When Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was released a couple of years ago, gamers welcomed it with open arms. The insanely high number of trick combinations; excellent level design; perfect controls and endless replay value made THPS one of the greatest games ever made. Given Tony Hawk's huge popularity, Activision wanted to spread the love and release more extreme sports games. For the first Tony Hawk spin-off, Activision decided to trade in the skateboard for a stunt bike. The result is Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX, a faster, and at times more exciting version of the Pro skating game we all know and love.

Much like its predecessors, Mat Hoffman's controls are just about perfect. If you've played Tony Hawk before (and who hasn't?), you'll jump right into Mat's shoes with no trouble. Heck, the controls are so easy to get the hang of, that even if you haven't played Tony Hawk before, you'll still be able to pull off many of the game's stunts with little practice. The A button bunnyhops and Y grinds, so grinding from one rail to the next is a snap. L and R execute familiar functions as well, making your biker spin left or right, while X performs a quick trick and B launches an air trick.

One of the best features in Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX is the 3D Real-Time Park Editor. Start with a large empty space and choose from dozens of different pieces to build your dream park. Benches, pipes, rails, ramps, walls and stairs, etc., can be placed anywhere you want. Almost everything you see in the game's pre-made parks is available to use in the Park Editor. You can even construct your own pool (for performing tricks, not swimming). When you are done, select your favorite BMX biker and grind around your homemade park till the sun comes up. Then trade a park or two with your friends for even more diversity.

Since bicycles generally move a lot faster than skateboards, Mat Hoffman is considerably faster than Tony Hawk 1 and 2. You'll definitely notice a difference when you hop on a rail, as Mat, Rick Thorne, Cory Nastazio and the gang speed up when grinding. Although that is nothing major, the increased amount of speed certainly adds to the excitement and makes me wonder what lies ahead for the sequel on PlayStation 2.

Other than that, there aren't a whole lot of differences between Mat and Tony's Pro games. The kind of stunts performed in each game is obviously going to be different, but most of them are performed exactly the same. Is this a bad thing? Not in the least bit. In fact, it's actually a good thing. Whereas Acclaim's Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX tried so hard to be different that it ended up killing the overall experience, Mat sticks to the classic gameplay style invented by the king of extreme sports games, Neversoft. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I couldn't get enough of THPS and I can't get enough of Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX.

Graphically, Mat Hoffman isn't as impressive as the yet-to-be-released Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, but it does pack a pretty powerful visual punch. Using the more advanced graphic capabilities of the Dreamcast, Runecraft was able to eliminate all of the pop-up, pixelation and grainy-ness of the PSone version. That's where Mat's graphics really shine. All of the bikers are very well animated and the environments look terrific.

On the other hand, Mat Hoffman's music leaves a lot to be desired. I don't understand how a game with so much diversity can have such a monotonous soundtrack. The combination of rock and rap in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was excellent, but Mat Hoffman seems to have more c</u>rap<u> than anything else.

Music aside, I have no complaints. Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX is one of the most enjoyable games I've played this year. This is a prime example of just how good the Dreamcast really is. Even at a time when developers are canceling DC releases and bringing all of their new games to PS2, Xbox or GameCube, the Dreamcast still nabbed the best BMX biking game ever made. I don't see Mat Hoffman on any of the other next-gen consoles, do you? It just goes to show that Dreamcast isn't dead yet. While Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft loyalists are falling asleep with Dave Mirra, I'll be experiencing the real king of BMX biking: Matt Hoffman's Pro BMX. And I suggest that you do the same.

Rating: Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX is rated “E” for Everyone (ages six and above). It contains an extremely small amount of animated blood and violence.

Graphics: 7.5 
Being a Dreamcast game, Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX looks amazing. It surpasses the other versions available in every conceivable way, featuring smoother textures, better animation and a crisper, cleaner picture than in the PSone version.

Sound: 1 
I am a huge fan and supporter of video game music. Unfortunately, Mat Hoffman doesn't have any video game music. I know that not every game can have an orchestral masterpiece composed by Nobuo Uematsu, but if you're going to license a few songs from rock or rap artists, get something decent. The mute button has never been so useful.

Difficulty: 7.5
Learning the basics of Mat Hoffman is easy. Mastering it, however, is not, ensuring that you’ll be coming back for more even after you’ve beaten it. Topping your high score over and over again never seems to get old.

Concept: 7 
Although it may not be the most original concept, this was still a brilliant idea. Activision and Runecraft deserve a ton of credit for taking Tony Hawk‘s engine and creating ANOTHER excellent game series.

Multiplayer: 7
Simply put, the two-player multiplayer mode rocks. Once again, Mat Hoffman lives up to Tony Hawk’s awesome multiplayer mode with H.O.R.S.E., Graffiti and Trick Attack.

Overall: 8.5
Let's give Runecraft a round of applause for creating an extreme sports game nearly as good as the one that inspired it. If you have a Dreamcast or a PlayStation and love Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, you owe it to yourself to check out Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX. Can't afford to buy it? Then rent it for now and play it as much as possible. If you're not able to part with it after the five-day rental is up, go out and buy it as soon as you can. Believe me, it's worth it.