Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2

"Note to Activision: Try Harder..."

The original Mat Hoffman's BMX title was released way back in the days of the PSone. It was an enjoyable, if flawed, extreme-sports game that took up a lot of my time. When I heard a sequel was coming, I hoped that the issues with the first game would have been cleared up and there would finally be a BMX title worth playing.

Imagine my disappointment then, when I put the disc into my Cube...

Gameplay - 3/10
The weakest area of the game, and when it such a crucial one, you know the game isn't worth the trouble.

The main play mode is based around a bus tour of the USA, with Mat and his buddies chilling out and skating around the country. While this sounds original in practice, it amounts to little more than a way to tie the levels together and show you some grainy FMV.

Unlocking levels is done poorly as well. If you get stuck on a certain objective in a level, there is no way of bypassing it to move on and get the next level open, you have to complete that objective first. It's poorly thought-out, and one tough objective could halt your progress instantly.

While we're on the subject of level goals, they're pretty lame stuff. Collecting tokens, hopping over landmarks and knocking things over all feature heavily, and are not imaginative in any way.

The controls are also awful. While the game is based on the Tony Hawk's engine, every last drop of style and ease of use has been squeezed out of it. The bikes have turning circles like a tank. The only way to turn around in a hurry is to tap down on the control stick, but this only seems to work half of the time.

The trick system is also poor. It's extremely hard to judge how far you are from the lip of a jump, and often you'll hit it and dismount when you think you're in mid-air.

Graphics - 5/10
Average is the key word here. It looks like a lazy PS2 port because that's exactly what it is. Everything has a grey, washed-out look to it, and it hardly draws you into the game.

The levels, while fairly big, are poorly realized, and lack detail. The very first level is the worst of all with endless grey walls and blurry textures. After seeing it it's unlikely you'll want to come back to the game.

The bikes and riders are fairly good, but nothing that couldn't be done on the PS2, or for that matter, the Dreamcast.

The FMV in the game is also terrible. It's badly compressed and is shown in a small window. Not good at all.

Sound - 4/10
A matter of taste on this one. The music is your standard rap/rock generic garbage with tunes from a few semi well known bands, but it never reaches the heights of the Tony Hawk's soundtrack. But I'm sure if you like the style of music you'll get a kick out of it...for about 2 minutes.

The sound effects could have been plucked from any library of generic effects. None stand out and all are tiresome...which actually fits in well with the rest of the game.

Lastability - 5/10
The game is large. If you like it, you'll be playing for months. There are lots of things to unlock including secret riders and videos, but since the main game is so poor, it's unlikely you'll play it long enough to get any value from it anyway.

Overall - 4/10
It's not even a contender. There are far better extreme sports games on the GameCube including the Tony Hawk's titles and Aggressive Inline. The clunky controls and general grey and uninspired look of the game will put you off it straight away, and the annoying unlocking of levels will finish the job.

Buy Or Rent?
Neither...well ok, rent it if you really have to, but only to see for yourself how bad it is. Even if you see it dirt cheap, the game isn't worth a purchase. It's a real stinker.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 03/27/03, Updated 03/27/03