Dave Mirra 2: Freestyle BMX

The game's modes are Session, Free Ride, Park Editor, and ProQuest. Session is a timed run on any of the game's levels. Free Ride lets you nail the game's timing and become familiar with its courses. The extensive Park Editor lets you design your own levels. The meat of the game is in ProQuest, which has two submodes: competition and challenges. The ultimate goal is to win enough competitions to become the king of freestyle BMX. The challenges help you earn "respect," which can be used to upgrade your gear.

The game's excellent soundtrack includes songs from Fenix TX, Ozzy Osbourne, and A Tribe Called Quest--three acts few in their wildest dreams envisioned together. The game's addictive gameplay is marred by several programming glitches, the most annoying of which is haphazard respawning. After crashing, the game often places you in positions where you'll instantly wipeout or appear inside an object. Polygons sometimes appear on the screen for no apparent reason and the frame rate slows down at times. Still, this is a very addictive game that will have no competition until Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2 is released. --Raymond M. Padilla

Pros:

• Addictive gameplay
• Improved graphics and larger levels than the original
• Basic tricks are easy to pull off

• Respawning can be frustrating
• Trick modifiers can be fickle
• Graphics glitches such as pop-up, slowdown, and poor collision detection

Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 also supports up to 12 players and features 10 multiplayer games, including an extreme bikathalon competition. Also, the release includes eight additional game levels, and they're four times beefier than before. Tear and trick through a total of 11 levels with this edition. The game is completed by integrated traffic, including moving cars, trains, trucks, and even other riders and pedestrians.

The open trick system in Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 holds more than 1,500 tricks and signature moves--many of them motion captured off Mirra himself. And a fitting soundtrack accompanies the game, featuring cuts from Ozzy Osbourne, Methods of Mayhem, the Cult, Godsmack, and others.

Product Description
The first BMX game out of the gates for the PS2 is Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2, developed by Z-Axis. Like any extreme sports game, the key here is the trick system, and this one is incredibly deep with more than 1,500 tricks to perform. Basic tricks are easy to execute and can be modified with an additional button-and-direction combo. Unfortunately, these trick modifiers aren't always responsive.

The game's modes are Session, Free Ride, Park Editor, and ProQuest. Session is a timed run on any of the game's levels. Free Ride lets you nail the game's timing and become familiar with its courses. The extensive Park Editor lets you design your own levels. The meat of the game is in ProQuest, which has two submodes: competition and challenges. The ultimate goal is to win enough competitions to become the king of freestyle BMX. The challenges help you earn "respect," which can be used to upgrade your gear.

The game's excellent soundtrack includes songs from Fenix TX, Ozzy Osbourne, and A Tribe Called Quest--three acts few in their wildest dreams envisioned together. The game's addictive gameplay is marred by several programming glitches, the most annoying of which is haphazard respawning. After crashing, the game often places you in positions where you'll instantly wipeout or appear inside an object. Polygons sometimes appear on the screen for no apparent reason and the frame rate slows down at times. Still, this is a very addictive game that will have no competition until Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2 is released. --Raymond M. Padilla

Pros:

• Addictive gameplay
• Improved graphics and larger levels than the original
• Basic tricks are easy to pull off

• Respawning can be frustrating
• Trick modifiers can be
  
  

Graphically Dave Mirra 2 is a vast improvement from the original although unfortunately it bugs me trying not to concerntrate on how poor the graphics are after playing games like tony hawks 3. Aside from that i find the game has to much respawning and graphic glitches which can really drive you nuts(especially when playing proquest mode. Another disadvantage i must tell you is that, in my opinion the graphics seem a little too cartoony for me especially in the outdoor areas, otherwise the the faces on the riders are very realistic aswell as the bikes. 2.5/5(for ps2 graphics)

Soundwise Dave Mirra 2 is below average for a extreme sports game, i mean there is just not enough sound effects, not even an improvement from the original just the same old bird chipping, metallic sounds when grinding, grunts when crashing. The creators really could have spent more time on the sound. Musically the game is a mixed bag with pop-punk, hip-hop, rock and modern metal, and the terrible thing is there's only ten songs!!!! ten songs!!!! And only three i like, although after a while you'll find yourself turning off the music. 2.75/5

