OlliOlli2: XL Edition – Review
Some might not realize it, but it has already been about 18 years since the first Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater was released. Not only will this statement make some of us feel horribly old all of a sudden, it also means that the hype of skate and snowboard games has long passed and truth be told, after Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 we aren’t that mad about it either. It has been a long time since something good in the genre has been released and while Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 was released last year, it was poorly received. OlliOlli however was a reasonable success in 2014 and showed that simplicity might be a great direction for the genre and its sequel was pretty much as successful. Now there’s the XL Edition of the second installment, and we were looking forward to some fast paced crazy skateboarding.
Story
As expected, a game such as this is without a storyline and in all honesty it doesn’t need one. Good old fashioned arcade fun is what makes room for a plot in OlliOlli2 and that’s just how we like it. While certain story elements could work for this game, it’s not really sure if they would actually add any value.
Graphics
Simplistic, yet appealing 2D graphics are what makes OlliOlli2: XL Edition a rather good looking game. While games like this will never use the potential the current generation of consoles has, it still looks good in its own niche style, given the topic of the game. It also shows that to make an appealing skateboarding game, you won’t need top notch graphics to draw the right crowd. Everything looks colorful, making it easier to see the difference between normal surfaces, grind bars and obstacles.
Even though the game only has five different areas, each with their obstacles, backgrounds and clutter, it’s still sufficient to create a fun change of pace, as well as enough diversity to keep things interesting and appealing. That being said, we wouldn’t have minded a few extra environments to explore.
Sound
Mellowed out ‘drum and bass’ accompany you throughout all of the different zones the game has to offer, and while the game gets you pumped up enough, you will hardly notice the music when you’re focusing on the game. The music is rather casual this way, making it ideal not to get distracted, as you’ll have to keep your wits about when playing this game. The sound effects are simple and rather generic, but they get the job done.
Gameplay
OlliOlli2: XL Edition is an arcade game that’s all about skateboarding, albeit in a very unrealistic and high speed-like state. The game is all about scoring points by doing tricks and chaining them together, all while hoping to reach the finish line of all the different levels. Things are very straightforward from the time you boot up the game the first time, until you start scoring big. Nonetheless, while the simple moves are easy to learn and master, remembering all the different tricks tends to be very tricky.
The overall concept of OlliOlli2 is rather simple, as it’s all about beating scores, hoping to be featured on the world rankings. While the game has several different modes, they all come down to this basic idea. In the career mode you’ll get five ‘objectives’ per stage, but you’ll also be able to progress without beating any of them, if you reach the finish line. The objectives only serve to unlock the pro version of that level. Other modes will revolve around keeping a combo going for as long as possible and if it ends, so will the stage, if you haven’t reached the end at least.
If you want to play with friends, the game also offers a local multiplayer mode, which is actually a lot of fun. You and up to three friends can duke it out in all the single player stages, and in different modes, such as race, biggest score and so on. While the game is a bit harder to properly follow on a smaller screen, it’s still a great mode.
Controls prove to be rather simple, but remembering all the different moves tends to be really hard, simply because there are so many. While this allows you to create a lot of different combos, the learning curve is actually quite steep. That being said, even though the controls prove to be a challenge if you want to master all the moves, it’s actually timing that counts the most in this game. When landing or when starting to grind, you’ll have to press the corresponding button at the right time, otherwise you’ll lose a lot of speed and might fumble if you want to keep going. At all times you’ll have to keep going fast enough, if not you’ll probably wind up kissing the concrete floor.
Conclusion
OlliOlli2: XL Edition is a very amusing, unrealistic, skateboarding game that shows that you don’t need a really complex game to create something captivating. While the game might be a simple game about breaking high scores, it’s certainly worth checking out if you’re into a simple arcade game, that brings a rather dead genre back to life.
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[…] in 2016, our site took a closer look at OlliOlli2: XL Edition, which proved to be a lot of fun. The game was great for those looking for a quick pick-up-and-play […]