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Dom Robinson reviews
Sony
- Price: £39.99
- Players: 1-8
Last year we hadSSXand while we wait for some more fun being “board”, prepare for Airblade.
However, it reminds me more of the fun you could have in Back to the Future 2,were you Marty McFly, complete with hoverboard.
You take the role of Ethan, friend of Oscar, a scientific genius and disgruntledemployee of the GCP Corporation, much so because he’s been kidnapped afterattempting to be silenced because they didn’t like the hoverboard he createdwhich creates limitless energy from gravitational fields. Hence, once you’vespent your ‘boost energy’, more tricks equals more energy to speed along with.
For those who missed out onJet Set Radioon the Dreamcast, what this means is that you begin in a small cityscape with four GCP heaviesand four snipers to be done away with, as well as two atop scaffolding andnot forgetting a limousine that appears for you to grind your board along.Once you’ve found where they are go along and pull off a trick in their faceto defeat each one.
Gliding your board around the 360-degree movement takes some getting used tobut once you’ve got to grips with the basics – and notice I didn’t say”once you’ve mastered it” because I certainly haven’t – you can pull off oneof a huge number of fancy tricks, each of which gain you points. The smoothride around the city is a visual treat – the kind in which I’d like to base around of Unreal Tournament – and as you progress you’re helped bycomputer hacker friend Kat with hints at the bottom of the screen as to whatto do next. There are, however, some glitches which are obvious as you sailabout your business in which parts of the scenery disappear depending on whereyou are.
Soundwise, this adds to the entertainment with a Dolby Surround soundtrackthat fits but doesn’t do much that’s outstanding. However, while I could findsome Dolby Digital 5.1 music tracks in the music player menu, they wouldn’tplay as such within the game.
Once each mission is completed “evolution points” will open up new areas,but hopefully with some more practice I’ll get off level one, that’s if theinterest level doesn’t wane first as it’s beginning to do. Of the variousgame modes available, the “party mode”, in which you and a load of friends(up to 8) can try out tricks so that the one the lowest score becomes theweakest link and is eliminated, is a great way to explore other places withinthe game.
Bizarrely, this game, like a DVD, has a number of extras such as the aforementionmusic player, a list of the available stunts and how to complete them, extralevels, an Airblade gallery showing various designs for each characterand a “making of Airblade” in which Bits babe Emily Newton Dunninterviews the team behind the game.
SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC
PLAYABILITY
ORIGINALITY
ENJOYMENT
OVERALL
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.