Joe Danger Review
By - Craig H.
Joe Danger mixes aspects of Trials HD and Excite Bike to create a fun and engaging motorcycle game that is well worth the price. Joe Danger is a beautiful game that is colorful and a joy to watch. The presentation is top notch and the controls feel great from the first time you pick up the controller.
Joe Danger was the best stunt driver until a severe accident knocked him from the top. Now that he has recovered he wants to return to his glory days and become the top stunt driver once again. The game cleverly disguises tutorials by giving you the feeling that Joe himself is a bit rusty and must relearn a lot of tricks that made him the best. As you progress through the career mode you will learn new ways to control Joe and land increasingly difficult tricks. The game starts out relatively easy but picks up later in the game.
The levels in Joe Danger have an ultimate goal of reaching the finish line but are also filled with loads of other objectives. Completing some of these objectives is essential to your progression through the core game. These different objectives require multiple approaches and playthroughs to achieve them all. Finishing one of these objectives will net you a star that can be used to unlock more levels in the career mode. Some of these objectives include collecting letters to spell “DANGER”, landing on all bullseye pads in the level, and finding hidden stars from exploring the map.
Along with the single player mode is the inclusion of splitscreen 1-on-1 levels. Unlike the single player mode the multiplayer levels are pure racing levels (no extra objective). A lot of the single player consists of multiple playthroughs but once you play these levels a few times you will figure out the fastest route and stick with it. This makes the handful of pre-made levels get dull quickly.
An interactive level editor help solve the need for new tracks. Players can make both single player and multiplayer levels with ease. This editor is interactive because you can control Joe while making the new track. At any point you can change the layout of your level and have Joe test out the additions immediately. Once you finish the level you can upload it for your friends to download (and vice versa). The only thing missing from this section is the ability to download community tracks and not just your friends. If you are the only person you know who has the game then you will have to make your own tracks. With the huge push with community interaction I think this was a huge miss.
Joe Danger is a bright, fun, addictive game that will consume a huge amount of your time. The gameplay is easy for anyone to pick up and play but deep enough for the hardcore gamers to push to finish all the level objectives. The lack of community features and low number of pre-made multiplayer tracks does hurt the cooperative play but the level editor provides the ability to make new tracks. Joe Danger is a spectacular PSN downloadable game that is well worth the money if you are a Playstation 3 owner.
Quick Synopsis:
Pros:
- Very addictive, fun gameplay
- Each level has multiple objective that will require several playthroughs to achieve them all
- Game easy and fun for beginners but will require skill to complete all level objectives
- Presentation and graphics are top notch and are a joy to watch
- A PSN game worth the $15 asking price
Cons:
- Cannot share made tracks with anyone other then your friends list. (i.e. no Community Interaction)
- Just a handful of pre-made multiplayer tracks
RATING: 9/10
