Bruce Von Stiers

If you have children who are into skateboarding, you probably know about the Tech Deck toy line. These are miniature skateboards that you play with by using your fingers to do the tricks. Most of the boards are scale versions of the best selling licensed skate boards that are sold to boarding enthusiasts. Now there is a video game version of these top-selling toys. Activision has recently released a GameBoy Color game titled Tech Deck Skateboarding.

The game provides 40 different skateboards to choose from. There are 10 skate parks, each with four different courses to go through. There is a free play mode that lets you just fool around. To get through everything, you will have to complete a total of 40 levels. The one down side that I found is that there isn't multiplayer link capability. The regular mode has you collecting skateboards and doing tricks to secure more time.

The character that is at the center of Tech Deck is the Finger Guy. He will board across the park, performing tricks and picking up other skateboards. Finger Guy kind of looks like a potato and is supposed to represent the portion of your finger that is used to play with the Tech Deck toys. Some of the boarding companies that are represented in the game are Toy Machine, Zero, Birdhouse and The Firm.

The gameplay in Tech Deck Skateboarding is dependant upon doing tricks. At the beginning of each level, you will be shown the locations of the skateboards that will have to be picked up. There are rails, half-pipes and other trick architecture that Finger Guy can use.

If you do it the easy way, just skate around and pick up the extra skateboards. But if you want extra time, or are in the need of cooking up some cool tricks, combining the button presses on the game will guarantee some monster effects. Do cool tricks like kick flips, hand plants and ollies while soaring through the skate park.

If you are into skateboarding and like Tech Decks, you will love this game. It is fun to play and, although it isn't overly challenging, can provide you will several hours of gameplay.

Tech Deck Skateboarding can be found at retailers like Target, Toys-R-Us and Best Buy.

For more information about the game, or other titles from Activision, visit their web site at www.activision.com.

Back

© 2001 Bruce E. Von Stiers