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Razor Freestyle Scooter
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Graphics & Sound:
I first experienced Razor Freestyle Scooter on the PlayStation, and it was a fun kiddie slant on the big, fancy extreme skating games available at the time. Big environments, responsive characters that looked cool and had nice moves, not to mention some funky soundtracks, and you had a sweet combination. The conversion to Game Boy Color has taken a little wind out of the sails, most likely because the development team has changed. The credits show Crawfish Interactive for this portable joint, but Shaba was the driving force behind the PS version. And, although the format is radically different, Razor Freestyle Scooter seems to have been knocked down a few notches more than it should have. The first big thing you'll notice is how incredibly dark everything is here. Backgrounds are like black asphalt or grass, and impossible to pick out. You race straight along a track, so all you really need to see is the obstacle in your way, and that much is clear, but the bigger and more detailed graphics Crawfish went for are wasted when you can't see anything in action. Some of the tricks look nice, but would have looked much nicer against a lighter background with smaller characters who could get bigger air. Without the ability to skate in all directions through an open environment, Razor Freestyle Scooter feels and looks like it's running on rails, and each level starts to look like the last. The music is bouncy and fun, but you'll quickly tire of hearing the same song over and over. |
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Gameplay:
With Tony Hawk having struggled a bit to find its niche on GBC, it's not surprising that a knock-off like Razor Freestyle Scooter would have a really hard time succeeding. Unlike Tony, who tried to do free-roaming, big environments that you could skate freely, nailing tricks and gathering items, this is a race game formula modified to suit the trick jockeys out there, and made with nothing else in mind than selling more scooters. The first few races you try are fun, but repetition bogs this game down terribly. Championship Mode is a 7-stage competition against a field of 7 opponents bent on beating you to the finish line, with narrow tracks that hold jumps, obstacles and power-ups. Even though there are 3 more modes, the tracks don't change and the style of gameplay doesn't either. When you've raced your first track and mastered a few jumps, you have all the tools to be a Freestyle Scooter Champion. Upgrading equipment is done in a special shop, and earned money can come from winning competitions or just picking up points along the track. Racing Mode is just a single-race variation on Championship, and Trick Mode is Racing Mode with points factored in as the criteria to win. A Link Mode lets you take turns racing a track for trick points or placement, but only one person can race at any one time. I really wished the other modes offered new tracks or a new style of play, and tricks are simple combinations of the (B) button and the D-Pad. Combinations or special moves aren't even factored in, and although you can try new equipment to make your scooter faster, more maneuverable or tougher, there just isn't much depth to the gameplay at all. |
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Difficulty:
Learning tricks is as easy as fallin' off a log, which is to say, 'boring.' I mean, why bother with a Freestyle game that doesn't offer enough trick combos? The problem isn't fighting through tough levels or facing off against stiff competition, but just figuring out why you should keep playing if there isn't anything new around the next corner. Obstacles are no great shakes, but tend to make a track more interesting. But, not interesting enough for this scooter-boy.
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Game Mechanics:
Control for this one is just a big drag. Each level plays like a big tunnel filled with obstacles, either good for jumping and pulling off tricks, or just to be avoided. Usually the tough obstacles can be jumped, but a kind of 'auto grind' helps you clear the bigger and badder ones. Problem is, the slanted perspective really makes it hard to distinguish what can be used for grinding and what should just be avoided. To be avoided items include cars and fences, even though these were usually grindable objects in the PS game. Instead of natural jumps like concrete walls, drains or rooftops, you're given ramps. Sure, they work fine, but make Razor Freestyle Scooter feel very forced and staged. When you hit a ramp or want to avoid an obstacle, pressing the (A) button causes you to jump up and get air. Tricks can then be executed by hitting (B) and combining it with some direction on the D-pad. Jumps and tricks can be pulled off out in the street, which doesn't make aiming for the ramps very compelling. Big, big air lets you get combos, but no real point multiplier comes into effect, unless you've already gathered a special power-up, so why bother? The power-ups affect either speed or points, giving you a brief supercharge on either depending on what power-up you grab. Completing a race and grabbing coins might earn you enough points to cash in at the shop and purchase upgrades. A password system lets you replay levels if you felt you could have done better, but being the baddest scooter on the block won't erase the shortcomings of this game. It's not that Razor Freestyle Scooter is such a terrible game, but just that we have so many other choices as consumers, and don't need to drop money on half-hearted showings when better games are sitting on the shelf. Not that I could really say Tony Hawk made an incredible splash on the small system, but it at least gives you the ability to skate around in a park setting and try different stuff without feeling like you're always in a street race. Not that there are many competing scooter games for the GBC, but I hate to see the spirit of the sport done wrong. A few little touches, like true freestyle trick levels or some turns and twists in these tracks, would have made for a much better game. As it is, Razor Freestyle Scooter feels like the same level over and over again. |
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-Fridtjof, GameVortex Communications AKA Matt Paddock |
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