Originally released on the PS2 and XBox a few months ago, Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX
2 is now available on the GameCube. The game is basically the same as it was on
the PlayStation 2 a few months back. Pro BMX 2 offers a few nice ideas to the
genre, but the game’s presentation feels a bit dated compared to games like Tony
Hawk 4 or even Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2.
The
first Pro BMX was basically a Tony Hawk clone on bikes. The game took the
gameplay engine and didn’t really make any improvements to the formula. Pro BMX
2 differs in that it makes some very key tweaks and stands on its own two feet.
While the comparisons to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater are obvious, the game differs
pretty fundamentally from the Hawk recipe. The place where the gameplay really
shines is the flatland tricks. You perform flatland tricks by first doing a
manual, then tweaking it by doing moves on top of your manual, all while
maintaining your balance. Not only are flatland tricks essential to racking up
huge combos and getting lots of points, but also they are really cool looking
and fun to do. Flatland tricks have been present in other games in the genre,
but never have they been executed so well.
Unfortunately, the rest of the gameplay is rather stagnant. The bikes handle
pretty cumbersomely, and the controls aren’t very responsive. The level
objectives are also pretty bland, lacking the ingenuity of recent offerings from
the Tony Hawk series. Most of the time you’ll spend collecting for coins or
coin-like items to win challenges and other mundane tasks.
The
graphics aren’t terrible, but they sure seem dated. The bikers are stiff and
lack detail, and the environments are pretty plain. The FMVs are also pretty
compressed looking, and appear in a tiny box on-screen. The whole graphical
presentation just seems to lack the sense of style that is present in other
offerings in the genre. Plus, the framerate tends to get pretty nasty when a
lot seems to be happening on screen, which is very frustrating when you’re in
the middle of a trick.
The
soundtrack features a varied mix of rock, techno, old-school hip-hop and punk.
The game also features a system in which you must collect CD’s from every course
in order to unlock songs on the soundtrack, which is a nice idea. The sound
effects are pretty commonplace, although whenever you crash, your biker will
emit a Homer Simpson-esque “doh!” and that’s pretty cool.
Mat
Hoffman’s Pro BMX 2 is not a bad game, its just that the genre has so much more
to offer, and Pro BMX 2 seems dated compared to most extreme sports titles
coming out this season. If you are an extreme sports fan, check out Tony Hawk
4. If you are hardcore BMX, then try Dave Mirra 2. However, if you’ve filled
yourself with Dave Mirra and still need a BMX fix, then you should give Mat
Hoffman a rental.
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Gameplay: 6.9
The game makes
great use of flatland tricks, but that’s about it. The controls are awkward and
unresponsive and the level objectives are very dull and repetitive.
Graphics: 6.5
The graphical
appearance is very dated. The character models look like they were pulled out
of Tony Hawk 2, and the environments are pretty bland. The frame rates are also
not quite what they should be. Overall, the graphics look unpolished.
Sound: 8.0
The music
features a nice, varied mix of songs encompassing many genres. The sound
effects are pretty standard.
Difficulty: Medium
Concept: 6.5
The game’s
presentation is pretty behind the times. While it does have some well-executed
ideas, the game lacks polish overall.
Multiplayer: 7.5
The game features several multiplayer modes: Horse, Trick Attack, Graffiti,
basically everything you’d find in a Tony Hawk game.
Overall: 6.9
Pro BMX 2 brings
a few new things to the table, but in the end fails to keep up with the pack.
