Big Air Freestyle

Since extreme sports are gaining popularity, many game developers have been attempting to capture that same energy and excitement. Capturing those qualities in a game however has proven difficult as only a few like SSX Tricky have successfully taken advantage of the fan base. Unfortunately, Big Air Freestyle's take on motorcross/supercross also falls into many of the same problems other extreme sport games have, with issues in a number of key areas.

Big Air Freestyle offers the standard complement of gameplay modes including racing and freestyle competitions. The same type of problems arise however as both give an unrealistic experience that distracts from the game. Although you may expect some of that in this type of genre, these issues actually cause the game to lose touch with the motorcross experience. For instance, while racing across a track you'll find an invisible wall that keeps you from running off of it. Not only does this subtract from the race, but you can actually use it to help you turn. Another problem is that the freestyle moves are unrealistic. There isn't any sense of the weight of the bike or effect of gravity as you can flip or pull tricks in unnatural ways.

The rest of the game does give an adequate performance but isn't overly impressive. The controls are responsive and tricks easy to execute, the graphics won't win any awards but meet minimum standards, and the multiplayer games are fun at first but won't hold your attention.

Big Air Freestyle's biggest issue is its unrealistic gameplay. In a sport like motorcross/supercross, watching athletes throw themselves around a motorcycle that high in the air is more amazing than anything else. When the sense of altitude and power are taken away however, a lot of the sport disappears as well. If you can get past that however, the rest of the game should keep motorcross fan's content with 20 different tracks and 6 freestyle arenas.