Chances are you have heard the name Evel Knievel at one point or another. He is that world famous stunt devil who is always outperforming himself by putting his own health at risk for the enjoyment of others. If you think about it, done right that idea could be transformed into an incredibly fun game. Using a motorcycle to speed through tracks at a high velocity while performing near-death stunts. Evel Knievel on the Game Boy certainly had the potential to be this awesome game, but unfortunately, Evel Knievel barely makes it off the first ramp before plummeting to its painful, torturous death.

At first sight, Evel Knievel looks like it could be a killer game, since it definitely sports some great visuals for the tiny portable machine. The animation and detail put into the motorcycle that you ride around is astounding, and looks very life like. The surrounding environments are also nicely put together, with background details implemented that help give the illusion that you're right on that seat with Evel Knievel while he's pulling off (or, at least, attempting to) these death defying jaw droppers. Now, if only the developers could have put this much effort into the rest of the game it would have been a lot better off.

The initial problems begin after you get passed the fact that the game has some great graphics. Slap your finger down on that gas pedal and I guarantee that in under five seconds you will crash for your first time. Try again. Did you crash a second time? Darn! Crashing will become second nature quickly in with Evel Knievel, and it will soon turn into your most hated enemy. Evel Knievel's main problem is that the balancing physics of the motorcycle are way off, and the way the game judges how you balance causes extreme aggravation. Balancing the bike is handled by pressing the up and down directional buttons, but if you're off from the start, chances are you are screwed, and pressing up and down won't do a thing for you. And, oddly enough, speed doesn't seem to be much a factor in determining if you will lose balance or not. I have attempted to go fast and straight off it and have fallen, while on the other hand going painfully slow and inching my way through and still losing it.

Making things even worse is the fact that one tap of your helmet against anything in the environment and it's time to start over. That's right, you have to start all the way at the beginning if you're touched by a single object. Fall over, start over. Hit the ceiling, start over. If there were check points in the tracks it wouldn't be as bad, but getting near the finishing line and then having to do it all over again made me throw my Game Boy at the ground - literally.