JiggyJay's Full Review: Freekstyle for PlayStation 2
This review is part of rice75’s awesome Bargain Bin write off and I forked over twelve bucks for this game at my local EB games
EA Big has really done a bang up job in the short time that the branch of EA has been in the music industry. Since SSX through NBA Street Vol. 2 and the exciting Sled Storm arcade games, they have ceased to amaze me, so when I heard word about this dirt bike title in 2002 I needed to give it a try. But would it compare to EA Big’s other great games like SSX Tricky or NFL Street>? Well, although I was a little disappointed by this game, I actually am quite fond of it for its ingenious level designs, sick trick system, and innovative gameplay. But when it came down to some things, all the title did was bail and eat dirt. Throughout this review I will bring up the ups and down faults of this game, but you have to make the decision yourself whether you want to give it a try or not. This is Freekstyle.
Freekstyle is in the vein of the incredible SSX games. You have the same gameplay, identical controls, and same type of level structure, but it also offers a sense of speed that the snowboarding games lacked. Not only did the quickness of the game really thrill me, but the insane tricks just furthered the cut—but I’ll get to all of that later. What you want to know is what the game’s all about. Freekstyle is a racing/extreme sport game that puts you in the seat of a dirt bike as you shred up 9 different tracks. As you go through these levels you race against five other bikers and also bust off tricks and pull combos to win boost that will definitely determine the outcome of each race. You have a choice of eight different riders ranging from Brian
Deegan to Leeann Tweeden and while some are unlockable, you have a choice of some of them in the beginning.
Unlike the SSX series, the games are pretty much straightforward with little or no customization to your riders except maybe switching shirts, bikes, and stats (when you win events and pull off all of the tricks in the trick book). What would have been really cool would be if they added in a custom biker to the game that you could sculpt and design the way that you want with a nod to the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater franchise. And the multiplayer really stinks. If they added more fun games to play with a buddy and just more tricks at your disposal then I couldn’t see any reason why this game wouldn’t get four or more stars. Also, I have to put my two cents in about the psychics. I’ve played a lot of extreme sports games as well as racing games and I have to say that this game has some of the poorest psychics I’ve ever experienced. Now, usually this isn’t so bad when there’s a little pinch of badness here and there, but when it’s sprinkled throughout the whole game during frustratingly hard races with opponents who are unforgiving, this causes a big problem. And you crash your bike a lot, too. And that sucks.
I got this at a real bargain price from a shop that sells used games by the handful so I’m forgiving, but if I actually paid full price for this game, I’d be pi*sed. Sure, the game isn’t bad per se, but it is naughty. I’ve played some motocross games in my time from Motocross Madness to Superfly and I have to tell you that this game doesn’t nearly have as good of graphics as either…well, Superfly at least. Freekstyle’s graphics are a lot like the tracks that you ride through: muddy, easy to get slowed down, and dirty. The dust that is kicked up while you ride makes the graphics hiccup every now and then and the title suffers from some serious slowdown on some occasions. The amount of glitches that I came across in the closing parts of the game not only frustrated me, but wanted to me to call up the testers of this game and criticize them. Aside from the technical parts of the graphics, the tracks are all very well designed (kudos to EA Big) with gorgeous landscapes and tracks that are different in every way possible. The tracks are of very high quality and that’s something that this genre has lacked for a couple years at least in motocross games.
SSX3, one of my favorite games of last year, was a hard game to beat, but Freekstyle is ridiculously hard with opponents that are bastards, unforgiving, and on a cheap little system that fans of the popular NBA Jam on SNES would be all too familiar with. These foes you race against are hard to get past. They sinisterly have far more boost then you and pull off tricks with greater of ease then you ever will. When you get far ahead of them and think that you’re going to win the race, they mysteriously come out of nowhere to give you a run for your money. I don’t like this attitude when I’m loosed up to give a victory dance. Besides the difficulty, another chapter of hardness is the implausibly long levels that make you just plain bored. Sure, they are well designed, but they are far too damn long. Too damn long for their own good. Each race gives you three laps around the track and each lap takes a couple of minutes and you have three heats to get past a level. When you’re on your last heat and have been racing for about ten minutes, all you want to do is get it over with and win—but right when you go in this form of thinking, you lose. When this happens I am so pis*ed that I throw my controller down in frustration. This will happen a lot.
