Motocross is more fun to watch

EA's "Freekstyle" is the company's attempt to jump into the fray of action sports games, and more specifically, freestyle motocross games. Seeing a chance to cash in on a popular and lucrative (and crowded) market, EA produced a game that is thin, sloppily constructed and, worst of all, not very entertaining.\n"Freekstyle" tries very hard to be like other extreme sports games saturating the market, and when viewed from far away, it is. It has a cast of actual moto-x riders like Mike Metzger and metal mullisha member Brian Deegan, an extended list of tricks executed by a series of button combinations and large, detailed environments to race and explore. When looked at more closely, these things aren't quite enough to raise "Freekstyle" past a level of mediocrity.\nGraphically, "Freekstyle" has detailed and colorful characters alongside creatively designed bikes but, unfortunately, only at the menu screens. Once in the game, character models and riding animations are the same no matter which rider is selected. Crash animations, which can be very entertaining by themselves in other games, are nothing but a bore and an annoyance, especially when it comes to the racing aspect.\nSonically, "Freekstyle" is lacking in nearly every single department. Bikes sound more like mopeds than souped-up motorbikes, and crash sounds are the same whether you fly off a cliff or run into the side of a building. The array of character voice-overs is the only place where the game pulls its weight. Finally, the replay value of the game is nonexistent. The only thing to unlock in the game is other riders and bikes that aren't really worth the effort.\nEA hastily threw "Freekstyle" together to make a buck with an extreme sports game, and the lack of effort shows. "Freekstyle" isn't an entertaining buy, rental or even 10 minutes. In the end, watching freestyle motocross on ESPN2 is more entertaining than this game.