Aggressive Inline - GameCube

Also known as: Aggressive Inline Featuring Taig Khris

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Also for: PS2, Xbox, GBA
Viewed: 3D Third-person, over the shoulder Genre:
Sport
Arcade origin:No
Developer: Acclaim Soft. Co.: Acclaim
Publishers: Acclaim (GB/US)
Released: 6 Sept 2002 (GB)
Unknown (US)
Ratings: 3+
Accessories: Memory Card

Summary

A direct rival of Activision’s hugely popular Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and Matt Hoffman’s Pro BMX, Acclaim’s Aggressive Inline looks to be one of the few, yet most accomplished Inline skating games designed. But is it the best of the extreme sports genre?

For those who love official licences, players and statistics, Aggressive Inline comes complete with a AAA list of world famous inline skaters including Chris Edwards, Jaren Grob, Taig Chris, Matt Lindenmuth and Shane Yost. But that's trivial information in terms of the game's quality.

In what many extreme sports players will instantly recognise as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater with boots and wheels, Aggressive Inline tests players' dexterity and ability to perform hard-to-execute special tricks. The game's seven vast environments feature dozens of mission objectives that entail helping NPCs scattered around the level complete seemingly menial tasks that are often a nightmare to accomplish on wheels. You must often jump and grind your way to the highest point of the level just to please some obnoxious character spectating hundreds of feet below you. It is great fun though, and offers a sense of direction for the player. But obtaining a high score will be your long-term objective in a game that offers what is effectively unlimited replay value. There's no greater challenge or buzz in video games than topping your closest friends' high scores, or even destroying your own best performance, for that matter.

Where many games in this field are time-based, Aggressive Inline incorporates what Acclaim call an innovative 'Juice Meter' to extend the length of a single session of skating. Quite simply, players must keep the Juice Meter as full as possible by performing a variety of tricks. The better you perform, the longer you play. But if the meter empties, it's game over.

The GameCube visuals, although not overly superior to the Xbox and PlayStation 2 versions, look great. The level of realism, now a major selling point in the industry, is good, the character animation is fluid and the game rarely shows signs of slowdown.

With a game engine near identical to that seen in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and a few other extreme sports games, a multi-player option, and an excellent soundtrack (subject to taste) Aggressive Inline is fun. Lots of fun.