Customer Reviews

Trickstyle

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I've got good news and bad news about "Trickstyle". First, the bad. You would think by the title that this game would have a load of tricks, right? Think again. Ok, the "gyro" is pretty dang cool, but this game could be tons better with a flip and spin system like in the "Coolboarders" series. That right there would've givin it an extra star. The tracks are pretty, but too similar. Very monatonous. For me, an experienced gamer, this game was way too easy. But, it is ok for a beginner. I would've liked a four player mode instead of just two players. Now, the good news. Everything in it is beautiful. I love getting sick air over gaps in pipes and bowls. It gives you a feeling unlike other skateboarding or snowboarding games. VERY stylish. All the latest trends (Zack's gap vest and cords). Japan race # 5, baby. More extreme than espn 2. Possibly the scariest track i've ever raced on in a game. First off, you are above the highest skyscraper. Second... well... I guess you'll just have to play on it to see # 2. Overall, it is fun to look at, but lacks the substance that should be in dreamcast games. I say "play before you pay" to this one.

I have to be honest, maybe I don't like sports games in general. I bought this game because the graphics looked cool and it looks so futuristic. However, once I started to play it is seems kind of bland. The graphics are great but I am not motivated to align my board to some of those rails(which is difficult).

This game just doesn't keep my interest. I will stick to action/adventure and RPG's. I prefer unraveling mysteries.

I gave it 3 stars because the graphics are really nice to look at. But this game simply isn't for me. You may like it though.

I've always had a weakness for 'board' racers since the days of 720°, and this one carries the tradition off beautifully in its own way. The trick system takes some getting used to, but it brings in some novel innovations: 360's give you extra hang time, ride your board like a luge and you go faster, ride your board like a boogieboard and you gain control (all with drawbacks, of course). Spins, grabs, flips, and kick tricks are all there, and instead of grinding you can luge on magnetic rails in certain spots. The physics to all this are excellent (not realistic, of course, as it IS a hoverboard, but complete), and just about everything is fun to do.

The graphics and effects are up to the usual Dreamcast standard, and the backgrounds are really stunning and hard to distinguish from the 'real' track because of a nice Quicktime-VR-style effect. Tracks are very well-constructed for flow but Criterion's 'node-based' construction (each track is made up of a mixture of unique and re-used roomlike elements) is just evident enough to kill the suspension of disbelief. The checkpoint system (and NO stunt/practice mode) on tracks makes it hard to experiment and ride around just for fun (as the physics and tracks are good enough that playing around would be terrific fun) outside of the practice velodrome. CPU racers run on the catch-up/wait-up system, presumably to maintain excitement without frustration, but I never really liked that system and it just points out how mediocre the collision handling is. It also makes faster boards and advanced techniques like the luge seem nearly useless. Choosing difficulty or having separate classes would be more fun and last longer. And the learning curve is a bit steep, particularly for some of the challenge rounds (required if you want to learn new tricks, like the awe-inspiring Gyro and handstand flip). Frustration will keep many people from really discovering how delightful Trickstyle can be at its best.

Unfortunately, even with as many tracks as it has, I'm not sure how long it'll last once all the challenges and tracks are opened up, due to the aforementioned lack of a difficulty setting.

END

This game was something I was very disappointed in. The graphics were absolutely amazing. The gameplay, terrible. My type of genre is racing. Do not be fooled by graphics. I couldn't even get past UK race 2 (Which is only the second race)! I'm totally disappointed. No brakes. It's not like a lap thing. It's 3 segments each race. I do think that the crashing aspect is really disappointing. When I do the bodyluge technique, you pretty much can't grab control. You have very little handling, and sensitivity during that position is very slight. The outcome? Crashing into the wall oh say about.... every second. It's just like Moto racer for the Playstation. You're falling over every second. Now that gets you frustrated doesn't it? They put a lot of work into the graphics. They could've probably made it a lot better by making the gameplay better. The modes are absolutely nuts. There isn't a separate practice mode. It's all in one player. You choose your board. You go out into the Velodrome, there. You're in practice mode. You then have to go to the different rooms and beat the races and boss races. New areas of the Velodrome unlocked. Go in the new areas. What's kind of upsetting is that they only have three places. Japan, USA and the UK. Couldn't they have put more courses into it? And make it a little easier? I was so mad, I got codes and used them on the game and beat it. Also the opponents are very tough to defeat. It also has a time limit which I'm not used to. I like the games that you don't have a time limit on. Couldn't they have made something better? It would have been a much better racing game. What they could have done to make it better? Quite a few things. One. They should have put more tracks in then just three places from around the world. It would give more of a variety and also would make it more fun to play with. Two. They could have made it on laps around a track, not just three segments that just come in go in like a minute. They should have made it so that you wouldn't crash every second. It's a poor game. As I said before, the graphics are VR style and that's perfectly fine. The poor part was the gameplay. And worst of all, it was really hard for me to bodyluge and lock on to the rail. That was REALLY frustrating me. I only locked on twice. Now THAT'S annoying! Believe me. Do not waste the money. You'd be better off not getting it.

