This is a great looking game. They aren't kidding about these levels being big, and when you jump into the action, you'll probably end up on your face quite a bit in the early stages just because you're checking out the eye-candy so much. Levels are large, they have lots of color, and the characters are downright cool looking. Each level has boss characters, and all of them are hilariously silly. Pedestrians jump out of your way and shout if you happen to ride recklessly (which is ALWAYS) in their general vicinity. Possibly the coolest part is that you'll travel to 8 radically different settings, and there's nothing ordinary about these skate parks. Each has countless small events to trigger, and skating through events often triggers little cut-scenes that show you what you've done. A telltale trigger or button? Grind past it and see what it does! A piece of statuary or a shiny glass window? Made for breaking, my friend.

To match these slick visuals, some excellent music is included in Whirl Tour. It's no surprise really, since media giant Vivendi Universal is bringing the release of the game. Signed and well known groups like The Eyeliners and Contagion along with up-and-comings contribute over 30 tracks to the game. Seeing the song title and artist information flash on screen when the music changes (like it's a music video) lets you know Whirl Tour is all about marketing the music, so in-game advertising can't be far behind... But, with different styles to choose from and a jukebox option to line up your favorites for replay the way YOU want to hear them, Whirl Tour does right by the music, too.

Some gamers could point to the obvious similarity between a game like Whirl Tour and the 'big' titles out there with names like Hawk, Hoffman, Lavitz and others, but I prefer to look at this as a more fully realized contribution in the category that up until now was dominated by Razor Freestyle Scooter. Not that kids don't want to play the best and not that Tony Hawk should be looking over his shoulder for Whirl Tour, but there's a nicely 'young' quality to Whirl Tour that is pretty unique. The story aspects of the game might also justify comparison to Dark Summit. But, I think if you played and liked Razor Freestyle Scooter you're the prime target for what this game has to offer.

In the middle of a raging Punk Rock show, the band Flipside is suddenly snatched from the stage. The crowd just thinks it's a flashy show trick, but the band's roadie Wasa B. notices a strange light in the control room, and investigates just in time to see a portal open up and two strange looking characters escape into it backstage. The portal looks exactly like the ones Flipside's band members were sucked into, so Wasa B. grabs his scooter and goes for it. Once on the 'other side' he finds himself in strange territory, but the only thing to do is grind away (literally) until he can find some way to rescue his friends. Each level presents a bunch of challenges, including boss characters inside each level you'll have to defeat to move on. Once you defeat both bosses, you'll get a key you can use to open a portal to the next level. But, if you haven't accomplished enough of the other objectives in each level, you'll find yourself unable to move ahead. In typical fashion, some objectives are massively difficult and will only be beaten after you've had a lot of time to practice. For less experienced players, the advanced objectives may never be realistic, but they're fun to attempt. Simple objectives always include grinding a certain number of objects, knocking out the boss characters and collecting items. Along the way, you'll be able to earn points or clear a level by doing specified tricks and nailing switches that might give access to hidden areas in a level or just trigger an event.

There's a great 'pick up and play' quality to Whirl Tour that those of us busy with other games and non-game pursuits can appreciate. You boot this up, take a couple stabs at beating a level or just adding to the list of objectives you've been able to accomplish in any past level, save your progress and go your merry way. In 30 minutes, you can have a really satisfying session with Whirl Tour, but if you want to spend hours and hours discovering every secret in a level, you definitely won't run out of things to do or places to explore. The level of interaction you can have in a level is awesome, from smashing up things to accessing secret areas and grinding anything and everything. Along with the standard level, each stage has an alternate Race challenge you can open up that (if won) will free a member of the band. And, some Bonus levels give you a chance to rack up points and earn special items. Scooters with neat characteristics and cool designs are initially hidden, but by collecting tokens throughout the game you'll be able to gain access. Music tracks can also be opened up, which is a feature you don't see very often.

Finally, the inclusion of a solid Co-op 2-Player Mode for both Story Mode and a special turn-based challenge level rounds out the game. This way, you can coast through story with a friend or just practice tricks and attempt to beat your buddy's best score.

Rescuing all the band members and reaching the final challenge is truly difficult. Entry-level gamers or those who have never tackled an eXtreme Sports game like Tony Hawk or Razor Freestyle will have a pretty steep learning curve. The Gamecube controls are fairly well suited for the game, but I found myself missing the N-S-E-W configuration of the face-buttons on my PS2. Pulling tricks is so simple that it's a little too simple. 'Analog stick for movement' sounds nice, but trying to use the stick to control tricks felt too unpredictable. So, I ended up reverting to the D-Pad for tricky areas and big challenges so I could be sure what trick I was dialing in. I can't say I was wild about the control, and the camera often plays some dirty tricks on you (some of the lack of control in the camera is due to an optional feature you can disable, so no points knocked off there), but the prize is worth the pain in this case.

Controlling stunts with the analog stick leaves a bit to be desired, but luckily the D-Pad does just fine in a pinch. What really gets hard to manage is the fact that there is always momentum behind the character and if you're trying to stop and take a look around, it is more difficult than you would think. Tugging back on the stick will eventually bring Wasa B. to a stop, and you can then turn him around while pulling back, but if you let go of the stick at any time, you'll find yourself cruising off again. Especially when you're trying to get the feel of a level and learn where things are and the clock is running down, not feeling in control can be a pain. Luckily, the practice levels help by giving you a chance to jet around without fear of the clock, try out all those secret routes and just generally make your game plan. The timer ticks down so quickly that if you don't REALLY have a good feel for what you need to be doing and where you have to go to get what you need, you'll definitely fail. No penalty for trying, and of course you may collect something you didn't even intend along the way. But, there's some frustration that comes with the game being quite as difficult as it is in places. The other minor annoyance is the Action Camera, a feature that takes the camera (but not control) away from you when a particularly good event is happening and lets you watch the action before coming back to a view of yourself on the scooter. 9 times out of 10 while you were watching the cool event, you crashed and made a boo-boo, and somehow the cool effect you just triggered is lost in your rush to dust yourself off and get back on your scooter. Luckily, this annoying feature can be turned off, but why not just put the scooter on auto-pilot during these scenes, so we don't have to deal with the frustration in the first place?

Barring a few minor gripes over control, and the obvious caveat about this being a clear second choice to heavy, 'name' eXtreme games like Tony Hawk, I would recommend Whirl Tour. What it adds to the mix is a strong dose of style and story missing from some of the higher profile titles, and it has that youth vibe going on in a big way. Let's face it, Tony Hawk may have been a skate-punk when he came on the scene, but he's just another rich white guy now... If you like the darker, alternative vibe that Whirl Tour is kickin' and you like the idea of playing through fantasy levels that propel a story forward, you won't be disappointed when you boot this game up. And if you've played all the other skating/boarding/biking games and wondered about this being one of those 'kiddie' titles, all I can say is, 'You gotta be kidding!' Give this one a try.