Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX Preview

Mat Hoffman joins a group of seven other riders, each with different skills and abilities.

Thanks in large part to the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, games based on so-called extreme sports have experienced a resurgence in popularity across all platforms, including the PC. In an attempt to continue its success within the subgenre, Neversoft--the creator of the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series--developed Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX for the PlayStation. The game essentially borrowed the trick system and other elements from Tony Hawk's Pro Skater but made a few minor changes to accommodate the transition from skateboards to bikes. The PC version is a port of the PlayStation version released this past May, and as expected, it features a boost in resolution and other slight graphical tweaks, but its gameplay remains faithful to that of its console counterpart.

In the career mode, you'll have to compete against the clock.

Much like the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series, Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX features a career mode, a multiplayer mode (hot seat or two player), a single session mode, a free ride mode, and a park editor. The career mode lets you select from a lineup of eight riders, including Hoffman, each with different statistics and abilities that directly affect in-game performance. For example, Mat Hoffman has excellent air skills, which makes it much easier to pull off multiple aerial tricks in a short time. Meanwhile, a rider like Dennis McCoy has an average rating in nearly all categories, making him the most balanced of the group and the easiest to use in the early levels. The differences between these riders aren't noticeable for the first few runs, but once you reach a goal that requires proficiency in one of the skills, you'll start to pay more attention to them.

The career mode features a total of eight parks, but you have to complete a specific number of goals in the first one before you can unlock any of the others. These range from the basic task of breaking the high score to finding some hidden area within a level by performing a series of seemingly impossible stunts. In Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX, these goals are difficult from the very start, and you'll have to become familiar with the ins and outs of the trick system quickly--though that shouldn't be too difficult for those familiar with the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater system.

The other single-player modes in Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX essentially act as the practice sessions for the career mode. Single session is similar to the career mode, except there are no set goals for any of the unlocked parks, so you can focus on performing tricks during a preset time limit. Another mode, free ride, is a little more basic because it keeps track of single trick points rather than the total amount of points. There's also no time limit, so you can explore a level and find any secret areas or scout new trick areas that might yield a higher number of points. Lastly, the park editor gives all the budding park designers out there a chance to exhibit their creative skills by building a park. Again, it's similar to the Pro Skater park editor, so those familiar with that feature should have no trouble concocting parks right away. It's also easy enough to use that you should have no problem producing a simple park if you're a newcomer, though.