Gameplay:  
There is quite a bit here for most any player to work with. The career mode is quite similar to that in Tony Hawk, with objectives awarding points upon their completion, and a certain number of points opening up further levels. The main difference I found was that it really isn’t possible to obtain enough points with one character to open up all the levels. A player would actually have to accumulate points with a few different characters to get enough points to open up later levels. While it does encourage using multiple characters instead of just one, it can also be an annoyance to have to repeat levels with different players just to open more levels for any character. It is a tradeoff between these two aspects, whether beating the game with one character immediately or using a bunch of characters to go through, but it isn’t too bad to encourage people to use multiple characters. Multiplayer options are limited, but I will delve into those in a further section.

Sound:  
The sound in the game is, once again, nothing to really phone home about. (It seems that I write this in every review, but in most every game I’ve had to review, it HASN’T been anything to phone home about.) The level tunes merely exist to have something there. It is typical GBA fare, but doesn’t go significantly above or beyond anything else in this same vein that is already out there. Sound effects are standard fare as well. In all, the game’s sound keeps from being horrible, which is about all that is necessary in this type of game.

Control:
The control scheme in Dave Mirra definitely takes some getting used to, but it definitely holds its own once you get it down. The same case presented itself in Tony Hawk 2, and a lot of it has to do with getting used to the perspective. Once you can gauge your height and position effectively, it makes it much easier to position yourself to land tricks. However, the landings in this game are a bit sketchier than those in Tony Hawk 2. I’m not sure if it requires you to be more precise or if it is just a little buggy, but many times that you think you are lined up perfectly for a landing, you will end up bailing. It is a little frustrating, but overall, the game’s controls definitely flow well, and allow you to pull off tricks rather effectively once you master the perspective.

Multiplayer:
The multiplayer aspect of the game is definitely something that many would find a bit unnerving. For those who expected two player game link hijinks, there isn’t much here. Actually, there’s NOTHING here along those lines. The multiplayer is entirely based on “make your run and then pass it to your buddy” gameplay. The modes are not really that enthralling, and don’t give a sense of competition, since you could actually play them against yourself. (Am I the only one that feels a second person should be mandatory for multiplayer?) It seems to just be something thrown in there at the end of the development process merely so they could also claim that “multiplayer modes are available”.

OVERALL:
In all, I really liked this game a great deal. The single player mode is quite well done. The graphics are very nice, and it really brought the sport to life much more than I consider Mat Hoffman to have done. It plays for the most part like Tony Hawk 2 on a bike, which is odd because this is the one NOT published by the same company as Tony Hawk 2. Well, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I guess, and Activision and Vicarious Visions should be VERY flattered by this game. If you are a fan of extreme biking and are looking to pick up a game for your GBA, I would definitely suggest that this is the one you buy.

 

The Lowdown on  Dave Mirra BMX 2 (GBA) Aesthetics: Very Good Control: Above Average Gameplay: Very Good Multiplayer: Average Sound: Above Average Innovation: 3/6 Lasting Appeal: 4/6 Overall: Very Good! "A Must-Buy"