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Avatars on the Edge (Xbox360) Review

 
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At a Glance...
 

Formats: Xbox360
 
Genre:
 
Year:
 
Publisher:
 
Final Score
6.0
6/ 10


User Rating
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We liked?


Inexpensive multiplayer fun.

Not so much?


Fails to live up to potential in several areas.


Final Fiendish Findings?

Avatars on the Edge can be a fun time waster if you don’t have too many expectations for it. While the idea of shredding the rooftops in a full on skate race is awesome, it doesn’t completely live up to its potential in several different ways. That being said, multiplayer with your buddies is a blast, and for just eighty Microsoft points it’s worth giving it a shot if that’s your thing.

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Posted May 11, 2013 by

 
Full Fiendish Findings...
 
 

“I consider skateboarding an art form, a lifestyle, and a sport.”   Tony Hawkskaterscreen01

Skateboarding has always had an edgy, rebellious feel to it, and even as it has become more mainstream, it never fails to evoke an image of a group of young rebels shredding past a “No skating” sign. But hey, life isn’t one big skate park, and sometimes you just have to stay in. Mancebo Games newest release, Avatars on the Edge, seeks to bring skateboarding action into your living room at a bargain price – but is it worth your dime?

The “avatars” in Avatars on the Edge refers, obviously, to your avatar, who will skate his or her way through some rather unlikely situations, from a construction site to a monorail track, all while hopefully displaying some mad skillz to fill up the turbo boost meter. It plays like your standard racer, with very simple controls – making it easy to pick up on, but rather limited in scope. The right trigger button is your accelerate button, which jets you around the courses rather quickly without a lot of speed control. The “x” button allows you to make a quick jump (nothing fancy), and the “b” button allows you to perform tricks. You really don’t have any choice as to which tricks you’ll perform, rather you control the timing, which is all that stands between pulling off a sick ollie and a humiliating wipeout.

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Performing tricks is not at all necessary to finish the courses. However, it is rather necessary for winning them, as it is successful tricks that will fill up your turbo boost. You’re going to need that extra speed, because the times you need to pull off to advance in this game are rather ambitious. You have several different ways to play. In single player, you have a choice between a championship or time trials. In time trials, a single fall means a do-over, which combined with a steep target time can be a bit frustrating. In the championship, you’ll race through the levels with a variety of skaters getting in the way of your title. Either way, expect to do quite a lot of practicing.

Multiplayer options are also available, which I found to be far more enjoy than the single player component. You can play online, as well as local split screen multiplayer. The local is really your best bet when starting out, as it gives you the opportunity to learn some of the tracks with a little less pressure. Zipping around the rooftops or the power plants in a desperate race for the finish is pretty fun with your buddy, but it doesn’t quite make up for issues of no direction. You are skating across places where you generally must go the right way or fall to your death, but there is often literally nothing pointing you in the right direction. Red checkpoint beacon light up the environment at times, but how to get them is often a matter of trial and error, not ideal for a racing game.

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Avatars on the Edge can be a fun time waster if you don’t have too many expectations for it. While the idea of shredding the rooftops in a full on skate race is awesome, it doesn’t completely live up to its potential in several different ways. That being said, multiplayer with your buddies is a blast, and for just eighty Microsoft points it’s worth giving it a shot if that’s your thing.


Amy

 
U.S. Senior Editor & Deputy EIC, @averyzoe on Twitter, mother of 5, gamer, reader, wife to @macanthony, and all-around bad-ass (no, not really)


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