After the success of the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games, it's unsurprising to find other extreme sport stuntmeisters lending their names to video games of their gnarly pastimes. Dave Mirra, brandishing a BMX with which to bash the sk8 kidz, is one of them.

His Freestyle BMX 2 isn't too bad, although the Hawkman won't be needing anything stronger than his usual Horlicks to sleep easy in his bed at night.

The basic game structure is solid, incorporating a variety of large levels set in areas like rail yards and water parks. Within each one, various tasks are set. These range from beating scores and performing stunts over certain parts of scenery, to simply finding and bumping into/tricking on various objects within the three minutes you are given for each run.

Unfortunately, these tasks highlight Dave Mirra's flaws. The game's niggles, not those of the man; he's probably a very nice guy.

The challenges you need to meet to progress through the game vary greatly in their quality. Some ask you to amass a certain amount of points over one trick, combo or run, and they're fine.

Others are much less fun. For example, one tedious task requires you to trek around the level in order to knock down four ladders.

Since remembering the position of the objects (other levels have similar 'find this' tasks) is tricky within such a large level, you just end up randomly pootling about until you happen to bump into them. It's not challenging, it's dull, and there are a few other tasks like this one.

Tricking isn't as polished as it might be, and the controls just don't feel fluid enough. Stringing combos together sometimes feels stilted. It's a shame, because if it felt more natural to trick all over the levels, linking together dozens of stunts, the game would have been far more enjoyable. As it is, it's difficult to keep any momentum for more than two or three tricks. And that's a real missed opportunity.

But despite the niggles, it's hard to really dislike Dave Mirra 2. Fans of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater might, though, and the third game in that series is out on Xbox.

But pulling off outlandish spins on the big ramps is fun despite the flaws, and if you're hankering for some solid BMX action, you won't be disappointed.

1. Large variety of stunts to perform
2. Big scope of levels
3. You can use your own tunes in-game

1. Controls not quite up to scratch
2. Average graphics

Power
Bland visuals - Xbox could run this and have enough power left to beat a clever person at chess.

Style
Solid, unspectacular, does-what-it-says-on-the-tin stuff. A division below Tony Hawk's.

Immersion
Pulling tricks is fun, but the tedious nature of some tasks could put you off long sessions.

Lifespan
Ten large levels, with plenty to do in each, plus the potential for setting high scores.

Summary
Solid, solid, solid - this is decent enough extreme sports, but poor controls spoil the overall experience.