ESPN X Games Skateboarding (Game Boy Advance)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.0 stars Good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 6.7 (3.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Frank Provo
• Reviewed on: 09/17/2001
• Updated on: 05/17/2006
• Released on: 09/12/2001
• Originally published on GameSpot: ESPN X Games Skateboarding (Game Boy Advance) Review

Konami's ESPN X Games Skateboarding brings the X Games into the palm of your hand. The game features 10 pro riders, six different vert and street/park courses, and more than 40 different tricks and signature moves. The roster is star-studded, containing notables such as Bob Burnquist, Chris Senn, Kerry Getz, and Carlos De Andrade, as well as other fan favorites, including Colin McKay, Lincoln Ueda, Chad Fernandez, Rick McCrank, Rollie McNolty, and Kailei Williams.

The vert competition in X Games Skateboarding is phenomenal. As you know, the vert event gives participants 45 seconds in a massive half pipe to perform a lengthy crowd-pleasing trick routine. Tricks--ranging from simple tail grabs and ramp stalls to more complex maneuvers such as the benihana and roast beef--are performed via a mixture of button combinations. Happily, the game uses all four of the GBA's face and shoulder buttons. For variety's sake, there are three different vert events. You can compete in the X Games competition, which lets you compete for gold, silver, and bronze medals, as well as earn "skillz" points to purchase or upgrade your skater's skills; the free skate mode, which lets you practice combinations and hone your dexterity; and the X-Rage mode, an arcade-style minigame that lets you earn dragon gems with which to upgrade your skater's jump, speed, and balance traits.

In all, there are three different vert arenas, including San Francisco, Houston, and Daytona, each of which is gorgeously detailed with cheering fans, mirrored surfaces, and gimmicky lens flare effects. Throughout each stage of competition, weather and daylight also affect how the arenas look. However, the true beauty of X Games Skateboarding isn't reflected in its stages--it's reflected by the dazzling fluidity of animation present in the game's pro skaters. Tricks, spills, and landings are re-created with near-broadcast accuracy, while simple touches, such as arm waving and leg motion, are included to give the experience a more lifelike flavor. Whether you're chaining together five or six tricks in the X Games competition or leaping 600 feet into the air in X-Rage, X Games Skateboarding offers an immaculate rendition of the trick-laden vert event.

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