AirBlade

 PlayStation 2
  • Publisher: Namco
  • Release Date: Jan 28, 2002
Metascore
70

Mixed or average reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 18
  3. Negative: 3 out of 18
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  1. Hot Games
    90
    It's a wild, insanely challenging, and great-looking game.
  2. GameZone
    88
    Takes the extreme skateboarding genre to a fresh and interestingly new level...all of which fans of skating games will definitely find unique and tremendously fun.
  3. Yahoo!
    80
    The controls will definitely take a while to familiarise with, but the rewards are rich in gameplay and visual splendour.
  5. Official U.S. Playstation Magazine
    80
    Beautiful and challenging. [Feb 2002, p.106]
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  6. Game Informer
    80
    The levels can be passed only by finishing all of them in one perfect run. For this fact, AirBlade is at turns fun and frustrating, but a ride well worth taking. [Mar 2002, p.78]
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  7. Total Video Games
    80
    A classic example of style with substance to match, a 'cool' title if you will, that’s bound to impress.
  8. TotalGames.net
    78
    Its mission structure. It is just… so highly structured. You have the freedom of movement that an antigravity board provides and a very strict set of rules to follow – surely we have a paradox here.
  9. IGN
    77
    The levels and objectives lock a game that should offer an unprecedented degree of freedom into a frustrating series of linear challenges.
  10. GameSpot
    77
    Puts a unique twist on the current trend in skateboarding games. If you're a fan of the genre looking for something new, AirBlade fits the bill.
  11. GamerWeb Sony
    75
    Without the camera's awkward behavior and minor flaws in the story AirBlade would have easily found a slightly higher score.
  12. Electric Playground
    75
    While the linear missions can get quite tough (not to mention adhering to the imposed time limit), controlling the airblade hoverboard is surprisingly intuitive.
  13. PSM Magazine
    70
    Although AirBlande's refreshing look and feel scores it kudos, it doesn't even come close to matching the quality of the THPS series. [Mar 2002, p.27]
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  14. Cincinnati Enquirer
    70
    It's a refreshing twist on the extreme sports video-game genre, with plenty of solo and multiplayer modes, attractive graphics and a toe-tapping urban soundtrack.
  15. GameSpy
    67
    The levels themselves are nothing short of spectacular, and in freestyle mode, there's moments of real joy to be had tricking off everything and finding secret areas and high wires to grind down. But for us, the lack of skaters, levels, and actual fun in the Story Mode left us sobbing for Tony.
  16. Play Magazine
    60
    The game needs either unlimited boost or longer time limits. Either one would have boosted its playability considerably. [Feb 2002, p.55]
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  17. Electronic Gaming Monthly
    40
    Airblade sabotages everything it gets right with gameplay problems. [Mar 2002, p.135]
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  18. GamePro
    40
    Airblade’s story-based gameplay, however, vacillates between too simple and ridiculously hard—some levels you’ll breeze through, while others you’ll have to repeatedly restart because of stupid mistakes.
  19. PSX Nation
    40
    NAMCO is asking fifty bucks for the privilege of having our fingers sore and our pride hurt from playing a virtual masochist's dream come true.

User Reviews

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User Score
6.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 17 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 17
  3. Negative: 4 out of 17
  1. oldgamer81
    Mar 30, 2020
    7
    The game has some really nice sides, the graphics are cool, the hover board really feels like hovering und runs very smoothly, the levelThe game has some really nice sides, the graphics are cool, the hover board really feels like hovering und runs very smoothly, the level design is great and it's a nice idea to have a story mode which is nice and cheesy 90s boarder-style. But the story mode is too linear and much to difficult. So often I slammed my controller somewhere because it seems impossible to do the mission within so few seconds and if you fail with one objective of the last part of the level you have to restart all over again. This much to high difficulty seems to have the function to make the pretty short game very long: Since months I replay the game from time to time and still not have finished it. But that is a very frustrating way to have a long gaming experience.
    They should have just built more and bigger levels with a lot more missions and tasks which should have been more non-linear to choose to do the easy ones first until you feel ready for the difficult ones. But, as that is not how it is, this pretty good start for the game ends pretty bad, even though, when you are a patient person with a faible for hovering boards and not easily frustrated, the is some fun for you.    … Full Review »
  2. WesP.
    Oct 8, 2009
    0
    This sucks. Gameplay problems, sensitive controls, lousy plot, steep difficulty curve. This game looks good but it is nothing but faults.
  3. PeterB.
    Jul 26, 2009
    10
    rly good game. lots of fun and the anonymous dude who gave it a 0 is some 13 year old snot who hasn't even played it.
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