Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX is quite frankly a killer game! Yepper, some people may criticize the fact that it uses the same engine as
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, but I won't. Never get off a winning horse, right! The gameplay is almost exactly like that of its cousin, but this time on bicycles. In fact, both games also have the same features.
There are basically three modes of play. First is the Free Ride, where you can take on any course that you have already unlocked and try to find it's secrets, or just figure out where you can get outrageous scores. The second is the Single Session. Just like in a career, you are given two minutes to do what you can. If you're looking to set some high scores, this is where you do it.
The third mode is the Career Mode. It is here where you unlock new levels for use in the other modes (including multi-player modes). It's also where boys become men. The basic premise is that you need to collect magazine covers to unlock new levels. To do so, each level contains five mags, and although you don't necessarily have to get them all, you will need to collect a certain number to open up the next area, an even higher number for the next, and so on. Basically, two of the five covers per level are obtained by scoring points, one by collecting the letter that spell out T-R-I-C-K, and another by busting objects. The final magazine cover is sometimes pretty tough to find, as it is the Secret Cover that can take a lot of practice and a lot of skillz to get... maybe even some luck! There are also two competitions for you to take on other riders in a quest for the gold.
Finally, there is also a Multi-player mode with three games to challenge your buddy with. Unfortunately, only one of the games is available for playing on one computer (no split-screen), and that is the Horse Game. In Horse, you play just like on the basketball court. The first person does a trick, and the second has to beat it. Play continues until someone bails or doesn't score higher than the previous score. The other two games are only available over a LAN (Local Area Network) connection (you lucky people in dorm rooms!). One game is Trick Attack, which is a timed event where you try to score the most points. Graffiti is the other. Here you have to perform tricks on each area of the course, and then your color is displayed on the ramp, jump, etc. Your opponent can 'steal' if he/she does a better trick on the same spot. The person with the most 'tagged' areas wins.
For those of you who love to build and design things, Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX also includes a fairly decent Park Editor (which is basically the TH2 editor). There are tons of different pieces available for you to use in your course, and you also have the option to create special gap scores. The best part is that you can use your parks to play Horse (or other multi-player games if you both have the file on your computer, I am assuming... I don't have access). So, grab one of your eight pro BMXers, then choose from eight courses, and see if you can become a world champion.
