I'm trying really hard not to draw a comparison between B-Boy and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, but I can't, because it's obvious from the outset that B-Boy owes a lot to the greatest skateboarding series ever, and not just in looks.

It can't be a coincidence that B-Boy is going to appeal to a massive cross-section of THPS's fanclub. Get some mathematical analyst to draw a venn diagram of the two audiences, and you're going to get two fat circles that sit practically on top of each other.

Where Tony Hawk succeeded in making overweight uncoordinated kids like me feel like they could actually do something amazing on a plank stuck to a set of wheels, B-Boy brings within reach those crazy spine-splintering moves that only pro breakdancers can bust (without busting themselves).

...And with a soundtrack that will bring tears of nostalgia to old skool breaks and hip-hop fans, it will hopefully teach the youngsters of today a thing or two about real music. Heh. Pass my pipe and slippers.

Excellent music aside, this is a game that's really going to be an after-hours crowd pleaser. Even though the graphics are so slick, most of your concentration will be focused on the beat-meter as it rotates round your feet, and not on the amazing animated moves. So get yourself a bunch of mates round to appreciate the real fluidity of the transitions between your handstands, headspins and windmills ...and countless other authentically recreated b-boy classics. And then you can watch them play too.

---