Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2

I have good news and I have bad news about Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2. The good news is that Dave Mirra 2 uses the awesome 3D style of gameplay that was introduced by Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2. The backgrounds are flat, but have some impressive texturing that make them appear to be three-dimensional. However, the Game Boy Advance cannot render these environments fast enough to recreate the full-3D PS2/Xbox/GC versions, so the backgrounds are pre-rendered, similar in style to Resident Evil. Because of this, the camera has been tilted a little and zoomed out behind the biker, giving DM2 an isometric view. This view worked perfectly in Tony Hawk 2. The controls were nearly identical to its PSone counterpart, the only difference being the way you land. If you grind a vertical rail and jump off of it, then you must land vertically or else you'll crash (because in the game world, moving vertically, horizontally or diagonally is always interpreted as going forward). DM2 controls the same way. Unfortunately, that's where the similarities between the two games end.

If you thought that the GBA version of Tony Hawk 2 was too slow, then you might fall asleep playing Dave Mirra 2. The Dave Mirra series has always been slower than any of Activison's extreme sports games, but it wasn't necessary to make this version play slower than Tony Hawk 2 because Tony Hawk 2 played slow enough! Extreme sports are meant to be fast and exciting, not slow and mellow. The slow gameplay may not bother everyone, but I guarantee that it will annoy anyone who has played the real version of the game because the difference in speed is very noticeable.

There are four game modes in Dave Mirra 2 -- Proquest, Session, Free-Ride and Two-Player -- all of which were taken directly from the console versions. In Proquest mode, you have 30 objectives to complete in each of the game's 12 levels. Complete the first 10 to become a Pro rider, then complete the next 10 objectives to reach hardcore status. If you manage to conquer the last 10 objectives, you'll become the master of freestyle biking. Unfortunately, the rest of the game is not as exciting as this mode. The Free-Ride and Session modes serve little purpose in this game, and the two-player mode is barely a multiplayer mode since you're forced to take turns. Star Collector (one of the two-player mini-games) isn't bad, and you don't need two copies of the game or two GBAs to play it with a friend. The object is to collect 10 stars as quickly as possible, then give the GBA to a friend and see if he can collect the stars faster than you. However, this is an extreme sports game, not Mario 64, and I would much rather perform tricks than collect stars. The other two-player game gives you the chance to prove you're the BMX master and collect the most points, but since it's turn-based, I feel that the mode isn't even necessary. I'd much rather play the regular game and take turns than access the two-player mode and pretend it's something special or unique.

Dave Mirra 2 suffers the fate as almost every game ported to the Game Boy Advance. It costs nearly as much as the console versions, but it does not play half as good. You can pick up the GameCube version of DM2 for only fifty bucks. I say "only" because the GBA version costs $40. If it was a really good game, the price wouldn't matter as much, but 80% of the GBA titles released last year can be purchased at Target and Best Buy for $30 or less. More often than not, those stores were selling the games for that low price on the day they came out. If you could purchase Dave Mirra 2 for $20, then you'd be a fool not to buy it, but otherwise I suggest that you stick with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 and wait for something better...like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3.

Gameplay: 7
At first, DM2 seems like a whole other game. It doesn't play the same as the console versions. That is, until you get used to the controls. Getting used to them is tough. Jumping into Tony Hawk was so easy that I think most gamers will give up on DM2 before they even get started. If you rent, buy or borrow it, make the most of the time you have with the game and enjoy it. Play it until you can consistently perform tricks without crashing. Then I am certain you'll like it.

Graphics: 9 
I don't know if the bikers are comprised of polygons or not, but either way they look incredible. The animation is so lifelike and so smooth that you may wonder if this is the same 2D system you bought six months ago. Make no mistake, it’s definitely the same system, only now, a ton of great looking games are being released for it.

Sound: 4
The GBA is capable of producing music and sound effects much better than anything you'll hear in Dave Mirra 2.

Difficulty: 9
Dave Mirra 2 is way too difficult to control. Simplicity is the GBA's middle name. This system uses technology that is nearly 11 years old! Developers should have mastered the art of working with a console with this much power (or lack thereof) a very long time ago. I understand that DM2 is in the third dimension (sort of), but so is THPS2 and it plays as perfectly as a Game Boy Advance game can play.

Concept: 6 
FullFat had good intentions when developing Dave Mirra 2, but they made the mistake of copying Tony Hawk 2 instead of Dave Mirra 2. This game is supposed to be DM2 for the GBA, not a BMX biking version of THPS2.

Multiplayer: 6.5
Dave Mirra 2 doesn't feature a real multiplayer mode, but the turn-based games (all two of them) are decent. The game also scores points for not forcing you to buy two copies of the game just to play it with a friend.

Overall: 6.9
If you can stick it out long enough to master the controls, you'll have a lot of fun with DM2. I don't like to play games that force me to "stick them out" for a while before I can enjoy them, and I probably wouldn't spend $40 on Dave Mirra 2 even if it was easier to play. But other than Tony Hawk 2, this is the only 3D extreme sports game available for the GBA, and quite frankly, it puts most of the competition to shame.