Mat Hoffman?s Pro BMX

Activision set the bar way high when they launched Tony Hawk 2 for the Game Boy Advance?does Mat Hoffman have what it takes to measure up, or is he just a no-footer fakie?

Sibling Rivalry
Activision set the bar for GBA stunt sports games right at the system launch with Tony Hawk 2?so it?s disappointing to see that their mini-Mat Hoffman doesn?t follow in their own tiny footsteps. Instead of adopting Tony?s wide-open 3D approach, Hoffman limits your tricks to the horizontal second dimension, allowing some painfully limited up and down movement only to get to the different ramps. The 2D graphics are fine, and the sound will neither pump you up nor grate on your nerves. Blame it on the fact that Vicarious Visions?the developer responsible for Tony GBA?is off working on the Game Boy Advance version of Crash Bandicoot.

Tough Act to Follow
Still, ?not flashy? doesn?t necessarily equal ?not fun,? and Hoffman still contains the wide variety of Career Mode goals and big bag of fun tricks you?re used to. Even though they feel a little canned and inorganic, most of the stunts are a breeze to execute, thanks in part to a great tutorial mode that will get even total newbies up to speed in a half-hour. Only the time trial mode seems a little stilted; it blows by too quickly, and seems more like a ?bonus? more than a full-fledged game mode. Mat Hoffman GBA isn?t a bad game?it would just have been better off if Tony had never shown us what the GBA is capable of.

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