I tried the original PC version, which was OK compared to Matt Hoffman, except the controls were complete different and the trick system was also different. I never got into the PC version. But I read that Dave Mirra 2, thank goodness, has both the original DM control style and the MH control style. And it does, so I picked up the game.

It took me a while to get into the game because the control scheme may emulate MH, but the trick system is still a bit different. I've gotten used to the game now, but there are still little niggling things that bother me -- the biggest of them being the rolling backwards endlessly one. When I land a trick backwards, sometimes it's really hard to get Dave to go the right way again. This applies also to when I smack into a wall and he starts rolling backwards. I'm sure that there is a way to quickly get Dave going the right way again, but I haven't found it yet. Otherwise the control and the trick system are good and people with experience with Matt Hoffman's game should be able to get into this game within an hour or two.

The music in the game is good. Though since I spent so much time racing around in Gran Turismo 3, I was surprised to hear The Cult's "She Sells Sanctuary" as the title song for Dave Mirra 2, it just caught my attention. The sound in the game is good, nothing fantastic. There are all the requisite tire sounds and crash sounds.

The graphics are pretty good. There is one thing missing that Matt Hoffman has: blood. I wonder why Acclaim took out the blood from the crashes in Dave Mirra 2. Although it is gratuitous in Matt Hoffman, it's sadly missing from Dave Mirra 2 -- the blood makes the crashes look all that much more terrible. The one thing to mention about Dave Mirra 2 is the reverse kinetics that are used on the character models. Instead of set ways that the limbs move when the rider crashes, the limbs are actaully following real-time calculations on how real human limbs would move in that situation. Things completely makes up for the lack of blood because of the way that the rider looks when he smashes into something, or flies through the air. It's very convincing. Otherwise the graphics in Dave Mirra 2 are good, though not outstanding. I've noticed tearing in some of the graphics from time to time. And in the first level on the hills there are noticeable boundaries where textures meet. Pop-up is noticeable also in the game, especially when one is riding on near flat land without buildings in the way.

The levels are incredibly large. There is just so much to look at and so many things to jump over, grind on, and ride through. The first level gives one the sense that the world is unlimited and alive -- there are little kids driving around on go-carts, the are golf carts driving around, and there are trucks driving around. The second level has actual trains moving around one train tracks that you can grind on. The level of detail put into the levels is incredible.

Overall, I'm hooked on Dave Mirra 2. I probably won't need or want to pick up Matt Hoffman's new released on the PS2 because DM2 is one entertaining game. The rewards system works well in driving me to try different things and learn different moves. If you like extreme sports and liked playing Matt Hoffman's BMX game on the PSone, then Dave Mirra 2 is worth a purchase. This is an awesome game, even given its flaws.

Recommended:
Yes