced by the success of that game. And that's all you really need to know. It might sound lazy to call this Tony Hawk's on two wheels, but that's exactly what it is.
It's all there, the tricks, the combinations, the random button pressing, the excruciating bails falls and the accompanying splash of blood. The format is identical, but instead of collecting videos, you are now required to earn magazine covers to open up further levels, of which there are eight including both a sewerage plant and an abandoned tube station.
If that's not enough, you can design your own levels, using the 3D real-time park editor. The music is an essential part of this type of game, and Hoffman doesn't disappoint, offering an eclectic mix of old, new, angry and chilled. Contemporary hiphop lurks alongside the likes of obscure '80s punk band, Bad Brains, and there's even an airing of the Stone Roses' classic Fool's Gold, the Grooverider mix, no less.
It all adds up to a quality package, which probably won't change the world, but may well rock yours for a while. Like its PS and DC big brothers, this little pup features half pipe, dirt and vert action.
Mat along with seven other pros are available for single-player action only unfortunately there is no link play. As you can see from these pics, the emphasis is on mid-air tricks and maneuvers. Hoffman GBC is set for a November release. Finally a chance to catch major air without the threat of a prolonged hospital stay. Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX lets you ride like time world vert champion Mat "the condor" Hoffman or seven other of the sport's hottest riders.
But don't worry, Pro BMX isn't a rip-off either. There are enough subtle differences to keep the game fun, without making it hinky for die-hard Pro Skater fans. The object of the game is to do enough tricks, collect enough magazine covers the same thing as videotapes in Pro Skater , and break enough stuff to earn entry into the higher levels and harder tracks. The heart of Pro BMX centers on the trick system.
As in Pro Skater , tricks are performed with a combination of button taps -- it will take fans a bit to adjust to the new physics, which change drastically to compensate for the board to bike change. Also don't forget it takes a bit longer to hop back onto a bike after a fall than to snatch your board.
The game has 25 base moves, including Rocket Air, Crooked and Toadstool, divided into quick tricks, big air tricks and grinds. Add to that each character's seven to ten signature moves and you have a whole lot of style hitting courses. In just about all of the modes of play, your primary goal will be to get tons of points. You earn points by racking up tricks -- hit enough tricks in a row and you're in the Zone and you will be able to perform your special tricks and go a lot faster.
The modes in the game follow Pro Skater pretty closely, with you being able to choose from career, single session, and free ride modes in single player games and graffiti, horse, and trick attack in the multiplayer modes. The mainstay of the game, career, has you trying to accomplish pre-defined goals to earn magazine covers. Most of the levels contain five covers and the goals usually include breaking score levels, picking up floating letters to spell out the work TRICK, breaking five things, and finding a hidden cover.
The more covers you earn, the more levels you unlock and the better stats and bikes you get to play with. The game also features a pretty robust course editor which lets you hammer out detailed rides with over a hundred different variations of ramps, rails, funboxes, and other obstacles.
A neat feature lets you save the course to a memory card so you can bring it over to a friend's house to share. The multiplayer split screen can be hard to get used to and the games, frankly, aren't really worth the effort. In horse and trick attack you basically take turns trying to one up each other. Graffiti has you tricking off objects to tag them and the person with the most tags at the end of the time limit wins.
What is amazing is the incredible size of most of the levels. Some of the games eight streets, vert, and dirt courses seem to stretch on for miles. Pro BMX also enjoys the same bone-jarring level of realism as its predecessor. You'll be groaning every time you pop out of a Superman too soon and land on your head. Pro BMX has excellent ambient and special effect sounds -- add to that the incredible music selection and you will be blown away.
Among the 18 artists included in the game are Pennywise, Deltron , Outkast and Apocalypse Hoboken. I wish I could slap this bad boy into my car stereo. Look out for hidden characters. I was trying to perfect a string of tricks off a mobile home when I unlocked the Granny character. Of course the game alerted me to this discovery by telling me I ride like a granny Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX may not be revolutionary in design or gameplay, but why fix something if it ain't broken Smooth gameplay, great sound, and sharp graphics make this game a definite keeper.
Besides we all need something to do while we wait for Tony Hawk 3 to hit the streets. Smooth gameplay, great sound, and sharp graphics make this game a definite keeper. Bikers can perform hundreds of tricks in vert, street, and dirt surroundings, including the same tricks Mat Hoffman does. Did I mention that he is the ten-time world vert champ and nicknamed "The Condor? In order to play any other courses besides the first in any mode, the player must first "unlock" the courses in Career Mode. This is done by completing tasks such as smashing lights or spelling T.
Due to the difficulty involved in winning covers the number required increases with each level , unlocking can be problematic. If one crashes too many times, through the dizziness he will see the phrase: "You ride like a Grandma, press enter to continue. Quite hilarious. The game is also temporarily "unlocked" at this point. You'll find the usual assortment of multiplayer modes, plus a couple of new and nifty mini-games my favorite: Halfpipe Hell, which dumps in platform gameplay.
The entire package is fun, sure. It just puts you through too may of the same old motions. It's like deja vu all over again. There's no denying that Mat 2 feels a whole lot like Tony Hawk 3, but is that such a bad thing? BMX 2 features some really cool levels, a neat "road trip" setup and a great flatland-trick system that's better than Tony 3's setup--you don't need to build up your special meter in Mat to see the fancy stuff.
But like I said, when you get into the game you're gonna experience a major case of "been there, done that" if you're an experienced Tony Hawk player. You might also get annoyed at how the game forces you to complete specific goals before you can unlock new levels I know I did. Other than that, Mat 2 is a killer game. Standards in the action-sports genre have ollied to new heights after Aggressive Inline. Now Mat Hoffman 2's stale two-minute-deadline gameplay no longer cuts it--what used to provide an adrenaline rush now simply annoys and infuriates.
Why am I hurrying around trying to fit in a few objectives under a too-short time limit? Despite this, the game still delivers. Mat Hoffman 2 is designed to please combo-happy players: easy-to-perform wall rides and wall push-offs help keep your trick strings going, and the ommission of an extra "revert"-type button press like in Tony Hawk 3 lets you link moves with the utmost of ease. Air time, air time and more air time. Their previous titles- ATV Offroad Fury and Splashdown -are a testament to their successful vehicles-plus-jumps-equal-giant-air-time formula.
But tasty air is just one piece of the pie; a few other things pop out, too. The first is the way you progress through the game. As Mat, or one of the other 10 riders, you tour from city to city performing for the locals. Each course has a set of objectives to meet, including snatching cans of gas for the tour bus, building a picture scrapbook of your flashiest moves, and of course, achieving the highest score.
Flatland tricking is the second standout feature. Thanks to them, players can perform circus-like maneuvers without ever leaving the ground. After the less than spectacular original release of Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX , a number of noticeable improvements have been made with a more complete game this time around. The major problems such as trick execution and poor physics modeling have been largely resolved as the improved system works as well as anything on the market.
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