The game play for this game is good with some of the best and largest levels in extreme sport games that i have seen. The levels are very detailed, well planned and fun to ride on. The controls are somewhat very responsive and easy to get use to, as for the tricks they look fairly realistic when performed, and not only that but their heeps of possible tricks to perfrom with new sik trick system which allows you to modify a trick like lets say, you could do a backflip-flair-turndown-barspin in one combo, making the game feature a shocking number of over 1,500 tricks to be done in this game(wonder how acclaim could fit that many tricks onto a controller). The proquest mode is very good aswell has challenges from ameuteur to insane, the missions also are terrific compared to the tony hawk series. 4.25/5

The multi-player mode for this game is actually very underated i guess since the multi-player mode where you verse a friend/family is not split screen, but really to tell you the truth i slightly prefer it it non split screen and where you just take turns however thats just an opinion. Their are also allsorts of multiplayer challenges(over ten) including best height, longest grind and the ground breaking wipe out mode which lets you challenge a friend/family at trying to do the most painful crash in 30 seconds, and what makes it even more cooler is that you can bail and one of the best features about this game is that its bails and crashes are without a doubt the most realistic i've ever seen in an extreme sports game. 4.75/5

The meat of this game is easily its replay value which amazes me at how a game with very average graphics can have an extreme replay value. With the park editor which lets you create just about anything and not only that but unlike the hawk series this games park editor i find is very simple to use. The free ride option will also have you coming back to the ps2 just to bum around at classic parks like woodward, and because of how realisticly funny the bails and crashes are you will most certainly not want to throw away this game. 5/5

Just before i finish this review i might just add a few minor complaints 1. doing backflips in this game is ridiculous you can pull em by jumpig from the ground i mean c'mon be a bit more realistic, 2. i find when performing tailwhips that the frame seems to move a little to slow and could be faster like normally if i'd jump off a box i can tailwhip and just land(and im not even a champion, whereas riders in the game are) whereas in the game if i tried i would only be 3/4 through finnishing the whip. 3. Sometimes and i mean sometimes the camera gets focussed on a large object if i pass by it rather then focusing on the rider itself. 4. I may be a little picky here but as one reviewer stated where are those tricks like fufanu's? and also the tomahawk trick. Otherwise this is a game i recomend everyone to atleast play.


A great disappointment from the makers of Dave Mirra...   January 23, 2004
 0 out of 2 found this review helpful

I bought this game expecting another great BMX hit from the makers of the original Dave Mirra for ps1. Good god was I wrong. This game is probably one of the worst sports games I have EVER played. The only reason I gave it 2 stars was because of the somewhat enterataing levels, the funny as hell bails when you bail your bike mid-air, and the medeocre soundtrack.

Graphics - God aweful. Sketchy and contorted to look like a 5 year old drew them with the crayon in his mouth. The brand-name bikes have been ruined with this terrible animation. None of the riders you can talk to have any facial expression, and everything around you is glitchy when you ride. F-- In this catagory.

Gameplay - Missions are damn-near impossible. 60% of missions are not even BMX related. Knock down 4 ladders..know how does this pertain to anything BMX? Some goals like doin' a 360 over a tabletop or a backflip over a building are more interesting though. At least they incorporated Pro riders to do missions for in this one...

Sound - Surprisingly good soundtrack. Most likely the only thing enjoyable about this game..other than the hilarious gumby-like bails and sounds when you hit the ground. Good music selection from artists like Fenix TX, Sum 41, Ozzy, and more.

Replay Value - Non what-so-ever. :-(

If you wanna give this game a try..just rent it first. You probably won't be too impressed. If you find it for under $10..it might be worth it..hardly.


Tony Hawk for dummies   November 21, 2003
 1 out of 6 found this review helpful

Lemme tell you plain and simple- this game stinks. It just stinks. It would be good if it werent for a few things.

PROS:
1. Nice graphics
2. cool collisions
3. Some good tricks

CONS:
1. Horrible multiplayer (its not even splitscreen u gotta take turns!)
2. Horrible controls (Its too easy to accidentaly bail and Tony Hawk fans will hate the acceleration controls.)
3. Too hard to do tricks.
4. Too hard (I have to accomplish ALL the goals to move to the next level? That aint right.)

Honestly, I would've loved this game if it wasnt for those things. I guess im just too used to tony hawk...