ESPN X Games Skateboarding

"Until Tony Hawk 3 comes...this is as good as it gets..."

In the past, the X-Games license has been a relatively mediocre series that has spawned several of the different events that the X-Games features every year. In this particular part of the series, you take control of one of eight different skaters, all of which are big names in the skate boarding world through several stages to complete a range of objectives in order to gain licenses to open up the next few stages! You have a limited amount of tricks to perform and the control is a little stiff, but the overall game play is enough to keep skateboarding games happy until the release of Tony Hawk 3.

-Game Play 8/10-

Spanning across six stages, you take one of eight skate boarding competitors through a variety of challenges that range from knocking objects down with a wall ride, or gaining a set amount of point within the time limit. You'll ride through New York and San Francisco to wild places like a passenger ship and a huge set of ruins in the jungle! The amount of tricks that you have to use is rather limited, but with different challenges requiring you to use all of the most basic ones, you'll have a pretty easy time getting through the game. In some stages, you can take a specific skater through and earn a hidden board for that character, or just by gaining all of the licenses on a stage, you'll unlock a different board or more game play options accordingly. With several different mode options, you can either tackle the Arcade Mode, which gives you objectives to complete, or you can play through Competition Mode which gives you the full on version of an actual X-Games trial in which you can compete for medals! All in all, you have a wide variety options that aren't too hard to get through, but get rather old once you've been through with just one single character.

-Control 8/10-

It's a familiar control set up, with anyone who has played a Tony Hawk, Dave Mirra or Mat Hoffman game being able to pick up the controls on their first time through! While beginners to this type of genre may have a hard time getting the basics, there is a practice mode that you can use to get your control setup down, and after about an hour or so of play, anyone should be able to bust out a heavy trick combination or grind off of virtually anything.

-Visuals 8/10-

Truly the star of the game, the visuals are very well detailed, environments are extremely well designed, and the skaters all have a life and flare that is comparative to actual life! All of the tricks move with a relatively fast speed, and the small effects like the visual blurring when you start spinning after a super hard trick is a bonus.

-Audio 8/10-

With several music tracks that you'll recognize from some top name bands, you'll find X-Games offers up a pulse pounding soundtrack that fits the pace of the game! The tracks loop together, but in the midst of busting out some heavy tricks, it helps to have such a sound track accompanying you. The sound effects however are set to a minimum, with grinds, and crashes taking most of the precedence over anything else in the game. You'll find that the mix of minimal effects and the blasting soundtrack to be a perfect mix!

-Overall 8/10-

X-Games is as good as it gets for the time being with Tony Hawk on the way. While it has plenty of familiar game play and the controls being a THPS style setup, most fans of the skateboarding genre will find this title to be a good hold over until the THPS3 arrival! However, fans who are looking for insane trick combinations, consistent speed and challenges to boot as well as a ton of multi player modes might want to head over to Dave Mirra 2, or bring out the THPS games for PSOne.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/11/01, Updated 10/11/01