Freekstyle Review

One of the first big hits for the PlayStation 2 was SSX, an extreme snowboarding game that marked the debut of the EA Sports Big brand. There's nothing like a great game with a great formula to launch a successful, new franchise. While the Big label now decorates five different products, the GameCube has about half of them--SSX Tricky, NBA Street, and now the motocross racing game Freekstyle. First released several months ago for the PlayStation 2, Freekstyle for the GameCube offers the same fast-paced, high-flying racing action that the PS2 version does, retaining the original version's intense level of difficulty and its two-player modes.

Freekstyle offers fast-paced, trick-filled motocross action in the vein of SSX.

Freekstyle isn't the only motocross game for Nintendo's system. MX Superfly from a few months ago actually does a much more authentic job than Freekstyle of simulating the sport, as it requires you to preload your suspension for catching extra air, among other things. Freekstyle is much more straightforward, and it's not so much a motocross racing game than it is a racing game that happens to look like motocross. Forget about your suspension, don't worry about your brakes, and don't even think about letting off the throttle--Freekstyle is all about going as fast as possible at all times.

Though Freekstyle has several different modes of play available, you'll probably have to spend some time with the single-player circuit mode before you get much enjoyment out of any of the others. That's because you'll unlock new tracks and new bikers over of the course of the circuit mode, in which you'll choose a biker to take through the game's six different racing venues (there are also three freestyle courses). In each one, you'll race against five other bikers and you'll have to race each track at least three times--more if you lose. In the finals in each venue, you need to finish in first to move on. It takes five to seven minutes to complete a full three-lap run around a track, which sounds like a pretty long time, and it is--but only because these are some seriously big tracks, and certainly not because Freekstyle is slow. It's pretty over-the-top, actually. While the game's eight bikers are based on real-world personalities, you wouldn't know it from their stylized in-game personas. Though they're ranked in a number of different categories, ranging from speed to landing, you'll probably just go for whoever happens to appeal to you as a character. You can also unlock several improved bikes for each rider, as well as a couple of alternate outfits.

What keeps the game from being simplistic is the four-button trick system it has inherited from SSX. As you take to the air by going up and over an incline, the first thing you can do is either pull back on the analog stick to catch more air or push forward to drive your bike to the ground if you're trying not to overshoot. Whenever you're airborne, you can press any combination of the four appropriate controller buttons to perform one of dozens of different great-looking tricks, some of which are available only to particular riders or particular rider-bike combinations. Pressing the Z button tweaks these tricks for even more-impressive results, though pulling off more than one trick in a single jump results in better scores than just tweaking a single trick. You can also hold a trick longer for extra points, and as in all games like this, pulling the same trick over and over in the same run yields diminishing returns for your score.

It bears mentioning that the controls on the GameCube are harder to get accustomed to than on the PlayStation 2. The stock Sony gamepad's four shoulder buttons are perfect for Freekstyle, but the GameCube's two soft shoulder buttons and two face buttons can be tougher to get a grip on. You'll get used to this setup eventually, carpal tunnel syndrome be damned. After all, tricking isn't just for show--pulling off tricks fills up your boost meter, and as long as you've got some stored up, you can boost at will to quickly accelerate or exceed your maximum speed limit for a short while. Freekstyle is an incredibly fast-paced game. Even when you're not boosting, you'll still be driving at astounding speeds.

Don't ever get cocky--your AI opponents are always right behind you.

You'll also slowly fill up your "freekout" meter as you perform tricks. Once it's full, you can execute your driver's signature "super sick trick" for a temporary boost of "freeky speed," which involves hurtling forward and literally leaving trails of fire in your wake while the screen gets all distorted. You can maintain freeky speed by performing more tricks before the effect runs out, so there's some strategy in triggering the effect at just the right place in each track so you can keep it going for as long as possible. There's also some strategy in not crashing. As if the threat of falling behind the rest of the pack weren't enough, you'll lose stock from your boost and freekout meters whenever you bail. Crashing bad.

Track design good. The tracks in Freekstyle are beyond reality, and they're much closer to something you'd expect from the Wipeout series than from a motocross game. These include standard outdoorsy settings but also some very industrial locales, though all of them are basically in keeping with the hard-boiled sensibility of the sport. In all the tracks, there are plenty of wild jumps and freefalls to catch air off, flaming hoops and plate-glass windows to blast your way through, and alternate routes and shortcuts to be explored. Still, each track does have a distinctly different feel to it, with some emphasizing fast straightaways and treacherous leaps, and others promoting massive air and tons of tricks.