The soundtrack of the game is comprised of cheesy vocal work by the riders themselves, a very annoying announcer, and music that would make my fellow music reviewers such as Matt(A75) and Shelly (Lampchops) and I cringe. I mean, the soundtrack has bands like Dry Cell, The Humble Brothers, and a special unnamed band put together by the boys (and girls) of EA Big. These are the crappiest rock tunes that I’ve ever heard aside from Good Charlotte. They don’t give mood, but frustration (especially when you’re having a hard race). And when the announcer is repeatedly telling you how crappy and repetitive your tricks are and how you should “Freek It”, it gets annoying. The riders themselves have little cut scenes before and after races and I’ve only heard Brain Deegan’s when he’s saying how much he loves evil (cheesily saying it) and with Leeann replying that loving evil was “too nineties”. It’s ridiculous and gives you a brain turd toboggan (casual beer drinkers will know what this term is). The sound in Freekstyle is the reason why you have a volume knob on your TV—to mute this crap.
It seems like I have been ragging on this game too much and I admit that I haven’t given you any reasons why you should give Freekstyle a try. Well, aside from all of those bad things, you have actually a pretty solid game. Reviewers have been quoted on saying that Freekstyle was just “SSX on bikes” and even if I disagree with this quote, there is some meaning to it. The lightning fast controls are the same exact design as SSX’s and the levels are styled almost in the same way. But besides those types of things and the mixture between racing and tricking out, you actually have a stand alone title for the EA Big company. Chances are that if you have played any SSX game that you will easily pick up Freekstyle and start busting tricks, but the learning curve can be grueling with the screwed up physics and all of that. The controls are identical, though. Instead of using the main buttons like in the Tony Hawk games, you use the shoulder buttons to pull off tricks with the square button tweaking the tricks to create new ones and even giving you a little boost.
Freekstyle keeps the pace so fast that if you fall down during a race—hell, repeatedly falling down and doing very crappy—that you’ll still have a chance to win the silver, bronze, or (wait for it) gold. That’s very unlike the case like in some racing games that I’ve played where if you fall behind too much then you’ll be racing just by yourself (which gets extremely boring). In Freekstyle, it lets you in on the action even if you’re a newbie so you don’t fall behind. Now, can I please get to the tricks? There is a wide variety of tricks on your hands in the game. First of all you have the basic tricks like the Double Can-Cans, Supermen, and No-Footers, but also you have the tweaks and more difficult tricks like Screw Loose, Look-Back, and even the famed Airwalk. And these tricks are more than simple to pull off, but the thing that makes the trick system so compelling is the way you get a Special (nod to the Tony Hawk fans out there).
While doing tricks, two gauges at the bottom of the screen slowly fill up. The one of the right is the boost gauge, which tells you how much boost you have and the other tells you how much Freekstyle points you have and once you have enough of the gauge filled up then you can bust off a Freekstyle move at the push of the four shoulder buttons. These super tricks are like SSX’s Uber Trick system. These are special moves that are way over the top and done in slow motion to give you the full effect of the trick. These tricks are amazingly designed and a thrill to watch. Every rider has their own distinct ones with the switch of bikes. And when you land these, then you have extra boost to quicken you against your competition and even give you a chance to pull it off again and have a boost the whole race. Pretty cool, huh?
If you can get past the shaggy graphics, tacky soundtrack, steep difficulty, and the long levels, then you have a good game on your hands, but mediocre nonetheless. Chances are that if you’ve played any of EA Big’s extreme sports games like Sled Storm and SSX then Freekstyle will be up your alley, but I really don’t know if maybe Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater or Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX fans would approve of this games dirtiness. I recommend that if you want a good weekend of playing games then Freekstyle is for you. With compelling tracks, kick a*s moves, and controls that are so tight the any square could enjoy them, Freekstyle offers an experience that isn’t worth twenty or twelve bucks, but definitely worth the three for a rental.
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