|
|
The Plot:
Ultimate sports are becoming more and more popular with younger audiences - they've got their own games (ESPN's "Ultimate X Games"), their own movie ("Ultimate X") and legions of games focusing on the various sports contained under the "Ultimate" banner. Although I admit that inline skating didn't sound like the most "aggressive" of the series of sports, the kind of realistic tricks that characters can do within this game gave me a new appreciation for the sport.
There are several different ways to play the game, all of which are entertaining and impressive. Although there are additional characters (details of some are discussed later in the review), you can play as one of several stars in the sport, including Shane Yost, Taig Khris, Franky Morakes, Matt Lindenmuth, Chris Edwards and Jaren Grob.
Players who aren't familiar with the game or the tricks of the sport can start off with the exceptional tutorial, which takes players step-by-step through the majority of the possibilities/tricks in gameplay. Those confident enough in their abilities can go directly into the levels of the game, which are enormous. The first level is a movie studio, where players start off outside on the streets and then zip into the backlot where a new horror movie is filming. Aside from the studio lot, there are 6 other levels including: a museum, a cannery and an airfield. There are also timed runs through these levels. Additional touches include a "juice meter"; if you're freeskating, you need to keep doing tricks or grab juice power-ups to keep going. Also, doing certain tricks repeatedly allows you to gain experience for that feature.
Last, but not least, I was impressed to find that the game gives viewers the ability to design their own skate park using the available skate-park features (ramps, etc). I'm not sure how entertaining I thought inline skating would be in a video game environment, but the creators of "Aggressive Inline" have created a game with inspired designs, enjoyable gameplay and enough to do to keep coming back for more.
Rating: 9.2/10
The DVD
Graphics: I was very pleased with the graphics work for "Aggressive Inline". The worlds that the player can skate through are enormous and, although small detail/texture isn't too remarkable, the player can interact with some of the little objects now and then and some of the interaction causes other events to happen.
The player faces/figures are also well-rendered, appearing crisp and about as realistic as video game people can appear. I was rather surprised when I picked this game up that it was rated "T", but it soon became obvious why: the female characters have realistic breast movement and, when you take a spill, you see up their skirt. Also, when you wipe out, there's quite a bit of blood.
There's a ton of tricks to do while skating through the worlds and a lot of objects and skate-park features (ramps, trenches, etc) to work with. I was impressed with how smoothly the characters execute these tricks; you can clearly and convincingly see character movement. Speaking of smooth, the graphics remained consistent throughout - even scenes with a bit more going on did not appear the slightest bit choppy. The game's color palette is bright and vibrant and colors appeared strong and well-saturated throughout. The game's opening menu also is worthy of special notice - real footage of some of the sport's greats pulling off amazing tricks is a wonderfully effective way of opening the game - it really opens the experience with a real kick of energy.
Rating: 9.0/10
Sound: The soundtrack includes over 10 total tracks from bands such as Black Sheep, Pharcyde, Reel Big Fish and Sublime. Personally, I'm a huge ska fan and I like rap, too, so I was enormously pleased with the song selection, which seemed to be a perfect fit for the game. Mileage may vary for those who aren't as much of a fan of these genres of music. The terrific thing about this particular game is that you can switch up the soundtrack at a moment's notice - for example, a song can be taken out of the rotation or one song can be played over and over again. Aside from a very enjoyable soundtrack, the game's audio also boasts nice ambient sounds for the various environments. Sound effects - such as when a player hits the ground hard - are clear and crisp. Overall, I was very pleased.
Rating: 9.0/10
Gameplay: The gameplay for "Aggressive Inline" is quite good. Although it took me a few minutes to get the hang of the controls, once I got going, I was easily doing tricks across the game's many environments. Replay value is high, as the size of the worlds provides quite a few things to do and the ability to build your own skate park allows for a lot of additional varied gameplay.
Rating: 9.1/10
Rating Issues: As previously mentioned, the game likely recieved a "T" (Teen) rating due to the details of the female characters (a good thing.) and the blood graphics when the characters crash.
Final Thoughts: "Aggressive Inline" is one of those games that consistently exceeded my expectations. Solid gameplay, fun and creatively designed levels, a lot of character choices and good graphics/sound make for a game that's worth getting for fans of the sports genre.
|
