Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX: Web Wombat: Games

It was a formula that would catapult Neversoft and its publishing partner, Activision, into the limelight, who consistently present shareholders with massive revenues and gamers with awesome titles.

Based on said Tony Hawk game engine, Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX isn't just more of the same with a different character and new mode of locomotion.

While fundamentally similar, the game plays out slightly differently.

The physics have been changed a little to suit BMX and because of their dimensions, they react within the gameworld quite differently than how a skateboard does.

Anyone who has played a Tony Hawk game will be able to learn the controls in a fairly short period. There are a few new moves, which include flipping the bike around when your facing the wrong way and so forth, but for the most part, the controls are very similar. There's a jump, grab, misc trick and a grind button, all of which can be combined with different directions on the D-pad for permutations on the themes. Manuals are in there too, but everybody knows they're called wheelies...

Despite the game being fairly easy to pick up, the physics - changed since Tony Hawk - aren't to the high standard set by the Dave Mirra titles. That said, Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX is probably the best extreme sports games ported to the PC and, seeing as Dave Mirra couldn't make the journey from PSX and DC to the personal computer, we'll forget about it for now.

Watch as I magically fall over, cutting my head open

I feel the developers, RuneCraft, could have come up with a heavier feel for the physics modeling.

Now I don't want to get all big headed, but I've ridden BMXs for much of my life, and from this experience I can honestly say the bikes get massive air, much too easily. At it's core, it's unrealistic, but that doesn't stop it from being fun, either.

Like Tony Hawk, there are three main play modes - career, single-session and free-ride, with the latter of most import. To get anywhere in the other modes, you must first unlock each consecutive level in career mode.

This involves attaining five magazine covers on each of the nine levels by completing various objectives, like scoring a huge amount of points or flicking switches or locating a secret cover. I'd hazard a guess that most gamers know the drill by know…

For me, you can forget the graphics, the trick system and funky soundtrack (though it helps) because the levels are what really had me. There's plenty of variety, from the mega-grinding London Subway to

Having a bunch of different characters to play around with is fast becoming one of the mainstays in Activision's 'O2 Sports' growing line-up. With the likes of Mat Hoffman, Mike Escamilla, Kevin Robinson, Joe Kowalski, Rick Thorne, Dennis McCoy, Simon Tabron and Cory Nastazio, there's something for everyone - except the girls. What's with that anyway? Tony Hawk gets Elissa, what does Mat Hoffman get? A double dose of testosterone, eh.

In actual fact, there is a female rider in the game, but she's a grandma and is really only there for novelty value. She is unlocked if players repeatedly crash, stack and mangle themselves thoroughly.

Flying high: we call this move the superman

There is also one other secret BMX rider - Tony Hawk. Ironic, but fun. The skate sovereign is unlocked by performing incredibly well, in sharp contrast to unlocking old granny with the basket on the front.

Still, being a BMXer I thought the monkey bike was a better and more nostalgic choice included in the Dave Mirra games.

Graphically, Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX is quite nice to regard, with varied textures, smooth polygon placement and good use of the colour palette too.

There's nothing worse than a crappy PSX port using the PSX palette with its dark, drab, grey tones. Even at 640x480 the game looks a treat and at 1024x768 it's really quite sexy. That said, you'll need more than 64Mb RAM to be cranking that res with a decent framrate.

Staying faithful to the PSX port, all the licensed music tracks are in there, which do a magnificent job of getting players amped for long sessions. Not confined to just one genre, gamers will hear original music by the likes of Outkast, Jurassic 5, Agent Orange, Racer X and Pailhead - the last two for those who like to thrash. Also, the longterm values are safe. With a very cool park editor, multiple methods of play and a career mode that will last many moons, you won't be disappointed by Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX, not by a long shot.

While I've read many reviews which have quoted the old "if it ain't broke" maxim, I reckon the game could be fixed in a number of ways. On its own it is a very impressive game and really, it shouldn't be seen any other way - this is quality coding folks. But line it up against Dave Mirra and the slight imperfections start to show.

At the end of the day however, this is the only extreme BMX game on the PC, which makes it the only choice for budding X-Gamers. The game has very few flaws and comes off as a high class product, just don't expect a simulation - this is more of an action/sports game. At the same token, it's fun, fast and while not as realistic as this reviewer would have liked, it's still a tip-top game.

Game: Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX
System: PC
Players: 1-2
Online: No
Developer: Runecraft
Distributor: Activision

Rating: 80%

(Ratings Key/Explanation)

Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX is on the shelves now.

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