The game is very fast paced from the beginning but later on it’s an almost breathless series of clearing gaps, nailing challenges, attempting to hit a record high score and remembering to lock it all in place at the end. Maintaining momentum is absolutely critical in OlliOlli, especially in the later levels and more advanced stages where the game becomes a series of intense obstacle courses and anything less than a perfect to good landing will sap you of precious speed that could mean the difference between clearing the next gap or ending your routine entirely.
However, timing it just right upon contact with the ground or a rail will result in a much coveted perfect landing, a points bonus and an all important speed boost to keep up your run. Tapping X at the end of a trick will ensure you hit the ground with a decent landing but no added bonuses, don’t do it at all and everything you’ve accumulated will disappear into thin air. The big hook in OlliOlli is having to ‘lock’ an ollie in place by pressing X upon contact with the ground again. Timing is absolutely everything in OlliOlli2 and mere milliseconds can mean the difference between a perfect landing and a combo destroying ‘sloppy’ landing that will steal your score and your momentum. Quite a lot to take in for such a simple looking game.
OLLIOLLI2 GRIND TO FLIP MANUALS
The game has also introduced manuals allowing you to link one trick to the next in one long unbroken routine. The control system also applies to grinding while shoulder buttons add rotations to your combo in the air or can be used in conjunction with the trickset to open up even more variations such as underflips and heelflips. However, holding the stick in different directions will bring out the kickflips and hardflips and on top of all that there are the Street Fighter style quarter and half circle motions which will bring in your more advanced laser flips and shove-its. Sharing the same system that EA’s Skate series ushered in, holding down on the right stick and then flicking upwards will make your boarder perform a simple ollie to help launch over obstacles and clear gaps. The first thing that really surprises with OlliOlli2 is the range of control you have and the depth of tricks on offer. For hidden behind it’s deceptively simple looks is a game of serious depth and skill, offering players a system that is accommodating to new players and easy to get to grips with but mechanically rich in potential for experimentation and mastery for those who wish to dive deeper into its mechanics. To glance at OlliOlli2, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was a colourful yet simplistic side scrolling skateboard game, however you would be wrong, so very very wrong.
In more recent times, games like Trials and Hotline Miami allow you to instantly get back into the action with zero downtime at the press of a button in order to retry, to better, to perfect.
OLLIOLLI2 GRIND TO FLIP PRO
Over time, games have begun introducing the ability to restart levels quickly with the Tony Hawk’s pro Skater series immediately springing to mind as one that claimed hundreds of hours of my time messing up routines and combos and then immediately restarting in my pursuit of the perfect run. That need to do something again, better, faster, more accurate, more skillful, a better combo, a higher score. Four words that every gamer has uttered to themselves time and time again. Kris Wall reviews OlliOlli2: Welcome to Olliwood…