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Homepage | Reviews | Competitions | Guest Rooms | Miscellaneous | Editor |
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Aggressive
Inline |
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Extreme sports titles, like the sports
themselves, are still gaining in popularity and attracting players worldwide to their
adrenaline-packed gameplay. BMX, Skateboards and snowboards have been featured often but
little emphasis has been focused on one of the fastest growing extreme sports, inline
skating. There has, of course, been a couple of hit releases in the past but nothing with
the scale and magnitude of AGGRESSIVE INLINE, Acclaim’s new all-action sim. Rather than concentrate on a game where players simply perform
complicated manoeuvres and stunts in timed competition levels to gain points AGGRESSIVE
INLINE features massive free-roaming scenarios packed with unusual features. It also
incorporates elements from role-playing titles, which makes this much more than
‘just’ a sports game. Oh, the stunts are still there, and so are the points, but
getting them is so much more enjoyable than just hitting the right button combos.
Let’s start at the beginning… AGGRESSIVE INLINE provides you with 10 authentic top
skaters to play, each with their own set of 7 skill stats such as speed and balance etc,
and performing stunts that use these skills will see your expertise increasing. A
comprehensive tutorial will teach you the basics of gameplay and prepare you for the 7
gargantuan levels that are to follow. These are not like the game parks of old. They are
living environments filled with stuff of the real world like traffic, buildings, secrets,
hidden items and people – some of whom will give you challenges to complete. There
are also keys to find that open up new areas for you but often you’ll need to trigger
the right set of events before they become available. The scenery is also interactive in
many places and can shift and transform depending on your interaction with it. This means
that you may have to revisit some areas in order to complete a level. Moving through the
seven scenarios depends upon a points system but you don’t need to complete each
level totally to reach your goal. You are advised when you have amassed enough points to
move on but whether you do or not is up to you. Devoid of timers and checkpoints AGGRESSIVE INLINE
provides you with a ‘juice meter’ instead. Successful moves and tricks top up
your reserves while botched attempts and crashes tend to drain it. Once your ‘juice
meter’ is empty it’s game over but there are meter bonuses that you can pick up
to replenish supplies and even increase capacity. Some of the other bonuses include you
character’s special moves that you must locate before you can even attempt, but this
is where the RPG elements of the game comes into play. Simply locating these secrets and
bonuses is a game in itself – never mind the skating and stunt side. This combination
works very well and really adds to the overall enjoyment of the title. Fluid graphics and excellent motion capture really brings the characters to life and particle effects and reflections have been put to good use throughout the game. There’s also some great soundtrack to listen to with performers such as Sublime, The Vandals and Saliva – aggressive music for an aggressive game. Price: £39.99 for PS2. |
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