Big Air Freestyle

Big Air! Sick Tricks!

NA release: 13th September 2002
EU release: 8th November 2002
JP release: N/A
Developer: Paradigm Entertainment
Publisher: Infogrames
NGC Magazine Score: 28%
Mods Used: Widescreen Hack

When it comes to emulation, I’m aware that it’s not always the exact same experience. Big Air Freestyle was heavily criticised for poor performance, but the game ran buttery smooth for me. With this issue out of the way, Big Air Freestyle turns into an immensely fun game. Another interesting thing about this game was that all the in-game logos depict Atari and not Infogrames, as though this was supposed to be released after they rebranded under the Arari name around six months later – if they had this extra time, perhaps some performance issues could have been sorted.

When running smoothly, Big Air Freestyle is incredibly fast yet extremely easy to control, letting you drift around corners with ease. The tracks are a ton of fun to race around, with some great sights as you can see the entire thing with zero fog or pop-in. Even the stadium tracks are more interesting than what you’d usually find in supercross games, each having its own identity. The only major issue with the presentation is the music, which has large periods of silene as the tracks change.

Big Air Freestyle features a lot of different camera views (and you can toggle each one in the options, so you can just keep the ones you want to move through during races). This lets you find one that feels comfortable. The first person mode also feels really good, with a good degree of movement, but not so much that you feel dizzy. It feels great racing around in this manner.

The stunt mode makes things more interesting by adding some hazards and visual flair – like a shark tank, flaming hoops or tesla coils. This gives the mode more unique feel that’s more than just jumping around bland environments. There’s also a challenge mode that offers various different races, stunt challenges and the like. It’s a shame it was marred by performance issues, as there was a really fun game hidden underneath.

Fun

Let’s take your first race as a typical example of the experience you should expect. After the first five seconds of entering in-game territory, you’ll realise you’ve just wasted money on a real stinker. There are jaggies everywhere. The frame-rate, considering the face that the game isn’t actually doing much, is nothing short of appalling.
Geraint Evans, NGC Magazine #75

Remake or remaster?

If Atari/Infogrames do a racing collection, this would be a welcome addition.

Official Ways to get the game

There is no official way to get Big Air Freestyle.