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Review:

27th September 2002:
Aggressive Inline
The next-gen games were excellent, but can Acclaim recreate that same level of fun on Nintendo's pocket-sized handheld?
Posted by Marc Hull - Game Boy Advance - UK and Europe

Extreme Sports games usually contain complex environments, a large and varied range of character animations and a pin-sharp control system, all of which would make the prospect of a Game Boy Advance title very difficult indeed. However, Acclaim's commitment to the console has secured it a version of Aggressive Inline, an inline skating game which was great fun on the Xbox and PlayStation 2, and it was up to the developers, Full Fat Productions, to come up with a solution to the problem.

From the final game, it's easy to see that a lot of effort was put into keeping the handheld version faithful to its larger cousins. There are ten different skaters to choose from, and, like the next-gen versions, all are modelled on actual pro skaters like Jaron Grob, Taig Khris and Chris Edwards. All of them have different abilities in terms of speed, spin, jumping, 'air' and hangtime, but since the characters rarely take up more than a handful of pixels on-screen, spotting the likenesses is slightly more difficult. The general presentation, from the styling of the menus to the fonts used, is also in keeping with the other versions, and looks great on the smaller screen.

Graphically, it would have been pretty difficult to recreate some of the complex environments seen in the PS2 version in 3D on the Game Boy Advance's limited power, so instead the developers have opted for a fixed, isometric viewpoint. This means that the level designers were free to construct a large number of fairly detailed areas, with your character having the ability to grind on almost any edge, but not having the camera chasing the character from behind makes lining up for some tricks much more difficult. One of the blessings of the next-gen versions was the ability to execute grinds very easily, however the handheld version not only makes positioning your character in line with the grinding rails much trickier, but also seems less forgiving when you're slightly off-target.

While the environments are clear, and contain plenty to do, the most impressive part of the game visually is the way it displays the characters. As previously mentioned, these types of games usually rely on a large number of animations to show off each character's moves smoothly, and so having simple sprites for the handheld version would either make these sequences really jerky, or require large chunks of memory and reduce other parts of the game. However, Aggressive Inline gets around this by using the GBA's power to create full 3D character models which, while not as detailed as in the other versions, allow for some pretty incredible animations when you pull of a string of tricks.

Although the game promises 400+ moves, executing them with the GBA's non-analogue D-pad and small number of buttons can be pretty difficult. Quite often you'll want to execute a string of moves to keep your score multiplier going up, but it's sometimes tricky to know when to start a new move, and to press the buttons quickly enough to pull it off. The grinds, which were one of the best points of the next-gen versions, have also been altered for the handheld version. Rather than having a balance bar that decides how long you can grind for, instead you simply have a grind bar which constantly depleats while grinding, and once it's gone you fall off. The only way to increase this bar is to pull off aerial stunts, which means that once you mess up a grind you have to find some ramps and boost your grind bar before you can try again.

Aggressive Inline on the PS2 and Xbox was really good because each level had innovative challenges that could be tackled in any order without the pressure of a time limit. However, the GBA version loses this freedom to an extent by bringing back the pressure-building timer and containing quite mundane challenges to be fulfilled. While the game does offer a Freestyle mode where you can get to learn the controls without the timer constantly counting down, playing the Arcade mode is the only way to unlock the later levels, and it can often be a very frustrating experience watching the last seconds tick away just before completing the last challenge.

Although graphically the game may not push the console, it does excel in terms of sound. Somehow the developers have managed to squeeze several of the fully-licensed songs from the next-gen version into the tiny GBA cartridge, and they don't sound too bad coming from the handheld's tiny speaker either. Some of the tracks may be slightly digitised due to compression, but overall they provide a really nice atmosphere to the on-screen proceedings. The game also can't be criticised for length, with the aforementioned ten skaters, 400+ moves and a whole thirteen levels to be unlocked, ranging from locations such as a warehouse, sewer, car park and even a circus.

Overall, adapting Aggressive Inline for the GBA's limited powers was always going to be a difficult task, and the developers have found good solutions to many of the challenges. However, the fixed-viewpoint has made controlling your character and pulling off tricks a lot more difficult than in the next-gen versions, and the implementation of a timer in the arcade mode only adds to the problem. Those who are fans of the series will probably find a lot to love about this title, and will persevere with it enough to overcome the tricky control system. For newcomers, though, this may be a bit too difficult to get to grips with, meaning you'll probably never see some of the later levels in the game.

Marc Hull

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Review Summary:

Instead of trying to recreate the 3D 'behind the character' view of the next-gen games, Aggressive Inline for the GBA opts for an isometric view, which causes some control problems. However, with licensed music tracks, 10 pro skaters and 13 levels, if you can persevere through the early frustrations then there's a lot of enjoyment to be had.

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