E3 2002
The third installment of the Mirra BMX series brings a whole new flavor to
extreme sports gaming. Acclaim touts it as the first mature rated extreme game
and mature it is. Within it you’ll find loads of adult humor, both in terms of
language and situations. For example there are run-ins with prostitutes who’ll
flash you if you pull off the right moves and as you gain money you can see more
skin at the local peep show which actually features real video clips. This isn’t
just another bike sim; it brings a lot more entertainment value along with being
accurate to extreme riding.
Although it’s still objective based and resembles the last release, Mirra XXX
was built on a brand new platform (shared with Aggressive Inline) and the result
is rock solid game play. A nice thing is that there’s no set time limit on the
levels so you always have the ability explore.
The obvious visual flaws seen in the previous version have gone away and
environments have been better perfected. The environments are detailed and very
interactive as are the characters found within them. Sound wise, there’s a
lot of great effects and bands such as The White Stripes have been included.
Within the game you’ll find a variety of riders to tear up the various levels
with, including a new female character. Characters can also be created from
scratch and they’re highly customizable. Meaning, if you want your rider naked
or to have large ‘features’ for example – that’s not a problem. Whatever you may
find entertaining is probably possible in this one…
Another cool and unique feature found in this release is a multiplayer combat
mode in which gamers can battle one another using various weapons to take each
other out. So something like a bar-spin to peg-grind to shoot your opponent
combo is now feasible. Sounds cool to me.
By targeting the older gamers and slapping a mature rating on this title,
Acclaim has gained the ability to make this one over the top and unlike any
other game of its kind. They’ve done it well and the result is a game that, most
importantly, will be a blast to play. Expect to see this one available for the
PS2 in the fall and be prepared for some shocking content.
