Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX

"The best BMX game I have ever played, but still room for improvement"

Let me start of by saying this, this is my first review and I feel I have played this game long enough to submit this. Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX is a great game that is worth buying. I first rented this game, and the day it went back I bought it at my local gaming store. Got home and popped it into my playstation.

Graphics: 9 out of 10

The reason for not getting a perfect score is because there are little sketchy scenes here and there but it will not ruin this game. The level designs from the first board to the last are far above average, great for a playstation game. The detail on the bikes is great.

Control: 9 out of 10
The controls in this game for the most part are perfect, and right on the dot. The controls in this game resemble the controls in Tony Hawk Pro Skater very closely. If you were a pro at THPS then you should be pretty good at this game. I do find it that sometimes(very few times) when you press up,down or down,up to do a manual it won't always work. At first I had problems pulling off specials but now I can pull them off with not even trying.

Gameplay: 10 out of 10
So much things to do, there is career, single session, free ride, park editor and two player mode. All will be discussed below.

Career Mode: This mode is the base of one player mode. You pick a rider and there first bike and start the first board. The objectives in career mode in MHPBMX are the same as in THPS(High Score,Destroying Objects,Collecting letters,Hidden tape/cover and Pro Score) As you progress later in the game the objectives become harder to do but with a little practice you will have them completed. As you gain more covers you get better bikes and new levels

Single Session: Like career(but you don't have to complete the objectives to beat the board) you ride around getting points by going up vert ramps, grinding whatever you can think of. You can only go the boards that you have unlocked in Career mode or parks you have made.

Free Ride: What can I really say about free ride, it is pretty much the single session without time. You ride around in one board collecting points until you get bored of that level. Free Ride is basically a practice mode where you can take all the time you want. You can ride in boards you lock in career or parks you have made

Park Editor: This is by far my favorite part of this game. You design pretty much everything you want. You make your own dream park. You get to pick from 4 themes, which serve as backgrounds and 'color changes'(depending on which theme you pick the objects in the park may be different colors) There is also five different sizes you can use for your park. There is a limit on what you can put in to your park but most of the time it will never reach the limit. You can ride in your park in every different category(except career) I have also found out that if you want to play one of your parks in two player mode, Do NOT put a lot of stuff in your park so the meter is on red, because you will get a message saying there is not enough memory to play this park under this option(two player) There are also five or six pre-made parks you can use to get ideas from.

Two Player Mode: If you have played THPS then you should be very familiar with this mode. You play against a friend in any level(regular level or one you made) in three different modes:
---Trick Attack: A 'Race' For Points, whoever gets the most points wins. Both players ride at the same time(split screen)
---Graffiti: Use ramps, Grinds whatever to takeover parts of the level. If P1 gets 200points on a vert ramp then it turns blue and P1 gets one point and it remains blue to P2 steals it by scoring a higher amount of points. Both players ride at the same time(split screen)
---Horse: Ever play the basketball game HORSE, it's like that but this is based on points. Player 1 starts and has 10seconds to do a move, if P1 lands the move P2 must go and try to beat that score in order to stay in the game, if P2 didn't beat the score he get's an H. If P1 bailed the move while trying to land it, then P2 gets to go and P2 can get whatever score they want and P1 has to try to beat it. The game ends once someone gets HORSE.

Audio/ Soundtrack: 7 out of 10
The sounds made in this game while grinding, or going across certain surfaces is cool because each surface has it's own special sound. Just the bailing is pretty dumb because when you bail a trick you make a grunt. Now for the sound track, this soundtrack isn't that good, but it isn't the worst soundtrack. The only good band on the soundtrack(in my opinion) is Static X, but the song they do for this game sucks. There is one song I liked(forgot who sings it) but is called ' The CFB Song' When I play I either put the CFB song on or put on some Fear Factory in my stereo and mute the TV.

Replayability: 10 out of 10
This game can be played over and over again(until you get bored, but with so much to do it will be a while). This game has eight levels(one being playable from the start until you get enough covers to gain them in career) There are also two hidden levels(which you have to really work hard to get) There is a third 'hidden' level but you need a dex drive or a Gameshark to get it. There is so much to do with gaining all the riders and there best bikes, making your own parks, two player mode, beating career and get the hidden levels. This game is great for parties, play friends and host your own tournaments with friends if you want.

The Riders: This game has 8 characters playable from the start with two hidden characters(that's all I will say about this)

Graphics: 10 out of 10
Control: 9 out of 10
Gameplay: 10 out of 10
Audio/Soundtrack: 7 out of 10
Replayability: 10 out of 10
Overall: 46 out of 50

Rent or Buy: This game is worth buying, if you feel my review told you some stuff about the game and still aren't sure about buying just rent it and see if you like.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/16/01, Updated 07/16/01