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Disney Sports Skateboarding

Score: 65%
ESRB: Everyone
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Disney Interactive
Media: Cart/1
Players: 1 - 4
Genre: Sports

Graphics & Sound:

Products that bear the Disney label have always been big contenders for instant success. As a result, there have been numerous marketing ploys to sell products with the Disney image. The recent introduction of the Disney Sports series exemplifies such practices. The Disney Sports series is a new line of sports games that feature Disney characters as the competitors. Disney Sports Skateboarding, one of the games in that line, puts an interesting twist to a sport just gaining popularity.

The visuals in Disney Sports Skateboarding are nice, although they are not quite as appealing as other games in the Disney Sports lineup. Disney characters can be seen cruising obstacle filled arenas in an offset top-down perspective, similar to the already popular Game Boy adaptations of the Tony Hawk lineage. The animations are not too extravagant with Mickey Mouse and his friends attempting different skater tricks. No matter how many I tried, the tricks always seemed identical in their visual animations. Additionally, the scenes just are not compelling. Although there are a wide amount of settings, from standard streets to out-of-this-world space missions, the lack of that 'Tony Hawk' visual appeal definitely takes away from the presentation, making for streets that are boring and less than realistic.

The audio also takes a dive. I hoped for sound bits of the Disney characters screaming skater slang as they rolled along the playing fields. Instead, there are limited effects that mostly sound off as warning meters and a techno pop musical score that drags the game into an eternal prison.


Gameplay:

A good skateboarding game is hard to come by. Sadly, Disney Sports Skateboarding does not fit that bill. It is a fun piece of work for a younger audience who just want the joy of seeing Donald Duck stick his tail feathers out as he pedals his skateboard through an obstacle course. Nevertheless, except for a nostalgic reference, Disney Sports Skateboarding makes no real moves toward providing a great skateboarding game for the portable system.

You get to choose from Mickey, Donald, Minnie, or Goofy. Each skater supposedly has his weaknesses and strong suits. Personally, I never saw much performance differences in either character. The objectives of Disney Sports Skateboarding are separated into four game modes. Trick attack is the main mode of play where you must utilize your skills and perform certain tasks to proceed to the next level. Tasks may include collecting specific items laid throughout the screen or performing enough tricks during a given time frame. The 'Crowd Jam'meter measures the crowds input during a free-for-all skate run. At the end of a run, the average crowd input is displayed along with the overall highest scores. Free Skate lets you practice and hone your moves and Time Attack challenges you to make it to all checkpoints before a timer runs out.

In the Trick Attack mode, you can earn different skateboards, which allow you to perform different moves, as well as unlock scenes that are playable in the other modes. There are total of 8 different levels.


Difficulty:

The hardest part about Disney Sports Skateboarding is getting over the limited abilities of this game. The amount of tricks available for each character is very limited and performing those tricks does not require much practice to master. Figuring out exactly what the game wants you to do is a little nerve racking at first, but once you manage to get through the first few levels, the rest is a breeze.

Game Mechanics:

Limiting the availability at the start of a game seems like a bad way to keep a person interested in the product. When Disney Sports Skateboarding begins, you can only visit two levels and only own two skateboards. Not until you complete these levels can you gain access to upper levels and better boards. The controls are simple and fairly easy to master, but without a decent run to utilize these controls in Disney Sports Skateboarding, they are almost a complete waste. Once all of the levels are unlocked and each board is available, Disney Sports Skateboarding makes for some real exciting times, however it takes a lot of work to get to that point. Most of that work is much too trivial to attempt for such little reward.

-==Boy, GameVortex Communications
AKA Kyle Prestenback

Nintendo GameBoy Advance Disney Sports: Motocross Nintendo GameBoy Advance Disney Sports: Snowboarding

 
Game Vortex :: PSIllustrated