Freestyler

Fellow scooter weenies rejoice! Crave and UbiSoft are set to bring the latest craze in two-wheeled transport to the antique PlayStation in February 2001 with the release of "Freestyle Scooter". Ubisoft proudly claim that this is the "first game ever featuring a scooter", and there's probably a good reason for that. The game will offer you ten different riders to choose from, and customisable scooters for them to tootle along on, with a total of 40 tricks to master as you whizz around the half-pipes, banked corners and other obstacles. Thankfully the game is aiming to be a fun arcade-style knock-about rather than a hardcore sim, as getting a real scooter up anything more than a slight incline is generally more trouble than it's worth, and hitting even the lowest kerb is enough to send you flying across the pavement, which would probably make for a rather dull game...

Bizarrely the game actually has a storyline to explain why you are doing all these crazy stunts, and it goes something like this. (Are you sitting comfortably?) The giant robot Norton has kidnapped the Freestyle Scooter crew, and it's up to you to free them by completing a series of challenges in various themed skate parks, ending up in Sky Fortress where you have to collect a bunch of wheels. No, really. There's even a soundtrack featuring music by "alternative" bands with tasteful names like Sick Shift and Sloppy Meat Eaters.

Strange, very strange...