I rented this game back when the Dreamcast came out, and for a launch title, the graphics blew me away. It lacked a bit in gameplay, but flying through the Velodrome was an experience. I tried the single player with cheats, that helped minorly, but it was still lacking. Then, my mom and I played the 2 player, and had A WHOLE LOT OF FUN. If you have the time limit code on, the multiplayer races are a blast, but more should have been put into the single player.

Unlike some of the reviewers of this game, I found the challenge to be worth while. A challenge is the one thing that seperates good games from bad ones. I can not see the point in playing a game only to have it be beet in two days. I awarded TrickStyle four stars for a few reasons. The first being the concept of the game. one that is fresh, and new. The second being that the music and sound are breathtaking. The control is nothing but fair. The game would lack challenge credibilty if you could fly your board and speeds unmatched, and still have complete control. For people to complain and whine about that they can't make it passed the second level is nonsense. I don't think I would even class this as purely a racer, as it encompasses many features and attributes of other genres. I docked it a point for one reason only, and this might be the only thing bad with the game, the repition. It takes away from the experience of the game when just about everything thats said and done is repeated. But for the most part I would highly recommend this game to anyone owning a DC. A renter at first as not all people will be able to enjoy the challenge as much as others.

This is the best game you'll ever play for the Dreamcast! I bought this game the day the Dreamcast came out, because I needed something than the Demo to play. It was a great decision, as soon as I started this game I knew it would be awesome. You can pull off some awesome tricks and catch a speed lounge, and if you like the snow boarding games this is a good one to look into. The graphics are the best and the races and challenges are hard. This is a game that will keep you occupied and it is definitely worth the money!

Pretty slick game... While the tricks take some expirementing with and the controls are slightly cumbersome at first the end result is worth it. There are challenges you face playing alone that build your familiarity and skill level as well as challenges when played head to head that make the game extremely fun. The physics of the landings and building up of speed compliment the well done graphics and electronica soundtrack... A good buy.

This game looks great! However it is the first Dreamcast game I have played where you actually sit there and think about the loading time.. The racing part is Very Intuitive.. you will pick up the controls quickly. However the first time you reach a Trick Bowl.. (Think Empty simming pool) you will be totally lost. The instruction manual gives you no indication of how to do tricks. And the in game training only teaches you how to do about 5. You will find your self beating on your controller trying to get your boarder to do something other than a 360.. The first bowl you come to requires 15000 points to clear.. The first 30 times you play it you may be able to get 5000 points..

This games looks great as I said before.. But ultimately ends up being too frustrating..

Look for a lot of these to be previously owned at most software stores..

Trickstyle has some very nice features, like fluid character movement, variety of characters to choose from, and relatively fun gameplay, but it unfortunately lacks depth as a game. While the racing tracks are certainly challenging, there are too few of them, and little is offered in terms of replayability.

The racing portions have an unnervingly unbalanced learning curve as well. I personally found the initial tracks to be very hard at first, but once I got the hang of the first couple, the rest tended to simply be an issue of seeing the track a couple times and then winning. The final track in the game put a crimp in this style, as it's suspended in the air, so falling off the edge is easy, and actually making it far enough along to see the later bits is a challenge in and of itself.

For me, the only aspects of replayability in this game involved simply going around the practice arena doing tricks. Trickstyle suffers from what seems to be a difficulty in deciding whether it's a racing game or a boarding tricks game. While it initially seems geared towards the racing, the tricks aspect is fairly developed, and the racing portions just don't offer much past the initial challenge of actually winning the race. At the same time, there's little in the way of actual tricks competition in the game, making it almost a proof of concept of the tricks engine than anything approaching a releasable game.

Don't get me wrong, it's a fun game, and finding your own challenges to do within the practice arena can be interesting for a while (trying to get maximum amount of points in a single jump, jumping over the high crossbeams of the hub of the arena), but while both aspects of the game show promise, the combination of two underdeveloped games really leaves the user unsatisfied in the end.