Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2

"Whatever this is, it's NOT a Tony Hawk's Clone."

It was said when the original Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX was released for the PSX, that 'It's Tony Hawk's on bikes!'
This was very true, the game engines were near enough identical,(It even said 'THPS' on the vert ramps in Park Editor mode)though the Mat Hoffman game was not as stylish or good looking as Tony Hawk's, leaving it a like a poorer cousin. A few years later, Mat Hoffman's 2 is announced. Hardly anyone cares. They should do. Here's why...

Graphics (8/10)

At first, I found that the graphics were a tad ropey in places, and some slowdown helped it to no end. However, after a while, you'll begin to appreciate the finer points of the graphics, such as the rider animation and the lens glare, (the water on the Boston level looks amazing)which give you a feeling that this game is polished graphically.

Sound (6/10)

Hmm. This is the only real problem I have with this game. The music is absolutely DIRE in places, just rap dross or soft rock. There a few good tracks, such as 'Institutionalized' and 'Freestyler', but they are far outweighed by the rest of the tracklist. A tip to Rainbow Studios: GET DECENT MUSIC!
However, I have upped the score slightly due to the sound effects, which are OK.

Gameplay (10/10)

When people first play this, they'll be under whelmed. Unlike Tony Hawk's, it's hard to land an air trick, grinds are infuriating and modifying your tricks is nigh-on impossible. Then, you train up a bit, get better, and realise just how damn good this game is. The challenges are difficult, but not impossible, and if you practice, you WILL be able to achieve that 500,000 point objective.
Anyway, the structure of the game is based upon a real road trip that Mat Hoffman and his BMX-ing buddies undertook. Videos can be unlocked, showing them in action. At each destination, there are 12 objectives, split into three classes: Amateur, Semi-Pro, and Pro (Getting more difficult as you go along, obviously) completing your challenges gets you points, which can be used to travel to one of the eight destinations on offer. It's a well-balanced system, and makes for an open-ended game, as you can go anywhere as long as you have the points. All in all, excellent.

Lifespan (9/10)

I suppose this mark depends on what you want to do. Completing the game with every character and unlocking every secret will take a while, whereas finishing the all the objectives with just the on character can be done in four or five days. Personally, I like to go for everything, so this is a high mark for me. (Note: there are also multiplayer modes too.)

Story (0/10)

OK, I'm kidding, but all you get is some 'dudes' talking gibberish about ''Mat is like, totally a like, great, like, dude, y'know?'' in the videos. Still, the bike stunts are good.

Overall (9/10)

I think this is a great Extreme Sports game, and you could do worse (*cough*Dave Mirra*cough*) than this.If you're picky, I recommend trying it first. If you have to choose between this and Tony Hawk's 4, do everyone a favour, and get both.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/11/02, Updated 12/11/02