GameCube: Freekstyle, Complete
As the seemingly endless supply of 'vehicles-on-which-one-can-ride-extremely-fast-whilst-also-performing-impossible-feats-of-stunt-excellence' titles continues to grow, it seems the shelf is creaking with adrenaline-fuelled extreme sports titles. Here's EA's Freekstyle, then - think SSX on a motorbike. With the same team behind the two games, it's difficult not to make comparisons. This is not a bad thing, however. SSX and its sequel were both great games. So what about this one? Staking its claim as 'the most dangerous motorcross game around', Freekstyle places players in command of a super-charged bike and asks them to perform a number of small tasks, such as hitting a 40 degree jump at 100 mph, pulling off a 360, and not crashing out (Heaven forbid!!!) whilst competing head-on with a selection of crazy opponents. Selecting from a cast of eight riders from the world of freestyle motorcross, each in possession of their own unique attitudes and styles, the player must race/battle it out across an array of six circuit racing and three freestyle venues. As with SSX, the focus is not merely about coming first or being the fastest. What's emphasised here is fear, or a lack of it - to be the best is to be the most fearless. From a catalogue of over 100 tricks and stunts, players must pull off all the Heart Breakers, Vortexes and Executioners as possible in order to rake in the bonus points and earn those all-important boosts. An all-new scoring system emphasises this, encouraging the player to hold the trick for every last conceivable millisecond. With a healthy variety of game modes, such as Circuit, Race, Freestyle and Freeride, as well as an engrossing split-screen, two-player game, Freekstyle offers all you would expect from an EA Sports Big title. Whilst no new ground has been covered in terms of technology or gameplay, it remains a competent and entertaining title that will keep fans of the series entertained until the next instalment.
