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E3 2004: Missing in Action
By Cliff O'Neill -- Staff Writer
Published 5/17/2004
E3 2004 was a great show all around, with new hardware and a ton of great games on display. However, while this year's E3 gave fans of traditional sports games reason to celebrate, things did not look too bright for those into action-sports. Other than a lengthy trailer for Tony Hawk's Underground 2: World Destruction Tour, which showed off new gameplay features and modes, there was little in the way of action-sports titles. Unfortunately, this seems to indicate that it will be a rather dry year for action-sports games. Here's a brief rundown on some of the action-sports games that were MIA from the show floor. Even though these games were not announced prior to the show, nor expected to be present, their absence was nevertheless conspicuous.
Mirra, Mirra on the Wall
Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 was one of the best action-sports games of 2001, and it remains one of the most playable and addictive BMX games available. So, you would think Z-Axis, the game's developer, would be rushing to release Dave Mirra 3 for the current consoles, especially after the whole BMX XXX debacle. No such luck. Ever since Z-Axis severed its ties with Acclaim and partnered with Activision, the developer has been very quiet on the action-sports front. According to the company's Web site, its current projects consist of two Marvel-licensed games. While this may be good news for comic fans, it's not so good for those anticipating the next Mirra--or a sequel to Aggressive Inline, for that matter. Which brings us to...
Be Aggressive
Another one of Z-Axis' stellar action-sports titles, Aggressive Inline was the biggest surprise in action-sports gaming a couple of years ago. Despite its focus on inline skating, the game rivaled--and, in many ways, surpassed--the formidable Tony Hawk series by introducing a number of innovative features, not the least of which was an untimed Career mode. That was in 2002, though, and much has changed since then, with the Hawk series again dominating the action-sports genre. We think it's about time for another game to challenge Hawk's dominance, and a sequel to Aggressive Inline would be just the game to do it. It doesn't look like Aggressive Inline 2 will be skating to store shelves anytime soon, however, since nothing was revealed at E3.
Activision "Dooms" Action-Sports
Activision's major emphasis at E3 2004 was on spotlighting the Xbox port of Doom 3, along with a handful of war games and movie-licensed titles. At past shows, the company had a fairly strong lineup of actions-sports games on display, but that was sadly not the case this year. The aforementioned THUG 2 was the only action-sports game the company showcased, and as with last year's THUG unveiling at E3, it was not playable. Sequels to Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2, Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer, and Activision's other action-sports properties were nowhere in sight.
EA Sports Big Deflates
There's no denying that EA Sports had a healthy selection of sports titles at E3 (as usual), but the EA Sports Big line was flat this year. SSX 4 was obviously a no-show, as were sequels to Freekstyle and Sled storm--though, admittedly, neither of those is highly anticipated, let alone likely to release. Still, it would have been nice to see some sort of Big-branded sports game, particularly of a sport that has not yet received the Big treatment. Of course, there is always next year, and you can bet your snowboard that SSX will return for another outing. Let's just hope the same is true for the other action-sports titles.
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