Developed by Rainbow Studios
Published by Activision
Released for Xbox (8/12/2002)
Also on GBA/GC/PS2
Backwards Compatible on Xbox 360
Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2 was released for the Xbox in August 2002, developed by Rainbow Studios and published by Activision. The first game in the series was released on a number of platforms, but made its debut on the original PlayStation back in May 2001. The series was a spin-off of the highly- successful Tony Hawk's Pro Skater franchise, which was created by another development team but featuring similar gameplay. The disc of this game will work in your Xbox 360, which if you're like me, you'll appreciate the upgrade in controller. Let's have a look at Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2 and see if it's still worth a look almost 2 decades after its release.
The road trip mode is the equivalent of a story mode in Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2, featuring 8 levels spread out across the USA. Starting out in Oklahoma City, you'll pass through Chicago, Boston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Hawaii just to name a few. Each location will feature a number of objectives that you'll have to complete in order to move on to the next location. The objectives are usually the type of stuff you'd expect from this type of game: do a certain trick at a certain spot, collect X number of objects, score a certain amount of points within a time limit; you get the idea. Road trip mode is decent but uninspired and should last you quite a while, so long as you can get a feel for the controls.
If you've played any of the Pro Skater games, you'll feel right at home with the control layout. The controls are responsive and getting around the track is easy, though getting the hang of timing and landing your tricks will definitely take some time to master. This is a personal preference, but I found this game much easier to play on the Xbox 360 thanks to the control pad. There's a huge selection of tricks to perform, including special tricks that can only be performed when your adrenaline meter is full. The adrenaline meter is filled by landing tricks and racking up points.
In addition to the road trip mode, you can also select a timed session or free ride on any tracks you've unlocked and multiplayer modes. Multiplayer offers up 6 game modes: trick attack, graffiti war, free ride, tag, horse and halfpipe hell. Most of these are self-explanatory, with graffiti war being a personal favorite. Graffiti war allows you to color sections of the stage by doing tricks on them and doing a trick of a higher point value on the other players spots will claim them as your own. Whoever has control of the most territory at the end of the round wins. Halfpipe hell has 2 players alternating in a literal halfpipe hell, complete with lava flowing down below, to see who can rack up the highest score. This mode sounds much cooler than it actually is and it feels like something that should have been relegated to a secret unlockable. Overall, Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2 offers up a solid variety of multiplayer modes and it's easily one of the strongest points of the game.
One of the signature features in the Tony Hawk games was the licensed soundtracks, so of course the Mat Hoffman games have an extensive list of licensed songs. You can even find additional tracks scattered about the levels in order to unlock new songs, which can then be accessed from the playlist at the main menu. Featuring the likes of Ice T, LL Cool J, Fugazi, Bad Brains, Iggy Pop and N.E.R.D. among several others, it's a decent mix of what was hot back in 2004 and some old-school stuff. It's definitely not on the level of any of the Pro Skater games, but it's not bad either.
There's also a park editor, which allows you to create and save your own custom tracks. There are 3 levels you can use as your base: Daytona, San Francisco and Austin. The space you can build in is a bit limited due to hardware restrictions, but there's enough room that you can construct something fun if you're feeling creative. You'll have access to a large selection of kickers, ramps, pools, rails and all that other good stuff. This helps add some serious replay value for those wishing to delve further into the game.
Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2 still holds up alright in the gameplay department, but there were issues that held it back, both when it came out and now due to aging. The screen is cropped to a 4:3 ratio, so playing this on modern televisions will result in those annoying black bars on the sides. I had a hard time with the controls playing this on the original Xbox pad, but found it much easier playing it on the Xbox 360. The biggest issue with the game is that it's just too basic and, even at the time of its release, the Tony Hawk games had much more content and gave you more value for you buck. There was definitely a lot of potential in the Mat Hoffman series, but unfortunately it just didn't sell as well as the Tony Hawk games did and they were never as well received by either the fans or the critics.
Final Verdict: Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2 is a decent BMX title that plays similar to the Tony Hawk games, with the multiplayer being the highlight. While not bad, it's not as good as the skateboarding titles that inspired it and there are arguably better BMX options on the Xbox.
Purchase Links:
Buy Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2 - eBay
Related Links:
Rainbow Studios - Official Site
Activision - Official Site
Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2 - Metacritic
Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2 - GameFAQs
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