Gravity Games Bike: Street. Vert. Dirt.
Score: 20% ESRB: Teen Publisher: Midway Developer: Midway Media: CD/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Sports/ Racing
Graphics & Sound: Okay, I'll admit it. I have become a bit jaded. Until recently, I was able to see games in terms of grays. However, I have recently begun to see games as either good or bad. Unfortunately, Gravity Games Bike: Street. Vert. Dirt. is a bad game, no matter how gray you look at it. Graphically, this game is on par with some of the best PS One games, but fails to come close to the graphical look of some of the PS2's launch titles. This game is just plain bad looking. Riders are completely lacking of style and are animated about as smoothly as the text you're reading. One of the more interesting glitches in the game is that your rider never actually rides on the ground, but instead rides 'in' the ground causing them to look like they are riding in quicksand rather than pavement. Another 'fun' problem that pops up involves rider respawn. After bailing on a trick (which happens a lot), instead of respawning at the beginning of the level, your rider shows up a few feet away from the crash. This leads to cases of your character appearing in on the other side of walls and even inside of ramps. Except for the generic soundtrack, Bike's sound is nonexistent. Even with the inclusion of bands like Sugar Ray and 311, there is very little to make you want to turn the sound on, much less turn it up.
Gameplay: Gravity Games Bike: Street. Vert. Dirt. is the pinnacle of what's wrong with the industry's trend of 'me too' games. Whereas most games are simply clones of another successful franchise, some, like Bike, are rushed only to get to the trend while it's hot and fail to realize the real reason people play the original. It's not the real riders, soundtrack, or even tricks that keep players flocking to games - it's the simple fact that they are both fun and playable, two things Bike is not. Like every other BMX game, Bike puts you in the seat of some of your favorite BMX riders as you compete in giant arenas. Each of the levels has specific goals that you must accomplish before completing a level. Sometimes they may be as simple as performing a certain move, gaining a certain score from judges, or saving a girl who is tied to train tracks (yes, you read that right). However, the game's terrible control setup and lenient point system cause these tasks to become mundane and almost chore-like. If Bike has one thing going for it, it's the huge levels, however in the process of creating these levels, someone forgot to add in items to trick off of - limiting you to a few, small, 'trick friendly' areas. Common knowledge would dictate that with the bevy of successful BMX franchises available, there would be ample blueprints available to base a game off of - but this isn't the case with Bike. Things never work out, making the game nearly unplayable. Bottom line, everything in the game feels rushed and incomplete, making for one of the most unpleasant gaming experiences I've had in awhile.
Difficulty: >From a pure gameplay standpoint, Gravity Games Bike: Street. Vert. Dirt. is extremely easy and unbalanced. For one, the game rewards players for constantly performing the same trick. This makes reaching point goals easy. I was even able to perform one trick for the entire 3 minute session and still pass. Obviously, the game's fun factor takes a serious hit because of this and is simply no fun to play.
Game Mechanics: Bike takes its control setup straight from the other BMX games that came before it. Pressing one button allows you trick, while another modifies the trick. Of course, this is all in theory because Bike features one of the worst control schemes I've ever had the pleasure of playing with. Remember the part in Austin Powers when he was trying to turn the golf cart around in that narrow hallway? That's the feeling I got while trying to steer my bike. You know you should be going somewhere, but you're not. Button timing should be a key element to any game - especially in one where combos play such a vital role. Yet the timing required for performing some tricks is so tight, that the next button in the combo needs to be pressed nearly half of a nanosecond after the first. I don't know what kind of ten thumbed, Jedi-reflex monster the game was designed to be played by, but it's apparent that it wasn't made for the common man. Good thing us normal people can easily rack up points by doing normal tricks. Bike is a terrible game. As with many 'me too' games that have come out as of late, the idea is there, but there isn't a very firm grip on why people like the game in the first place. Simply throwing a game together in order to get it out of the door and make quick buck is always a formula for disaster. While I really wish I could look at grays and find some reason to warrant at least renting this game, in the end I just can't. Stay away from Bike.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
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