Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2. Yes, another extreme sports game. Ever since the
famous Tony Hawk Pro Skater was released, many games have taken their attempt at the extreme
sports genre. This game does not have much uniqueness in terms of gameplay, but
it is a pretty fun game to play overall, and even has some thrilling multiplayer
action.
GamePlay
When you first start up the game, you have a few different options you can choose between, and then begin playing. The main options are proquest, free ride, single session, and
multiplayer. ProQuest is the part of the game where you can pick any of 15
different riders and begin you journey on becoming a professional BMX rider. In
free ride, you can choose any of the levels that you have available to ride
around in and practice your stunts. If you start up the game in session mode, you have 3 minutes to get as many points as possible. The multiplayer part of
this game is, in my opinion, the greatest part of the game. You can choose from
any of the 13 different types of multiplayer games including Best Run, Wipeout,
and Longest Grind.
Once you choose a mode to play in and start playing it, the game will feel very similar to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater...only you are on a bike. In this game, you can choose from
10 levels to ride in. Performing tricks in this game is very easy. The
four colored buttons on the Xbox controller are what you will use most often when
performing a them. The A button allows you to bunnyhop, which is basically
jumping in the air while still on the bike. When you are in the air, you will
normally use the X button to start a trick, or the Y button to start a rail
grind. Once you have started the trick or grind, the B button will allow you to
modify the trick as you are performing it. So, for example, you can do a one handed
backflip, or a one handed rail grind.
The major problem in this game is the control system and how the rider will
react to certain objects in the game. There are a lot of glitches in the game
that can get your rider to do some pretty crazy things not normally possible.
Also, many tricks that are not normally possible on a real bike are quite easy to
perform in the game. For instance, if you are not moving it is easy to do a full
backflip on your bike without a ramp. Many of these glitches and problems in the
controls will leave you frustrated when you are trying to finish a certain
task or trick in the game.
Graphics
The graphics for this game are pretty good, but there is nothing really
spectacular in the environment or the character models. However, they are
very nice to look at and look quite realistic.
The 10 different level environments are quite big, and detailed even down to
little benches and street lights. Another great thing is that there are a lot of
interactive objects built into the environment. For example, if you ride into a
flower pot or a chair, it is either going to break or be pushed out of the way by
your bike. Along with that, if you fall into a fountain or into some water the
water will actually see ripples in the water that you have caused by falling in.
Aside from what the level looks like, the player models look pretty good, too.
Both the bike and the player are very detailed, and look realistic. You will also
be able to tell a big difference between the different bikes that you will play
on, and the different players you can play as.
Map Editor
With just about every extreme sports game comes a fun little map editor that
lets you make your own levels and play in them, and this game is no different.
The map editor included in this game was very impressing. You could spend an
hour or two just figuring out what you can do with this thing.
Overall
Overall, this game is very fun to play when you have a few friends over or have
nothing else to do. The graphics are pretty good, but nothing that pushes the
Xbox to the limit. However, the issues with the controls and how your player will
react to certain things can be frustrating when they occur. Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 is definitely a game to
have if you enjoy extreme sports games, but if not it is worth renting
and playing for a short amount of time.
| The Core Score |
Overall
6.5 |
| Fun |
|
7 |
| Gameplay |
|
5 |
| Graphics |
|
6 |
| Audio |
|
6 |
| Replay |
|
7 |
|
