Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 features the latest and greatest entertainers in the world of freestyle BMX competitions. In all, there are 12 pro riders, which include the namesake of the game, Dave Mirra, as well as other notables such as Flyin Ryan Nyquist, Kenan Harkin and Todd "The Wildman" Lyons. As always, each rider has their own strengths and weaknesses, categorized into six different criteria: airtime, speed, hangtime, bunnyhop, and balance. The bikes that you will unlock throughout the game also add to these categories.

There are four modes to choose from in the game, Proquest, Session, Free Ride and two-player. Proquest is the obligatory 'meet these objectives, unlock these stages' mode, where you will get the chance to tear up the six courses in the game. Each course has 10 objectives that you must fulfill, which range from the simple task of reaching a certain points plateau to collecting icons to spell out MIRRA. There are also other challenges in each course that require you to execute transfers from one ramp to another, or to grind a certain section of the course. The thing that makes Dave Mirra's Proquest different from the Career mode in Tony Hawk is that once you have finished the initial set of objectives, a new list appears, containing goals that are much harder than before. Session mode basically lets you go at a course for two minutes at a time without any restrictions, while Free Ride allows you to play without a time limit. Unfortunately Fat Fun only provided us with the bare essentials in Dave Mirra 2, but they more than make up for that with the gameplay.

As with the previous Mirra games on the console systems, the trick system differs greatly from just about every other game on the market. Instead of having all of the buttons perform some sort of trick, the L button serves as a modifier for all of your tricks, while the R and A buttons perform your standard bar spins, can-cans and whatnot. To use the modifiers, you must perform your trick, and then immediately use a modifier move. This allows you to increase your score on a single move, as well as allowing you to pull off some ridiculously insane moves, such as a Front Flip Can-Can or a Back Flip Decade. In all there are almost 200 moves in total that you can pull off in Dave Mirra 2, and it is a nice departure from what Activision and company are doing with their franchises.

If you thought that the earlier Dave Mirra games were too much like Tony Hawk, you aren't going to have your mind changed here if you're judging soley by the graphics. Despite being developed by a totally different studio, one would be absolutely convinced that Vicarious Visions (the creators of THPS2 for the GBA) created this game as well. Dave Mirra 2 uses the same isometric view used in THPS2, and quite honestly, a lot of the tracks look like they've been ripped straight from Activision's title as well. One thing that Mirra does better than Tony Hawk is the sense of elevation. You can really feel yourself being a little bit higher on one ramp than you would on another, shorter ramp next to it. The riders themselves are awesome, with a ton of animation for each move, as well as numerous bail animations for just about every situation you could think of. While the levels can be a little confusing at first, the good thing about them is that they're for the most part fairly spacious and contain some very creative design. Aurally the game shines with 11 great tracks that don't come off as mere last-minute additions, although the sound effects seem to lack the usual 'oomph' that usually goes along with the whole extreme sports idea.

Between Matt Hoffman's Pro Style BMX and Dave Mirra 2, the choice seems pretty obvious to me. While Matt Hoffman's definitely feels and plays like "Tony Hawk on bikes", Dave Mirra 2 does not. The unique trick system coupled with superb track design and awesome graphics make Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 the game to get if you're a BMX fan. Dave Mirra 2 excels in every category you could think of, and quite frankly, I cannot wait for the inevitable sequel.

· · · Reno