"Ride with
the legend. Fear nothing."
That’s the
slogan of Dave Mirra BMX Challenge, a game that appears to be just another
clone of the Tony Hawk empire. Many of you should remember the Dave Mirra
series for its smashing debut, as well as its eventual PS2 and GameCube
sequels. The series was born because of Mr. Hawk’s video-game success, but it
had just the right amount of unique features, more speed than the current Tony
Hawks, and original levels that made it stand out from the crowd.
The Dave
Mirra series has had some success, but it’s always been one step behind Tony
Hawk. All extreme sports games have been. It’s almost ironic that, the first
time Dave Mirra attempts to do something completely different, they’re faced
with a Tony Hawk sequel that is doing the exact same thing: racing.
Trick or
Tre…Finish Line
BMX
Challenge does not look like a different kind of game. Screenshots reveal the
many ramps, pipes, and other trick-boosting pieces. They do not, however, show
how far these worlds have been stretched. You don’t merely ride around in the
same area, working hard to score the most points. The real goal is to find
your way through each stage while scoring as many points as possible. Points
are not necessary to your success in a race. There is a point-specific mode,
but that doesn’t have any effect on whether or not you’re the fastest cyclist.
It does,
however, give you the chance to find shortcuts that will improve your chances
of winning. In one of the race courses – which are so deep you could call them
stages – you’ll ride through an interactive museum. Grind dinosaur bones to
reach higher areas or to gain some air. Grind the rails of the planetarium to
reach the exit a little faster. Hop off ramps and turn sharp corners to find
the quickest route to the finish line. While you’re doing this, an awesome
display of museum architecture is brought into view. This isn’t the most
visually spectacular PSP game, but it does have several creative high points.
The trick
mode is a more traditional feature set in the Dave Mirra world. Cruise the
city streets, explore rooftops and underground tunnels, and locate as many
rails and half-pipes as possible. Use them to launch yourself into the air and
to pull off a few quick consecutive moves. If done properly, and if landed
successfully, the tricks will be linked for a combo, which multiplies the
score by the number of total moves. Because of this, Dave Mirra fans know how
to exploit the system: find a series of rails and grind them with a series of
jumps. Each jump that leads into another grind adds to your multiplier.
Controller Challenge
The controls
are workable, but not wholeheartedly functional. It almost feels like I’m
using a D-pad rather than the PSP’s version of an analog stick. I push to the
left ever so slightly, hoping to weave in and out of a cluster of pillars. But
"slight" is not interpreted as such. "Slight" is followed by a turn that is
slightly more pronounced than was intended. My rider goes too far to the left,
and I wind up having to wait while the game re-sets his position.
This can
happen near rails, walls, and various objects. Let’s suppose I wish to grind
one rail but leave the next alone while riding very close to it. Big mistake.
The jerky controls push me into the next rail. BMX Challenge’s collision
detection isn’t very good either. If I do manage to nail the controls and
place my rider exactly where I want, there’s a chance the game will still
believe I’m too close to the rail. I’ll crash, and lose at least a portion of
my lead in the race.
In most
circumstances, losing a place or two doesn’t matter. The courses are long, and
enemy AI isn’t very challenging, even on the "Pro" setting. (BMX Challenge’s
default setting is Novice, which must be completed before the next difficulty
tier can be accessed.) Therefore when I crash, I can generally expect to get
up, crash a few more times, and then win the race.
That last
one shouldn’t be possible. But if it weren’t, the controls would be twice as
damaging. The game would seem cheap because of its technical shortcomings.
These flaws
do prevent BMX Challenge from being on par with its predecessors. In
particular, the PS2 and GameCube sequels from Acclaim had steering and trick
mechanics that were without any significant, play-damaging quirks.
I enjoyed
the game in spite of these issues, and I know that most Tony Hawk and Dave
Mirra fans will as well. It’s flawed but cheap, short but sweet, and comes
with a solid amount of replay value.
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Gameplay: 7.3
Dave Mirra BMX
Challenge is a cool, entertaining, and original racing game. The controls
can’t compare to the previous games in the series. Slight turns are met with
jerky movements that could (and often do) cause an unnecessary crash. The game
is also pretty short. But the gameplay is very thrilling – you won’t find
anything else like it on the PSP.
Graphics: 7.9
Not the prettiest
game the PSP has ever seen, but its creative course designs are not to be
missed.
Sound: 5.9
Instrumental punk
rock knock-offs.
Difficulty: Easy/Medium
As the first
racer in the series, it was wise for the developers not to make the game too
difficult. All players will need to learn the new play style (which doesn’t
take that long) before they can fully enjoy what the game has to offer. On the
down side, it means you can finish the introductory races in under an hour.
The second “Pro” batch doesn’t take much longer.
Concept: 8.0
It’d be unfair to
say that Dave Mirra BMX Challenge is a rip-off of Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam.
Both share the concept of extreme sports transformed into extreme racing. Like
most of you, I heard about Downhill Jam first. But both titles were released
within a couple weeks of each other. Therefore this concept is still fresh,
exciting, and makes for a wonderful gameplay experience.
Multiplayer: 7.0
Ad hoc racing and
trick challenges for four.
Overall: 7.3
Featuring lengthy
city courses, Dave Mirra BMX Challenge has a few firsts for the series. (1)
This is the franchise’s first offshoot, (2) it’s a racing game, and (3)
you’re constantly moving forward (and sometimes in circles but with a
forward-looking goal in mind). The game isn’t very long, and it doesn’t have
the great, highly responsive controls of the original Dave Mirra. But if you
want low-cost excitement with a lot of replay value, and if you want something
to play after finishing Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam, BMX Challenge is worth a
look.
