Game #849: Aggressive Inline

 As Tony Hawk as you can get without being Tony Hawk.

 I purchased Aggressive Inline back in the day because, I think, Gamespot's review convinced me that it was the next big thing. The game was alright, but it was no Tony Hawk, that's for sure. And that's pretty much my opinion right now, the game is decent, but it ain't the Birdman itself.

 The game follows Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 blueprint, although, to be fair, this game released first. Still, considering the released the same year, it was probably a coincidence. I felt like removing the timer and adding mission giving NPCs was a step in the right direction, so the fact that this game does that is a pretty good thing in my book...

 ... Except that the timer isn't really gone. While there's not a ticking clock breathing down your neck, you do have a JUICE gauge that you need to keep full, by performing tricks or collecting Juice boxes from the environment, lest you want a game over. It's an incredibly dumb mechanic, and sometimes, when searching for stuff or when I got too invested in a certain objective I lost track of it. You can get back into the game for 100000 points, but this mechanic shouldn't be here.

 Only 7 levels, but they are decent. Factory was the only stage I really hated. Each stage has a Key and a Upgrade. The Key opens up a section in another level, while the upgrade adds a major buff to one of your techniques, such as SPIN, FAKE or JUMP. You also upgrade your stats by performing actions associated with them. Want to enhance you grind? Do a lot of grinds and land the combos. In my opinion it takes a little too long to level up your stats, and every character must be leveled up separately. They start off with abysmal stats.

 Basic gameplay is where ultimately the game comes up short when compared to the Hawk. Flips and Tricks are both done with the square button, to pull a flip instead of a grab you need to press to directions on the pad before tapping square. Needless to say, it doesn't work as well as giving each action a separate button. On the flip side, the Circle button is context sensitive, and can be used to vault over walls or swing from poles. It's a really good idea, but it shouldn't have to had cost us dedicated buttons for flips and grabs.

 But the biggest problem are the manuals. C'mon, don't lie to me or yourself, when you play Tony Hawk, you mash Up and Down like there's no tomorrow. You just do. Here, coming out of a Revert(Cess in this game) and mashing Up and Down will just end your combo on a whimper. You must actually time Up - Down or Down- Up as as soon as the Cess animation ends. Do it sooner or later, or press a third direction on the pad, and your manual won't come out. It's not impossible to get the hang of it, by the last levels I was able to link 5 cesses or more on a single combo semi consistently, but it's still not ideal and it kinda ruins the flow of the game.

 Besides that, there's a general sense of lack of polish that permeates through the game. Sometimes you'll try to jump of a ramp or quarter pipe, but your jump won't come out just right and stuff like that.

 All that said, the soundtrack is glorious. It has a few rap songs I didn't really like, but most of it is rock and pop punk, and there's a lot of music I listen to while I work nowadays!

 Aggressive Inline did its best to copy Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, and for the most part, the got it quite right. The game itself is good enough, even if lacking a bit in polish, and the goals per level are quite decent, but the things they changed in an effort to be different actually hurt it in the end. They should've gone full rip-off, because at least then we'd have an excellent clone instead of a decent imitator.

 6.5