Grinding (with your skateboard, not crotch) and kickflipping your way through OlliOlli 2 is almost great. There is definitely room for a Tony Hawks Pro Skater – Trials HD mash up in the videogame market and OlliOlli 2 is so close to being that game. It has a couple of minor, but crucial problems, however, that hold it back from being a stone cold classic.

 

OlliOlli 2 is a game that lives and dies by its controls. They need to be tight, responsive and intuitive in order for anyone to jump in and start pulling off combos like they have been playing it for 10 hours. Whilst they are tight and responsive, they are not completely intuitive. Playing the game could be an opening match at Wrestlemania considering the amount of wrestling you do with the controls. Each level is a stop-start affair as you slip up on landings that kill your speed, and killing your run. And it WILL kill your run since speed is essential to jump obstacles.

 

But that’s where the only control issue exists: landing. Remembering to press X every time you hit the ground is surprisingly difficult. It is hard to remember because it doesn’t feel intuitive and confortable to do. Pulling off kickflips and grinds is done with a simple flick of the left stick, much like in the Skate series. It is simple and easy to perform allowing you to pull off multiple tricks like a pro. Your combo meter slowly accumulates with every trick and it is easy to pull off huge combos, making you feel like the best skater ever. But landing is a large part of skateboarding, believe it or not, and you often mistime that X button. It kills your run, is irritating at best and punching-a-hole-through-your-siblings-head infuriating at worst.

 

The levels are well made, testing you to maximise speed and performance to ensure you have enough speed to complete large jumps. But it is difficult to complete a level within the first few attempts as your speed can become so great that you don’t have time to react to the environment. As you speed though the air after a massive jump, a grind rail can pass you by before you can say, “Sick.” These grind rails are often essential to completing the level due to the rather improbable hazards such as fire and garbage that lay beneath them. Once you have a rough layout of how the level plays out, it is much more fun to play and you can react to each obstacle properly.

 

Whilst each level doesn’t offer much new after the halfway point, they keep the ball rolling be adding bigger jumps and crazier grinds to keep things exciting. You can see through this façade rather quickly though and it won’t hold your attention for too long. After half an hour, you will be satisfied with what you have played, but will be drawn back after a while to have another quick fix. It is a very simple game, much like Trials HD and it benefits from that.

 

The soundtrack complements OlliOlli 2 perfectly; bouncy electronic songs make you feel like you are in your own montage video. Every kickflip and grind could be being captured by a slow motion camera out of screen, ready to be unleashed on the skateboarding masses. Completing level feels epic thanks to the music, if you haven’t already face-planted yourself into rage after missing the X button every time you land.

 

OlliOlli 2 isn’t simple enough to compete with the likes of Trials HD, which I have mentioned a few times since it is the obvious comparison, but it is close. If the landings controlled better it would be much easier to play whilst providing the same joys it already provided. There will be people who are incredible at this game and will be able to pull of levels at a time without crashing, but the controls aren’t perfect for the masses. The controls need to be perfect in a game as twitchy and reaction based as this but they just don’t gel properly. Taking this problem aside, OlliOlli 2 can be an exciting and fun game, and pulling off huge combos and then completing a level makes you feel like you Tony Hawk himself. Grab a board and show off your moves.