Disney's sports games in the past haven't really been much of anything to talk about, to be quite honest. Konami's had the license for a little time now and, frankly, they've used it about as well as Michael Bay's handled the rights to the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre- with terrible, useless results. Disney Sports Skateboarding was a mess, uncontrollable and pretty damn insulting to kids. Disney Sports Football didn't really do any better, offering an interface with the kind of functionality of a broken drive-thru speaker at McDonald's. Disney Sports Basketball was just a travesty, coming across with controls that echoed more of Konami's NBA Starting Five rather than Double Dribble. The only game that came across as even playable was Disney Sports Soccer, and even that couldn't compare to the ferocity of Sega's Soccer Slam game. This license was going nowhere, and fast.

Enter Activision and their little Disney title, which isn't little at all. In fact, it's safe to say that it's pretty well redeeming at a time when the license seemed to be going down the tubes. Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure is just what Walt would have ordered, a fun, enjoyable skateboarding game with lots to do for young and old alike. It's not a game that's out to change our world, like the impeccable Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series has, but it's a game that makes the Disney game fun again in the video game world, something that was very crucial at this point.

Part of the advantage here is that Activision knows the territory being covered- they've done skateboarding games with the best of 'em, redefining the genre as we know it. They've called upon Neversoft's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 engine for the game, since it worked so well before, and signed up developer Toys For Bob to tweak things for the Disney crowd. The end result is pleasing, drawing you into the magical Disney universe.

Let's talk about graphics. The game maintains a steady, well-looking engine, with the kind of character animation that fits each character perfectly. Take Timon and Puumba from The Lion King, who ride a skateboard together and pose in several different ways that show off their great friendship. They also make wisecracks and keep their actions smooth, without tripping up (unless, of course, YOU cause the crash). Then you've got Woody from Toy Story 2, who rides around on his little board and waves around just like his character from the movie. Other characters that are here include a couple from the movie Tarzan, as well as Buzz Lightyear, young Simba from The Lion King, and a couple of unlockable skaters, including popular rapper Lil' Romeo, whose presence isn't as annoying as, say, most rap star appearances in sports games. Do I even need to mention Rapjam Volume One? Good.

Back to the graphics. The game also features huge, fantastic levels ripped straight from the three Disney films. Tarzan's jungles look lush, with all sorts of design tweaking to make it feel like you're tooling around in a jungle, ready to swing on the vines. Toy Story 2's levels put you right in Andy's room, shredding around the bathtub in the bathroom and taking on the little Hot Wheel track, complete with that tempting loop with a surprise waiting in the middle. You can even skate under the bed, something your mom would probably find unheard of. The game runs at a crystal smooth 60 frames per second and doesn't slow down, and the camera's actually pretty good, although there are times when it feels like it get stuck. Still, the graphics here are great, and don't even detract in split-screen mode.

Now let's get to the sound. The game features a kid-friendly listing of tracks, including entries by Lil' Romeo, Reel Big Fish (one of their fun songs, "Sellout"), and Smash Mouth, and should suit most of you. If not, not to worry, as the Xbox version gives you the option to listen to your own soundtracks. The effect might seem a little weird (ever listen to Cinder while skateboarding as Buzz Lightyear?), but it works. The sound effects are spot-on, complete with repetitive but faithful voice samples and cool grinding and skating effects. Most of the original voice actors aren't present but the soundalikes seem to know what they're doing.

The controls in the game are exact to the way Tony Hawk plays, but tweaked just a little bit so that the kids can have a good time. You can pull off mid-air moves, prep jumps, revert, do manuals, pull off combos, grind rails and other objects, and take on special maneuvers to build up points. The difference is, grinds and wall sits (did I get the name right?) manage to allow for more balance so you can get more points. This may annoy some, especially if you're used to THPS 4's exactness, but it will grow on you the longer you play. The game also uses Pro Skater 4's task engine, where you have to complete a certain number of challenges presented by characters in the game in order to proceed to the next level in that series. Some of the challenges get downright hard, but not impossible, and the easier levels offer you a chance to get the hang of things. It's a nice touch and gives gamers a lot to do.

The game also features a competitive two-player mode, where players can compete against each other with their skaters. The game lacks online play, however, and that kind of hurts a little, as we could've used a good online skateboarding title. Oh, well, maybe Extreme Skate Adventure II could offer something like that...as well as some downloads. Some stuff from Aladdin would've been ideal for this sort of game, especially with the IMAX release forthcoming. Can you imagine Iago the bird tooling around and complaining about the size of the levels?

I think something should also be said about the game's unnecessary need to overpromote some items. I mean, the way they promote them to offer bonus things is understood, but it's kind of excessive. McDonald's and Nokia (yes, the guys behind their own sad game device, the N-Gage) offer challenges for bonus items, and while McDonald's clown shoes are fun, they weren't really needed. Also, the game focuses a bit on the behind-the-scenes search for the two ideal kids to star in this game, choosing from hundreds of candidates. This would have done nicely for the game's bonus section, but as the introduction? An intro movie with characters from the films would've been more ideal.

And if you didn't make it into the game as one of the two candidates, not to worry, as Disney did add the feature of making your own skater...as a kid, anyway. You can modify different textures, outfits, and little style points to give your skater the best kind of look. Granted, it's not as deep as, well, Tiger Woods 2004's player building engine, but for a game like this, you're not going to get something like that. In fact, the whole game idea seems to be built around kids, and some adults may not get around to even giving this a try just because it has the Disney name written on it. That's too bad, because it offers a neat little skating experience in itself.

Despite some unnecessary overpromotion and the lack of any more Disney universes than the three provided, Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure is still a step in the right direction for Disney sport games in general, and hopefully it'll provide an upswing in quality for such games. Toys For Bob has done a bang-up job with the engine provided for them, and the Xbox has yet another solid title for the holiday season. Hakuna mutata...and if you must know, that means "no worries".

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