PlayStation

Razor Freestyle Scooter

This has to be the most surprising game of the year. When I heard that Crave was bringing out a Tony Hawk rip-off based on Razor Scooters, the hula hoop of the year 2000, needless to say I wasn’t exactly expecting great things. I should have read the press release a little more carefully, as this game was developed by Shaba, the company behind Grind Session, the game that came closest to capturing Tony Hawk’s storied gameplay. With Razor Freestyle Scooter, Shaba takes a step closer to the Holy Grail. Now I’m not saying this game is even in the same league as Tony Hawk 2, but it’s by far and away the best clone I’ve seen thus far. Playability is solid, and allows you to achieve a pretty good flow during your run. Level designs are clever; I especially liked the cool bonus stages. A good effort by a developer that seems to be improving with each new release.

Razor isn't going to make you chuck your copies of THPS and THPS2 out the window, but it's the first copycat to come along that hasn't just made me wish I was playing Pro Skater instead. You can tell that this one is aimed at the under-12 crowd, but don't be afraid to give it a whirl if you're not in this demographic. At the very least, you'll be entertained by watching a bunch of polygonal kids biff it on the nerdiest craze to sweep the nation.

Razor Freestyle Scooter is an attempt to bring the ever-popular freestyle sports genre to a younger audience using the popular Razor scooter name. While the game is aimed at a younger crowd, it still manages to be good, albeit short-term, fun.

Razor Freestyle Scooter is a game that most players will be able to plow through in a matter of hours. Younger gamers who aren't accustomed to the genre will have a tougher time with the title, so it is a worthwhile choice for those new to the PlayStation and interested in the sport. Overall, it is a simplistic game that only qualifies as average, given the lack of new features and variety of levels on hand.

En fråga som dyker upp i huvudet är dessvärre vilka som egentligen ska köpa det här? En sämre och väldigt mycket kortare version av Tony Hawk, fast med ett konstigt yttre. Kanske kan de som har tröttnat på Tonys titel finna lyckan i den här, me ndå bör man vara beredd på att det här inte är lika bra, och definitivt inte räcker lika länge. Ett tveksamt spel.

This whole scooter fad is a mystery to me. I just don't see the point of it all. To me, a scooter is like a skateboard with training handles- it's kid stuff that prepares you for bigger and better things. You can't really do anything special with it, so why not just get a skateboard? Anyway, this fad has definitely taken hold of the consuming public this holiday season and scooter sales have been quite astronomical. You know it's a big fad when unrelated businesses like McWhorters (a stationary store) start selling them.

En creusant un peu, je ne vois pas ce qui pourrait sauver Razor Freestyle Scooter d'une mauvaise note. Animation poussive qui dégrade forcément le gameplay, originalité inexistante, difficulté parfois extravagante et mal dosée, durée de vie faible, objectifs de niveaux creux... Même le médiocre Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX surpasse sans problème cette version trottinette, et représente une alternative potable à celui aurait écumé tous les objectifs de la série des Tony Hawk. A oublier donc.