If I had to decide between THPS and DMFB (Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX), I would probably choose THPS 1 or 2, but it would be a pretty close call. While the engine in Dave Mirra is one of the best I've ever seen for biking games, THPS is still a tad better. Maybe it's because of the nature of THPS, but whatever the cause, I still love Dave Mirra to pieces. One of the reasons I love it so much is because of the Graphics. These are as good as THPS 1, if not better. Crisp, clear, colorful, bright, excellent framerate, you can?t really get much better than these graphics, except maybe if Mirra's head didn't go through the ground when he crashed. My favorite aspect of the whole game is the Sound. Whatever the first soundtrack is I love it to pieces, and the rest of the tracks pretty much rule as well. I can't really find any flaws with the sound effects, either; not to say they aren?t flawless, though. Sometimes the sound skips for like a second every like twenty minutes. Maybe it's just my copy. Suffice to say this is some of the best sound I have ever heard. The overall Controls are just way too great to be real. The controls are painfully simple, yet so ingenious I find it hard to believe that no one has ever had controls like these before. I'll admit that they take a little getting used to, but once used to them, you'll be pulling off 900 Superman Indians to Toothpick Grinds in no time. The Gameplay is pretty good, but not as good as Mat Hoffman or THPS. For example, the grinding system is totally out of proportion. One of the first objectives is to grind the power lines 180 feet. How the heck do I know what 180 feet is?? There's no counter to tell me!! Knowing myself I?d probably fall out at 179 feet!! And while some of the objectives being impossibly hard, most of them are painfully simplistic. I went from the amateur objectives to the hardcore objectives in the first five minutes. The learning curve for this game is so short it's not measurable. But my true favorite would have to be vert biking. You should see some of the amazing tricks you can pull off!! 540 Indian Superman to 180 No Hander to Toothpick Grind to Double Peg Grind to 5 Ice Pick Stalls?.. the possibilities are absolutely endless! Vert skaters from THPS, Dave Mirra is for you, my friends. As for the Replay Value, it isn't exactly the greatest (you can beat the whole game in about two hours, then it gets boring), but it is above average, sort of like THPS 1 and 2. For the most part, though, the replayability is very good. Last but not least, To Buy or To Rent? I think the answer is exceedingly obvious, but for the rather slow-minded of us out there, I'll state it once and only once: BUY, AND ONLY BUY!!!!! Or if you do not like biking games that much, go for a rent, but I guarantee you will be wasting your time and money renting while you should be using it for buying. Thank you, and good luck biking, fellow gamers. Overall: 9 out of 10
