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Platform: Gameboy Advance Genre: Sports Publisher: Activision Developer: Hotgen Studios ESRB: E (Everyone) Released: Q4 2001 Support AE! Buy Games Here:
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Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMXScore: 7.5/10 |
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Pros: - Nice, varied gameplay - Decent visuals - Tricks are reasonably ease to execute |
Cons: - Some maneuvering tires out the thumbs - Sound effects could use a little bit more oomph |
Related Links: Review: Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX (Dreamcast) |
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"Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX actually does a good job of providing a little something for everybody."
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At
first I was pretty skeptical as to how well this game would translate
making its way from the Dreamcast to the Gameboy Advance.
It just seemed so necessary that the game stay in its 3D world,
but after putting Hoffman through its paces it’s still plenty of fun
in its 2D, handheld world. Decent
visuals, responsive controls, and it’s whole pick up and play quality
are the high points of this game making it a worthy candidate for
witling away a few hours on a lengthy road trip.
The
key positive aspect of this game is that it easily lends itself to being
played in quick burst. You
don’t have to worry about investing an hour or so at a time into the
game in order to see any progress.
Each course has a number of things that must be accomplished in
order to unlock the next track, but it doesn’t feel like a chore at
all. In fact it feels a lot
more like a game of Pac Man where you simply worry about outdoing
yourself in subsequent runs on the course until you have gotten enough
of the goals completed to get to the next course.
Once you get the hang of the gameplay it’s not too difficult to
get the rest of the tracks unlocked, but the challenge is still present
in trying to complete absolutely every goal on every course.
It’s the exact same formula as the Tony Hawk series and it
works just fine here.
There are plenty of game modes to choose from with Tournament, Career, and free runs, allowing players to either put in a relatively length commitment to the game for a sitting or just kill 15 minutes while waiting for the bus. It’s very versatile in the options it gives the player. The
presentation is a pleasant surprise here too.
With this sort of game we almost always see it in a 3D world so
it has engrained itself in most gamers psyche to a degree that this is
just the way they are displayed. Luckily
for Hoffman, this game actually looks just fine.
With a three quarter overhead view players still have a very
acceptable view of what is happening while moving throughout the levels.
Moreover, nothing is terribly small or difficult to see on the
screen unlike some portable games where squinting and straining are the
norm.
Complementing
the ease of view is the game’s ease of control.
While everything has been squeezed into a scant few buttons in
the GBA version of Hoffman, everything that needs be done can be done
with relative ease. The
most important maneuvers are handled by with the directional pad plus
the A and B buttons, allowing players to easily go nuts with vert tricks
and whatnot. However,
button mashing won’t do the trick, pun intended, when doing
these moves. Granted you can rack up a decent score this way, but
to do really well learning each move and finding ways to string them
together will yield far better results.
About the only gripe I have with the controls of the game is that
my thumb gets all tuckered out working the directional pad on the verts,
but other than that the controls are very smooth, responsive, and well
laid out. Audio,
while serviceable, won't knock anyone's socks off.
The crowd cheers are surprisingly good, but everything else makes the
noises one would expect, but through tiny, muddled speakers. The
music, though, goes a long way to make up for it.
It’s nothing out of the ordinary, with your typical peppy tunes
to keep the energy up. It
gets the job done. Mat
Hoffman’s Pro BMX actually does a good job of providing a little
something for everybody. It
has some depth for those who want a little meat on their gaming bones,
as well as providing quick bursts of gaming for those who just want to
kill a little bit of time. But
whatever side of the fence you stand, there is a lot of fun to be had
here. - Mr. Nash (January 27, 2002) Search for Related Topics: ...More Gameboy Advance Game Reviews... |
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