Tony Hawk, as most of us know, started up the whole "extreme" videogame craze once again. There has been more than a handful of games which have attempted to infringe on the genre, but only a very few have even come close. Believe it or not, Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX, Activision's latest extreme game, (and the first under their new O2 label) has come quite close to reaching the lofty level that Tony Hawk has so deservingly carved out for himself.

Runecraft took Neversoft's Tony Hawk game engine and ran with it. Upon first glance, it is easy to believe that Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX is nothing more than THPS with a bike. In some respects, it is the truth, but after putting extensive time into the game, it grows on you in a whole new way. The game is obviously based on the original Tony Hawk as far as modes and gameplay structure are concerned, although the enhanced graphical engine puts it a bit above THPS2.

Visually, as mentioned above, the game looks great on the ol' PSX. But for maximum enjoyment, pop it into your PlayStation 2, turn on the texture smoothing option, and take a look at the improvements. Very nice indeed. Smooth and detailed polygonal models, and a surprisingly far draw distance, round out the package. The framerate hovers around the 25 - 30fps range, but it is quite consistent and never an issue. The soundtrack, although featuring an odd mix of alternative and rap, is really catchy and fits the game's pace well. Pennywise and Bad Brains are among the licensed groups providing the tunes to Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX.

The play modes are identical to Tony Hawk's Pros Skater 1, with the exception of the 3D Course Designer. The Career Mode which is the heart of the game, is structured exactly like THPS 1 as well. Each competition has 5 goals which range from achieving the high score and pro score, to knocking over 5 items, to collecting the letters to spell out "T R I C K". Each goal completed earns you a magazine cover, and the more covers you collect the more competitions and bike gear you earn. The courses are really well designed, and feature some truly huge outdoor areas. The 2 player mode, just like in its peers, is well designed and offers a nice amount of additional replayability.

Gameplay is just as tight as you would expect, but it does feel somewhat different controlling a bike instead of a skateboard. For one, while you can land and travel backwards in the fakie position, you must flip around forward after a short time or you will just slow down and stop. Also, most big air bike tricks require much more height to be pulled off completely, so don't expect to pull of several tricks in a single jump. In general, the tricks flow very well.. from spinning one-handed supermen, to manuals and bunnyhops, to one of 9 stalls/grinds, it's all quite seamless. I found myself stringing together combos more effortlessly than in THPS, personally.

If you loved Tony Hawk, you will definitely love Mat Hofman's Pro BMX. While it doesn't have the more extensive options and deeper mechanics of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, it has plenty of its own personality and depth. The sequel, which is already in development for the PlayStation 2, should definitely raise the bar even further.