It’s not hard to see why
so many gamers fell in love with the Tony Hawk Pro Skater games, particularly
the third and fourth installments of the skateboarding series, since it not only
featured a slew of tricks but mission-based objectives that made each challenge
addictively enjoyable. Sporting an isometric perspective, the Tony Hawk games
were even a smash on the handheld front. Activision has now set its sights on
the younger skate fans and this time it brought some familiar Disney faces. Yet
how well does a Disney-themed skating game fare on the Game Boy Advance? Only
way to find out is to read on, space cadets.
Thankfully, Disney’s
Extreme Skate Adventure uses the same Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4 engine so
the game looks and feels identical to that game only with the Disney license.
You’ll find characters and locations from three specific Disney animated movies
such as Tarzan, Toy Story and The Lion King. There are three modes of playing
this game (including a Tutorial Mode) and three worlds with at least two
different skating environments. The Tutorial Mode is the first mode gamers
should try first since it gives gamers a basic rundown of each basic trick to
pull off. Verse Mode is the game’s only multiplayer game mode that has you
sharing your GBA system with a friend to play a Tony Hawk classic called HORSE.
Games Mode is a mode filled with three mini-games: Time Challenge, Trick
Challenge and Turbo Challenge.
The game’s main mode of
playing is Story Mode, which will have gamers choosing from the three game
worlds and then playing through an environment filled with characters related to
the world. For example, if you’re playing as Toy Story’s Woody, you interact
with characters straight from the film such as Buzz Lightyear, the plastic army
men and Mr. Potato Head. Each character has an objective you must complete for
major points. The majority of the objectives have you collecting things or
pulling off tricks in a specific location in the environment.
The game levels in any of
the three worlds are geared to the specific film. The Toy Story segment has you
in Andy’s Room and Pizza Planet, The Lion King segment puts you in Pride Rock
and the Elephant Graveyard and Tarzan has you skating through the Jungle Tree
House and the Human Camp. Each location has a number of ramps, half-pipes and
things to grind and there are even level bosses to defeat–which is an
interesting new concept to the genre. There are also seven characters to choose
from in total, although you won’t find characters from any other Disney movies
(no Donald Duck or Goofy in this one).
Pulling off combos and
tricks successfully is no hard feat considering the fact that the Tony Hawk
tricks have been toned down for the Disney crowd. This does not mean, however,
that the game is too kiddy even for its own good. This just means that pulling
off complex Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4 tricks is easy enough to pull off
without being too frustrating. This leaves more room to concentrate on the
various challenges you’ll encounter in the game’s main mode.
Graphics-wise, Extreme
Skate Adventure is actually quite impressive when you get right down to it.
While the locations are not as richly detailed, there are just enough things to
grind and plenty of ramps to launch off from when you want to pull off some neat
aerial tricks. Some locations actually look much better than other do, for
example, Pride Rock in The Lion King world has more in ways of ramps and details
than the Elephant Graveyard. The characters, though, is what makes this a real
treat. Not only are they wonderfully detailed tot he point that they’re
instantly recognizable off the bat, but they move just as you might expect them
to move. Not bad at all, actually.
The sound, though, could
have used the magical Disney touch when it comes to sound effects. While you’ll
actually hear the skate skidding while grinding things, the most prominent sound
you’ll ever hear is the sound of your character eating the floor when you take a
mean spill or land on your head. There’s not even a sound bite or two when you
complete a task or pull off a string of amazing combos. There’s music but it’s
mostly what you might expect from a Disney-themed game . . . although it’s
pretty interesting that the music for each world comes close to the score of
each of the three movies.
Disney’s Extreme Skate
Adventure might not be as deep as the Tony Hawk Pro Skater games on the GBA but
the game certainly is appealing enough to for kids that love Disney characters
and skateboarding. Not only does this game run smoothly but also pulling off
tricks is utterly fun. Still, the game does leave much to be desired when it
comes to multiplayer action. This is pure skating fun for kids that are not
quite up to the Tony Hawk challenge so, by all means, get this for them.
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#Reviewer’s |
Gameplay: 7.5
Extreme Skate Adventure’s controls
are pure Tony Hawk bliss, only slightly modified to keep each trick as simple to
pull off. Yes this game is geared toward the target Disney ages, but its solid
skating fun is good enough for all ages to enjoy. The many challenges you’ll
encounter in the game’s Story Mode will have you collecting things appropriate
to each of the three worlds and it’s great to interact with movie favorites. The
boss battles can be a bit of a distraction; but then again, it adds a fresh new
element to the genre.
Graphics: 8.0
The game’s graphics are actually
pretty impressive since it not only features some wildly interesting skating
locations (Andy’s Room has got to be one of the most satisfyingly amusing
levels) with enough details to give you something to interact with during a
level. There are some locations that are somewhat plain, though, but this is
hardly anything that will distract from the fun. It’s the characters
(especially the rag doll cowpokes Woody and Jesse) that will put a smile on your
face.
Sound: 7.0
Where are the Disney sound bites?
Why isn’t Buzz Lightyear spouting off his catch phrase “To infinity and
beyond!” You won’t find very much in terms of sound effects here as well and
this makes for a pretty average sound experience that could have benefited from
tiny sound details. The music, though, does offer something pretty
impressive–music that comes close to the score of each of the three movies the
levels are based on.
Difficulty: Medium
Story Mode is filled with plenty of
challenges to complete and thanks to the smooth and easy-to-pull-off tricks,
this leaves plenty of room to concentrate on each challenge. The difficulty
comes from the timer that is ever so demanding. Yet there is nothing here that
will leave you frustrated or at a loss of what to do next and gamers can be
thankful that the challenges aren’t too easy either.
Concept: 8.0
It might be a little odd to see The
Lion King’s Simba on a skateboard, but it’s also quite an amusing spectacle to
see the little critter pull of extreme tricks. The characters themselves are
what give this game its charming appeal and it’s nice to see that you get to
interact with characters from Tarzan, Toy Story and The Lion King. It’s also
cool to see character specific tricks (Woody waves his hat like he’s riding a
bull when he pulls off manuals.
Multiplayer: 7.0
If there’s a Game Boy Advance title
just begging for a deep multiplayer experience it’s this one. Not only would
this game have benefited from a GBA Link Cable option to play this one with two
GBA systems, but it also would have made for a more frantic Verses game mode.
Instead we get a decent version of the HORSE game mode. HORSE (or a word
associated with the Disney world you choose) has you pulling off as many combos
or killer tricks within a time limit. Then hand your GBA over to your friend
who will try to match or beat your score in order to avoid getting a letter that
will eventually spell the word, thus losing the game.
Overall: 7.9
While not on the same level as the
Tony Hawk games, Disney’s Extreme Skate Adventure is a perfect way for kids to
get comfortable with the skating genre. There’s an ample amount of objectives,
game modes and characters to keep gamers young and old well occupied but if
you’re looking for a deep skating experience, this is not the game that will
satisfy your skateboarding cravings. Still, this one is too fun to pass up so
pick this one up if you’ve got a child that’s obsessed with skateboarding and
all things Disney.
