PlayStation

2Xtreme

Plenty of high-speed action and a tough CPU competitor will keep gamers coming back for more. The biggest appeal is the split-screen, two-player mode for face-to-face action.

For those who have a racing buddy, and the desire to work through their aggression in a desperate game of speed, 2 Xtreme's a fine choice. But for those going solo, other prettier racing games dish up more satisfying courses.

Road Rash reste plus sympa, même si 2 Extreme propose un mode deux joueurs particulièrement amusant où l'on peut s'en mettre plein les dents (et le reste aussi). Les habitués des jeux à deux devraient y trouver leur compte...

I do like having the ability to beat up on your opponents, especially in Two-player Mode. But I can't say that it redeems this game. If you liked the first one, this is more of the same. But I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else.

I'd like nothing more than to say that 2Xtreme is a triumphant success but unfortunately, compared to how much I liked the original Extreme Games, I have to concede that this sequel is a miserable failure. There was an attempt to inject some new strategic options into the mix, and some of the animation is better, but the dull locales, the limited mobility of the characters and the fact that, once again, this is a split screen 2 player racing game (instead of a linkable 2-4 player event), does nothing but slow down the momentum of this incredibly cool franchise. One can only hope that developers take to heart some of the criticism aimed at this game and work hard to salvage this series for its next iteration. Racing on skateboards, mountain bikes, inline skates and snowboards should be much more fun than this.

2 Xtreme does have a nice power-up system however, with special gates that provide health, strength, speed, or jumping power. These add a strategic element to the action, but overall 2 Xtreme was a major setback for the series, one it never really recovered from.

All in all, 2xtreme is a sequel which is inferior in almost every way to the original. The graphics are poor, the fun is limited, and the game gets just downright dull after a few hours. Even the two player mode doesnit save it, offering you a split screen but not much extra playability. If you want a fun racing game, check out Extreme Sports, because the prequel will offer you a lot more enjoyment than this shoddy follow-up.