Release Date: March 3rd (US), March 4th (EU)

Platforms: PS4, PSVita (Includes Cross Save)

 

When OlliOlli dropped last year from the guys at Roll7, I fell in love with its simplistic yet deviously deep and challenging game-play. It was yet another example of an indie developer putting fresh ideas to the table and exceeding in making something that’s just pure fun. I gave it a 9/10 and still stand by that score today.

Just over a year later and its sequel OlliOlli2 has arrived to try and and go bigger and better than the original. Looking at the visuals compared to the predecessor, its easy to see that not much has changed in that department, which is just fine. The sleek menu and overall presentation has been brought over and OlliOlli2 oozes with style. Whether you’re skating through the “Curse of the Aztec” or pretty creepy “Carnival of the Dead” stages, the 5 levels look and feel gorgeous to skate through. I found myself more than once having my skateboarder epically face plant due to me checking out the detailed and colourful landscapes whizzing by (not to mention the sometimes cheeky Easter eggs).

 

The premise of OlliOlli2 also hasn’t changed much. The aim of the game is still to trick your way from one end of course to the other, without crashing and causing serious injury (and sometimes death). The “Tricktionary” hosts a plethora of tricks and skills for you to master and attempt to perform without flaw. The addition of a combo system in the style of “Manuals” is a feature which adds new depth to the game-play, sometimes these are key to progression and a simple mistake can literally destroy your run. As with the original the restart button will become a good friend, thankfully the controls are as tight and precise as the first game, every time I failed I knew it was probably my fault in some way and not the failing of the controls for example.

The mix of game modes define what your aim on a run will be, Career Mode has you skating through 5 environments, while having to achieve a set of Amateur and Pro challenges. These challenges will surely take up the most of your time and will certainly be a challenge for newbies or fans of the original. “Ultimate Spots” is a sort of high score mode, which has you simply aiming to achieve a high score to progress, with the option to view world and friend scores for you to try and better.

The aptly named “Daily Grind” gives you one shot to put up a worldwide high-score on a challenge which changes every day, thankfully you’re given practice runs to familiarize yourself with the stage before you embark on that one shot. “Combo Rush” is a mode promised in an upcoming update, this has been billed as a four player local multi-player mode, just thinking about the probable anarchy of this mode has me excited!

 

My only complaint with this title is probably that it’s simply more of the same, but when it’s this good, why change it? If another sequel is made I hope the developers take some risks, I personally feel this is a game which screams for a Little Big Planet style level editor/creator. User generated content would further increase the longevity of OlliOlli2 and no doubt some of the levels created would be out of this world.

I unsurprisingly had an amazing and at times frustrating time with OlliOlli2, the game has you hitting the restart button in anger just as much as the original, with this being not at all a bad thing. Roll7 have played it slightly safe by having refined and retuned to what made the original title so fun, but from these two games alone you can see the talent and ideas are there. Whether you’re a newbie to the franchise or a Tony Hawk, you’ll find a wealth of content here to enjoy or master, perhaps make sure your controller and or TV are insured though…..

 

 

+ More of the same

+ Plenty of content

+ Awesome new stages

 

 

– More of the same

– Screams for User Generated Content

 

 

 

 

8/10