Post a Comment On: The Dreamcast Junkyard

Long time no posting, I see... Well, with so many consoles and so many work to do it gets hard to give my little Dreamcast the attention it deserves. But lately I've actually been playing a little on it, mainly extreme sports games. Don't ask me why, maybe it's withdrawal symptoms for not playing some Tony Hawk in a long time. The thing is, I never got THPS2 for my Dreamcast, since I already have it for the PC and PSX (yes, I know what you're all thinking, OMG I play PSX too!!!). I had other things, though, neglected things, games I bought without giving them much attention. Until now, that is. So, without further adue (that's what I meant to say, isn't it? I sometimes mess up with english expressions...), here's what I've been playing:

Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX

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This one is pretty similar to Tony Hawk, which is no surprise since they both run on the same engine. There are a few key differences, though, mainly because here you have a bike instead of a skate, so the jumps are shorter, the tricks are more difficult to do and you can't ride backwards. These are not necessarily problems, and they don't break the game, but something else does: the controls. The gameplay sucks, not because of the mechanics involved but because it's hard to properly control your bike. That's not to say the game is rubbish, and it should please the more hardcore Tony Hawk games/ real-life BMX fans, but the others should at least try it first.



Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX

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Another take on virtual BMX, this one distinguishes itself from the Mat Hoffman's game due to its more realistic approach. If, like me, you've played that one first, you'll need some time and practice to get used to this game. The jumps are shorter and the tricks aren't as fluid and easy to execute, but when you do nail them you'll feel like a pro. But, of course, that can also be seen as a flaw, since most people will throw out the controllers in frustration when they fail again and again and the objectives of the game get really hard, really soon, so unless you're a pro you'll get stuck pretty early. A game for the hardcore.



MTV Skateboarding

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OMG this game sucks... What? It's true! It actually started out quite well the first time I played it, with this song in the background, but the gameplay is so fucking obtuse. It's rigid, unresponsive, "un-fun" and it just plain sucks. Seriously. With a rather great (or so I hear) Tony Hawk game on the system there's just no excuse to play this one.



Razor Freestyle Scooter

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The surprise of the bunch. I think Tomleecee already talked about this one, but I can't remember what his opinion was. Anyway, I liked it, a lot. Maybe because I had no expectations. Despite the "vehicle" you control, a scooter in this case, the gameplay is completely TH-style, and if you've played that game you'll have no problem adapting to it. The progression and objectives are in the same style, and it's almost as fun as that game. Despite the kiddy look, some objectives are rather hard to accomplish (get a 6,000 points combo? WTF? I can barely get a 4,000 one!), but you only need to achieve a, usually somewhat low, highscore to unlock the next stage, so you probably won't get stuck easily. Also, the graphics are not exactly the best the system has to offer, but the game compensates some lack of detail and the bland textures with a big resolution and constant framerate and overall it looks good, even on my big-ass 37" HDTV.