*=Video
^=Music
All Caps=Recommended
Hover mouse over screenshots for commentary.
 |  You travel from left to right. |  |
|---|---|---|
 Grinding some rails. You'll bail if you hit the stairs. |  A giant rail before a spiky pit. Just like my neighborhood! |  I've crashed. |
 Jumping over some barrels. |  |  There's a trophy for getting a million points on a single level. |
 |  |  |
 In the middle of a pretty big trick! |
April 2015
OlliOlli 2: Welcome to Olliwood
OlliOlli is a 2D skateboarding game. Unlike free-form skating games like Tony Hawk, OlliOlli features a series of progressively more difficult stages where the pirmary objective is simply to get to the end. You can complete a variety of side challenges such as getting a high score or pulling off a difficult trick, but simply surviving is an accomplishment.
The basic move set in the game is based on precise timing. For example, you press X when you land on the ground, but you earn few points for pressing X when your board is a foot above the ground and mega points if you press X when your board is a centimeter above the ground. Good timing also causes your character to maintain or increase his speed, making perfect timing crucial just to get through some of the more difficult levels. The levels are relatively short and are designed to be played over and over in rapid succession until you can perfect your performance.
The game has a straightforward and clean presentation, though at times it was unclear to me if a line was considered the ground or a rail, leading to some grisly bails. Though annoying, this was a relatively small problem and didn't significantly interfere with the fun I was having.
The game has high replay value as your first task will likely be simply to navigate through all the levels. You can go back to perfect your runs or you can replay levels to complete the side challenges. All in all, a fun time!