Dave - "Whoa, I guess that Dave Mirra has it all!"
Aaron - "Yeah! And look! Remember that half-baked band Millencollin that no one really likes? Well, Dave Mirra actually got permission to use all of the songs that they didn't use as singles for the game! Boy I'll tell ya! That Dave Mirra! He got the MAXIMUM REMIX SONGS!!! WHOOO!
Dave - "Whoa! Millencollin? I think I heard the crackheads on State St. talking about them! Cool! Is there anything else cool about this game?
Aaron - Wow Dave, you set me up for that one! Just look at how hard it is for me to steer the bike around the arenas! See how I have to switch between the D-Pad and Analog sticks just to do tricks? Gee Golly I'll tell you what! That Dave Mirra! Always incorporating new methods into his games! It's The MAXIMUM REMIX CONTROLS! WHOOO!
End Conversation/Start Review
About a week ago I got Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX: Maximum Remix. I played the first one a few times and well, I loved it so I figured since this was proclaimed as the "Newer, faster, more fun!" version, I'd get it. And I must stress this...everyone listening?
Just Because You Put "Maximum Remix" At The End Of A Game Title Doesn't Make It Better
O.k., so why is it so bad? Lemme see, just about everything in the game sucks.
Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX had all the workings of a great game, nice graphics, a fun soundtrack and good replay value. Sure, it was a Tony Hawk clone and it was just really a port for BMX fans but it was a good game. It had a good amount of riders, about 10 riders but in the new game you have 12 plus some hidden ones. Following Mat Hoffman's BMX game, it was proven to be more fun, in my all mighty opinion anyway. Problem was the replay value, got REALLY old fast, just like THPS2. So basically, if you already have a Tony Hawk/Mat Hoffman game, there's no need to pick this up, if anything burn it.
Dude! This Game Proves Blocks CAN FLY!
Every skater, not just a few, but all of them look like legos. Imagine if you will, a man whose arms are in no way in proportion to his body and his legs look like blocks of poorly painted legos. If you see this, you have a BMX biker in this game. Bland colors and blocky figures kill the look that was made to look decent in the previous game. At LEAST the bikes look acceptable. The courses on the other hand look better than most, it's probably just a rehashed Tony Hawk clone park but it works well. Next to Hoffman, Mirra has some better and prettier stages but there are too many graphical glitches to even want to play it again.
In the schoolyard I "accidentally" fell through the barriers in the stages every time I played. There is a good factor here however, the animations that the riders perform, no matter how horrible and blocky they may seem, look very good. The tricks that are performed are fluid in movement and have smooth transitions for the tricks performed. The Skeletal Dynamics system that makes you fall a different way each time still makes me laugh, seeing legs go behind the rider's heads and all. Suffers like it did in The Bouncer, it looks ridiculous. Other than that, the game has a one way ticket to sucksville.
Hear That Sound? It's The Sound Of Millions Of Gamers CRYING!
As I said above, many of the things in this game cannot be saved. Like Millencollin, they're an o.k. band but lending one of their worst songs to the album is just unneeded. The Dropkick Murphys add a breath of fresh air to the soundtrack at least, giving us something new. While the game comes with an additional CD of the game's music, it's not something you'll be spinning around too many times, maybe once. The game's whole soundtrack sounds like Sum 41 threw up a band, and that band performed the music. The sound effects for hitting the rails and falling seem pretty right-on but nothing to throw a party over.
The real LACK of sounds really hurts the game, you can't just splice in some effects and hope people will go nuts for it.
Harder to control than a rabid reindeer after Christmas
O.k., here's the deal. I always try and use the analog and it usually works for me in these games. In Dave Mirra I was so happy I could navigate well getting to the jumps using it but when it comes to performing tricks, it's more flimsy than a contorted Frisbee. I was constantly changing my variations going to the D-Pad for all my tricks until I faced the inevitable, I'd have to use the thumb-murdering D-Pad for everything and I HATE that. At least with the D-Pad I can do everything right and the controls are responsive most of the time, other than that it's mediocre, something common in this game. It’s pretty easy to perform tricks but with the bad gameplay will you really want to?
I'm telling you...you're gonna want to kill yourself after you play it...
What's worse than a game that's difficulty is harder is anything? A game who's difficulty is easier than anything. Sure, the new game sports 3 new difficulty levels but it's so easy to rack up points it's meaningless.
Example: I landed Backflip flair 360 sideways, not straight, not backwards, SIDEWAYS! And I still landed without any problems!
This happened just about every time I went to jump so I inevitably beat the ProQuest mode within a day. Also, I had the same problem with the first THPS game, I had no sense of actual speed. I could hit a ramp going very slow and suddenly skyrocket into the air with great ease. I couldn't figure it out! Sure when you go down some ramps you feel like you're going slightly faster than before but nothing that will blow your mind. Hoffman's game projects it better. You've got plenty of modes to fiddle around with though, from the career ProQuest and free ride modes that let you rack up points to the slight multiplayer modes that let you try and beat out each other for reigning as Points Champion. Beating all of the challenges in the proQuest and other modes was fun for a while but they never really made you want to get up and go for another round of riding. The one thing I did like was the arenas, if anything, they were unique, with similar design to Hoffman and THPS games. The trick modifier was also a nice touch, added a bit of strategy to your tricks but nothing very spectacular, at least it’s something you can showcase that THPS and Hoffman don’t have.
Overall
I'd avoid this game like the plague, if you're looking for an extreme sports game, try Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 or Mat Hoffman BMX both are for PSX.
Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX - 1st Original Release (BLACK LABEL) BRAND NEW FACTORY SEALED For Playstation 1 , 2 , PS3 20GB , 60GB , 80GB $2 SHIPPING on E...More at eBay
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