The success of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater obviously influenced the development of Dave Mirra’s FreeStyle BMX; unlike Thrasher: Skate or Destroy, which had a more complicated than necessary control scheme, the control scheme for Z-Axis’ biking entry takes the exact same controls as Neversoft’s title and brings them over. And when we mean exactly, we mean basically button for button. Any person who has played Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater will have no trouble pulling off insane amounts of combinations within a matter of seconds. Fortunately, this is a good thing; the control scheme is then immediately familiar to most gamers, and I have absolutely no complaints about the way that the buttons are laid out. The only real difference is the function of the buttons, since the circle has the additional function of the “modifier” button, but we’ll explain a little later.

Since there has been less than a year in between the release of Thrasher: Skate or Destroy and Dave Mirra’s FreeStyle BMX, Z-Axis didn’t really have enough time to develop an entirely new engine. There have been tweaks made so that the game runs at a much faster frame rate and can handle more complex character models and environments, but as a whole, Dave Mirra’s FreeStyle BMX has a grainy, slightly pixely look to it and thus doesn’t look nearly as sharp as the competition. Doesn’t fret, though; while it might not be the most visually impressive title out there, the engine still holds up good enough and is capable of pumping out expansive environments and all that's needed to compliment the amazing gameplay.

There are quite a few modes to choose from in Dave Mirra FreeStyle BMX, ranging from the Proquest to Freeride and the extremely entertaining two-player. For single-player gamers the Proquest is where most of the time will be spent; it’s where all the action is. Players pick from the eight different bikers included, and then start on their road to fame. At the start only the basics are available, but as the sets of objectivess are completed (objectives are divided into Amateur, Pro and Hardcore – Amateur and Pro being required completions to beat the game, and Hardcore unlocking secret features), more bikes, clothing outfits and areas to ride around in are opened up for use. Eventually there will be twelve selectable areas, though the last stretch of stages is primarily made up of organized tournaments where the player has to earn a certain medal to advance on.

When it comes to the two-player modes, Z-Axis has had no problems coming up with creative ways to give gamers a sense of replay value. One of the many possible selections in Dave Mirra’s FreeStyle BMX include one where the goal is to cause as much damage to a rider in a single fall, and the game will then calculate how many points it is worth. Now if that isn’t some sick, twisted and totally fun innovation, I’m not sure what is. Despite the very cool two-player ideas, however, since the game uses the same engine as Thrasher: Skate or Destroy, this means the game does not allow for two players to play at the same time, only allowing them to switch off after a designated period of time. It can be a bit annoying, and goes on to contribute to the reasons why Dave Mirra FreeStyle BMX doesn’t quite obtain total “A” status.

Not including the modifier button, there are over 1,300 different tricks in Dave Mirra’s FreeStyle BMX. But, what is this magical modifier button that I’ve been mentioning? Basically, it gives the player the opportunity to combine multiple tricks into a singular trick that then results in a near infinite amount of new tricks that can be pulled together for massive points. You can even string together tricks that push the realism limit, such as the “720 Degree No Hander Superman.” The modifier is enabled by starting a trick using the square button (starting with the circle button makes it more difficult, and borders on the line of pure luck) and any direction, and then during the trick slapping the circle button and a direction. If the modifier is used correctly, the trick listed at the bottom of the screen will then be highlighted in red text.

Having played Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 and realizing how easy it was to pull off the manual trick to continue tricks after a grind or jump, it was disappointing and frustrating to attempt it in Dave Mirra’s FreeStyle BMX. Despite my repeated attempts, the timing to pull it off is incredibly hard, and the times that I did pull it off were due to accidentally hitting the combination during another set of tricks. And even when a manual is started, keeping it going for more than a second or two is nigh impossible.

Another annoyance lies in the “Skeletal Dynamics System“, as Z-Axis describes it. What it means is that any time a rider falls, he does so in a new way each time; his body is designed to react according to what he falls against. This actually can lead to some hilarious maneuvers with the riders bouncing around like tortured rag dolls all over the place, but whether intentional or not, the game decides to slow down to an incredibly slow pace during the fall sequence. Whether it’s done to accentuate the fall movements or not, it would be nifty if there was an option to return the game to full speed; the slowdown can be irritating. Additionally, there are times when the Skeletal Dynamics System has a little mess up and the rider will slide down an area for over five seconds, sucking away at the precious available time.

Perhaps because they were trying to rush the title to stores to beat out Matt Hoffman’s Pro BMX, but Acclaim and Z-Axis needed to spend some more time with the game tweaking the game, especially when it comes to collision detection; there were numerous times where my character would either fly through a wall all together, dip half way into a solid floor, or get stuck upside down and jerk in-between two motions until restarting all together or forcing him to fall somehow.

There are a few downs to Dave Mirra’s FreeStyle BMX, but there are so many fantastic ups that any self-respecting fan of biking or games like Cool Boarders and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater should check out what Acclaim and Z-Axis have to offer. Some might consider it a "rip-off", but there enough new features and improvements that it deserves to stand on its own. Heck, even the musical arrangement entirely fits the mood of the game. What’s Z-Axis have up their sleeves next? A scootering game, perhaps?