Acclaim Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX

Description: If you're into freestyle stunt games that are similar to the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series (a necessary comparison), you might find, with a little patience, that Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX is a surprisingly good one. It doesn't offer much more than the.... Read More

Description: If you're into freestyle stunt games that are similar to the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series (a necessary comparison), you might find, with a little patience, that Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX is a surprisingly good one. It doesn't offer much more than the established fly-and-trick formula, but it's still a fun ride. In general, this game calls for quicker thumbs and more precision than other games in the genre, but it also provides a greater sense of accomplishment to those who get up to speed. The animation of your rider's backflips, grinds, and other aerial maneuvers looks startlingly realistic; and, with 1,300 tricks available, chances are that you'll always find a new way to fall off your bike. Most levels are huge and designed so that you can pull off many stunts per track. In fact, you must complete some of the harder stunts to win sponsors for new gear. For all of you kids who are into aggro music, Dave's game features popular four-chord acts Social Distortion, Rancid, and the Deftones, as well as rap group Cypress Hill. On the downside, the game's visuals just don't look tremendously better than the PlayStation version. Although they're nicely rendered and decently animated, none of it screams, "128-bit pixel-pushing processing power!" While it won't stun anyone with its originality, Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX offers an interesting twist on the burgeoning freestyle-stunt genre. --Mark Brooks Pros: Many challenging stunts Hip soundtrack Bike-control scheme plays and feels differently from others in genre Cons: Substandard graphics Nothing most gamers haven't seen before Minimize