Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX E3 2000 Impressions

Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX is, essentially, the same sort of freestyle experience that is delivered by games like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and Thrasher: Skate and Destroy. In fact, Dave Mirra's game is being developed by Z-Axis, the same development unit that created Rockstar's Thrasher game.

The game is very easy to pick up and learn, provided you've played any of the recent skateboarding games. Triangle handles grinds, X is used for jumping, square and circle do different kinds of tricks, and the shoulder buttons make you spin faster in the air. Mirra isn't as complex as Thrasher: S&D was, instead taking a looser, more Hawk-esque approach to gameplay. Right now, you don't wreck as often as you probably should. I landed more than a few tricks while pointed completely sideways, and your bike sort of homes in on any close rails when you hit the grind button. But it seems more than a little likely that this will be ironed out before the game's release.

Acclaim's definitely got a solid game on its hands, but can it stand up to the other BMX game on the block, Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX by Activision, which uses the Tony Hawk engine? We'll have to wait and see on that one.