GameSpot editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 09/09/2002
- Released on: 08/27/2002
- Originally published on GameSpot: Aggressive Inline (Game Boy Advance) Review
Aggressive Inline for the Game Boy Advance is only vaguely comparable to the console game it's based on. The basic feel is identical, right down to the controls, trick system, and soundtrack, but there are a multitude of changes in other areas that make this game less like the game you've been playing on your PS2, GameCube, or Xbox, and more like the typical extreme sports games you'd find in the GBA section at your local store.
The grind is the most important skill.
For starters, the open-ended levels that offered so much freedom in the console game have been replaced with slalom courses and timers that put huge pressure on your ability to perform efficient tricks and grinds. Grinds are very important in the handheld version of Aggressive Inline, so much so that the juice meter from the console game has been replaced with a grind meter that fills when you perform grab and flip tricks. This grind meter empties as you perform grinds and bar spins. If the grind meter is exhausted, you can't grind.
Like most extreme sports games, Aggressive Inline is mission-based. Each course has three or four tasks that you need to complete before the time limit expires. The tasks vary in complexity, from things as simple as token collecting and vandalizing property to more difficult maneuvers such as gap transfers and multiple bar transfers. Overall, the kinds of tasks you'll perform in Aggressive Inline are comparable to those found in other handheld sports games, but they are a far cry from the missions in the console version, the completion of which often resulted in a total reconfiguration of the course environment.
As far as tricks go, however, this miniaturized adaptation of Aggressive Inline is almost as flashy and fast-paced as the console version. The feeling of speed is intense, and there are hundreds of different tricks to perform. The A and B buttons perform jumps, grabs, grinds, and bar spins, while the shoulder buttons allow you to execute spins and flips and let you bail when you fly off a ramp. There are items within each level that can improve your speed, air, spin, hang time, and grab capabilities, which further adds to the overall pace and style of each run.
Unfortunately, not all the features of the console version's trick system made it into the handheld port. The most notable difference is the complete lack of manuals, vaults, and cess slides. Although the absence of these moves doesn't really affect your ability to perform a lot of tricks quickly, it does prevent you from linking together massive chains and abusing the scoring system to the same extent that you could in the PS2, GameCube, and Xbox versions of the game.
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Where to buy
Aggressive Inline (Game Boy Advance):
$18.99 - $19.99
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
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$19.99 | Yes |
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$18.99 | No |
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