Thanks to the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series, extreme sports fans have witnessed the evolution of this particular genre with much pleasure.  Not only has the level of interactivity changed but so did the environments themselves.  Now Aggressive Inline joins the ranks and this time extreme rollerblading is in the spotlight.  Lace up those skates, sports fans, because this one’s a wild ride.

The game is filled with twelve skaters off the bat, two of which have been created while the rest are based on real extreme skaters such as ASA World Street Champion Jaren Grob or Chris Edwards.  You can chose either character while other surprise characters can be unlocked after the successful completion of Career mode.

Career mode, the main mode in Aggressive Inline, takes gamers into a variety of levels (nine in total) complete with many challenges and secret areas.  Throughout the level, gamers will encounter certain characters that issue challenges for prizes or extra points while some of the non-issued challenges are made up of collecting all the juice box icons or locating hidden keys to unlock extra areas.

Four other game playing options make up the Aggressive Inline experience. There is Freeskate, which allows gamers to skate any of the levels you unlock in Career mode (and minus the juice icons).  Then there’s the Timed Run (you are given a specific time limit), the Multiplayer mode (head-to-head games with you and a friend) and the Park Editor (design your own skate area).

The tricks are also plentiful in this game and thanks to the near perfect controls, performing then is never a daunting task or a frustrating one.  Skaters can grind anything and jump off any wall in many of the environments.  They can also grab on to the back fender of any moving vehicle--it’s called skitching in this game--or grab on to a pole and swing on it ala AirBlade. 

Although the graphics on the characters aren’t as redefined as the ones on Tony Hawk, this is still one gorgeous looking game--and each skating area is overflowing with details.  The streets are filled with pedestrians, flowing traffic, vendors and objects such as phone booths and bike racks.  Each area has it’s own unique visual wonders and gamers will be pleased with the overall beauty of them, especially since you can skate almost anywhere.

Alternative rock tunes make up the game’s soundtrack and while many of the tunes are the kind you find on your local radio station (including some that have been popular five years ago) they do set the right tone for the game.  Nothing beats performing big air tricks with Black Sheep playing.  Still, there is more to the sound than just the soundtrack and Aggressive Inline has a number of great effects.  Pedestrians shout back at you if you skate too close to them and you’ll find certain people you can interact with and offer you rewards.

A skating game isn’t complete without a multiplayer option and this one keeps it between to players in split-screen fashion.  And aside from the delight of skating in your own created environment or any of the environments unlocked in Career mode, you are also offered five great multiplayer games (Most Points, Best Trick, Egg Hunt, Twenty One and Animal Rescue).  Each game offers enough challenges to entertain all tastes, but Egg Hunt and Animal Rescue are the most unique.

Yes, Aggressive Inline may seem like Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3’s little brother but there is enough extreme sports action to give big brother a run for his money.  With all the right moves, this is certainly a game skating fans will thoroughly enjoy.  A Must Have for those who like their skating intense.

Gameplay: 9.5
Thank Acclaim for keeping the controls in Aggressive Inline simple and entertaining.  Gamers will feel comfortable performing the basic trick so easily while enjoying the challenge of attempting the more complex ones.  The game is also smooth.  Moving around the massive environment without any of the usual hiccups seen in most games will bring a smile to any extreme sports fan’s face.

Many of the best tricks have been seen before in other games.  This “Frankenstein effect” (or so I call it because it borrows neat things from each game of a similar genre) makes for a game with many wildly fun tricks to pull.

Graphics: 9.0
Filled with plenty of eye-catching details, the skating environments look amazing.  There is enough attention to detail paid to each environment that it’s easy to get caught up with all the things on screen at once.  This level of detail has been seen before, but it is still very impressive nonetheless.

The twelve skaters do compliment their surroundings nicely, but still aren’t as finely rendered as in Tony Hawk, but that’s not really a big deal since each skater (especially the little cutie in the Catholic schoolgirl outfit . . . you know which one, boys) has wonderfully distinguishable trademark features.  While they unrealistically let way too much blood flow (which, by the way, also looks good), the styled tricks more than make up for it in the realism department.

Sound: 9.2
While not a completely innovative soundtrack, the tunes in the game provides enough ear candy with its fresh (and not so fresh) collection which can be changed during the game at any time.  Bands range from Reel Big Fish to Sublime and they fit the game’s theme.

Aside from the decent soundtrack, the game’s sound effects make the environments feel alive.  The traffic flow sounds are authentic and the occasional passerby you happen to brush past will spout off profanity or shout something like “Hey, watch it, dummy!”  When you grind something metal it sounds different than grinding something made of concrete, again, its all to add to the realism.

Difficulty: Medium
While the controls are just the absolute best for a skating game, performing the more advanced tricks requires a lot of practice.  Compared to many of the surfing or snowboarding games, though, this feat isn’t overwhelmingly frustrating . . . in fact, the challenge of learning these tricks are actually very fun.

Completing the level to move on to the next one might be more of a challenge, though.  And many of the tasks given to you by certain people in the area will seem impossible considering the high points required to meet their challenge.  When a character asks you to perform a double Fishbrain Grind, you’ll be attempting it for hours.

Concept: 9.5
Fans of rollerblading--such as myself--have been waiting for this kind of skating game for a long time and finally our wishes have been answered.  Not only does Aggressive Inline push skating to the limit but it also provides nine environments and plenty of skaters--most of them well-known extreme skaters.  Environments range from neat (the set of a horror movie) to fantastic (a museum filled with exhibits).

The best part, though, is the Park Editor which allows gamers to create their own skating area complete with an easy-to-figure out interface and plenty of designing goodies such as various kinds of ramps. 

Multiplayer: 9.1
Ah, this is what the multiplayer option was made for . . . a game with nine huge skating environments, plenty of skaters to choose from and the option to skate in a player created arena.  It doesn’t get any better than this two-player, split-screen mode.  Any level opened during Career mode can be used in this mode.

Still, that’s not the end of it.  The Multiplayer option also includes five multiplayer games such as Most Points (player with the most points at the end wins), Best Trick (speaks for itself), Egg Hunt (find all the secret items before the other player does) and Twenty One (players collect cards until somebody reaches twenty-one).  The final game, Animal Rescue (where gamers find and rescue as many animals to win) is the most interesting and challenging of the bunch. 

Overall: 9.0
There is no doubt that skate fans will praise the Gaming Gods for bringing them a great game and Aggressive Inline is just one of those games worthy of praise.  With all the right elements that make an incredible skating experience--including great graphics and decent controls--this is a game that should be in any sport’s fans library.