AirBlade (PlayStation 2)

Criterion Games, the team behind AirBlade and the developer of the much-licensed Renderware engine, is no stranger to hoverboard games. TrickStyle, its previous take on the genre, was easy on the eyes but became tedious quickly. Having learned from its mistakes, Criterion brings AirBlade to the PlayStation 2 with significantly better results.

AirBlade's story mode kicks off with some corporate bad guys busting into your house and kidnapping your roommate, Oscar. It seems that right before quitting his job as a scientist for the big bad GCP Corporation, Oscar stole a prototype hoverboard made with technology that could render fossil fuels obsolete, and his former employers want it back. It's up to you as the vaguely counterculture Ethan to use the hoverboard, dubbed the AirBlade, to rescue Oscar and turn the GCP's operations upside down. The premise is pretty weak, and the subsequent in-game movies contain plenty of sophomoric "stick it to The Man" sentiments that culminate in a rather anticlimactic conclusion. But thankfully, AirBlade puts a greater emphasis on gameplay than it does on back story.

Taking a page from the rest of the Tony Hawk-inspired action-sports games out there, the main story mode in AirBlade is mission-based. This means that each level has a set number of objectives, such as knocking over GCP thugs, smashing through wanted signs with your picture on them, or destroying various pieces of GCP equipment, all of which you must complete before your allotted time runs out. The time limit adds a certain urgency to the game, as you'll need to complete every objective in a single run in order to advance to the next level. It also can also make the game exceptionally frustrating, as it can take a lot of trial and error to figure out how to complete all the objectives, making it necessary to run through most levels several times. This is compounded by the game's brutal difficulty level, which ramps up significantly by the third level. Sometimes this level of challenge will make it that much more satisfying when you complete a level; other times, it'll inspire you to throw the controller at the screen. As hard as AirBlade is, the main story mode consists of only six levels, and it shouldn't take most players too long to complete it.

The other single-player modes are slightly more conventional. The stunt attack mode gives you performance-specific goals to complete, like pulling off an especially long grind or a big trick combo, before letting you advance to the next level. Score attack, which also serves as a multiplayer mode, simply challenges you to beat certain level scores. AirBlade also features four multiplayer-specific modes. There's trick list, in which players compete to perform specific tricks before the other. In ribbon tag, an altered version of king of the hill, the objective is to hold on to a piece of ribbon longer than your opponent. The longer you have the ribbon, however, the longer it gets, making it that much easier for your opponent to grab it from you. In show off mode, players are scored based on big air and big combos. The party mode is the most unique of AirBlade's multiplayer modes, allowing up to eight players compete in a round-robin-style score competition. Each player is given one minute to score as many points as he or she can, and whoever has the lowest score at the end of the round is eliminated. This goes on until there's only one person left standing. Any of these modes can be a satisfactory diversion, though they're not the main attraction.

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