Dave Mirra BMX Challenge

Can BMX's return save this so-so PSP effort?
Version
 PSP		Developer
Crave		Publisher
Oxygen (UK)
Crave (US)		Genre
Sports



By Dominick Hardy

It's a truism that given enough time fashion will eventually turn full circle. Back in the late 70's and early 80's, the early days of videogames also coincided with the height in popularity of the BMX craze. Every boy and his dog either had or wanted a BMX. Come the 90's and this fad had waned, to be replaced by the rebel coolness of skaters and bladers.

Now though, at the end of the noughties the wheels have turned and the BMX is well into its comeback thanks in no small part by the rise in popularity of extreme sports. The same sports that helped cause the downfall of BMXing in the first place, such as skateboarding, roller-blading and also snowboarding, are ironically also the progenitors of its revival.

"The presentation is amiss right from the off, with sluggish menu systems and jumpy interludes and cut-scenes."

You can measure BMXing's popularity by the number of videogames that are released on a regular basis and recent years have seen the genre mirror its re-found acceptance with the youth of today by undergoing a similar revival in videogame form. It is a landscape dominated by two franchises - Matt Hoffman's Pro BMX series and Dave Mirra's Freestyle BMX. This latest incarnation of the latter is renamed Dave Mirra BMX Challenge, and so what is different between this and previous versions? Well, for starters it's a lot worse.

The presentation is amiss right from the off, with sluggish menu systems and jumpy interludes and cut-scenes. Still, a great game will soon render these points moot. It's unfortunate then that things do not get much better. There are three main modes of play namely quick play, exhibition and career mode, yet these names are a façade as the underlying game is the same - race or trick contests with not a lot in between. Quick play will dump you straight into a race against 3 other riders; exhibition lets you choose your location and whether to compete in a race or a trick contest; and career mode lets you configure your rider and bike and compete in - yep, you guessed it - race or trick contests.

"The race modes are unnecessarily difficult for a number of reasons, the biggest and most important being illogical track design."

So, not a lot of variety but maybe what's there is perfectly honed? Nope, sorry. The race modes are unnecessarily difficult for a number of reasons, the biggest and most important being illogical track design and opponents that are just too good, even on novice mode. It is not always evident which way you are supposed to go when racing around the open-ended environments and often you will find yourself repositioned against your will, back to a standing start and trying to catch up. Combine this with perfect opponents that know the route like the back of their hand and manage to ride off into the sunset whilst you are still gathering speed and the only thing you end up racing towards is frustration.

But if for some reason that sounds appealing, the jumps and tricks will change your mind. Gaining air will increase your adrenaline meter which can then be used for a temporary speed boost. This in turn enables higher jumps and more trick combos. Sounds good, but after performing trick after trick you will more often than not find yourself crashing and burning due to slamming into a wall thanks once again to the poor track design.

"You're not told how long you have to complete the event - not even a countdown for the last 10 or 15 seconds.."

While it's commendable that developers Left Field Productions have tried to keep things real via their use of rag-doll physics, the way your avatar goes flailing is comical at first but rapidly becomes grating.

Trick contests are not much better. The events take place in the same arena as the races so basically you race around performing as many tricks as you can. Which coincidently is exactly what you do in race mode, only without racers to compete against. Where's the variety? You're not told how long you have to complete the event - not even a countdown for the last 10 or 15 seconds.

P L E A S E   V I S I T   O U R   S P O N S O R :

When your arbitrary time limit is up, your total points are compared against another three riders and - like with the race mode - you must come in the top three to unlock the next level. Even though there are no opponents on screen, you are still competing against them. The track design does not help much in this mode either - you'll often find yourself grinding a ledge one second only to reach the end and be dumped in the ocean.

Not even stabilisers will keep this fundamentally flawed title going for long. Are there any plus points then? Well, the use of a fish-eye camera allows for some good perspective effects particularly when using a half-pipe to get big air. There's also plenty of tricks to learn and master - if you have the patience and dedication. And whilst the tracks are large and open, they are difficult to navigate for the aforementioned reasons.

Unfortunately there's not much here to recommend. Not even stabilisers will keep this fundamentally flawed title going for long.



















Graphics Sound Gameplay Depth Presentation OVERALL
5.0 5.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0


THE VERDICT: Not even a quick-fix repair kit will help patch things up here. Dave Mirra BMX Challenge lets the good name of the franchise down by a long way and there is not a lot that can be said in its favour. To summarize - catch a ride elsewhere.