OlliOlli2: Welcome to Olliwood

Bolder than ever before, Olli Olli returns with new stages, tricks and a superb tutorial and practice system for folks who may have been dissuaded by the steep learning curve of the original. While no ground-breaking alterations have been made to last year’s game, Olli Olli 2 still effortlessly proves itself as the finest skater in years.

Despite those minor gripes, Roll7 has easily outdone itself with this one. OlliOlli 2: Welcome to Olliwood is a massive step up from the original game. It’s a gorgeous, worthy successor that’s even more absorbing and difficult to put down. Get ready for your next gaming obsession.

Many games attempt to deliver on something that is easy to play but hard to master. OlliOlli 2 succeeds on this and literally welcomes you to prove it.

There’s essentially no limit to how good you can get at OlliOlli 2. Just when you’ve mastered beating levels in a single combo and timing every single grind and manual perfectly, there are a host of other mechanics to integrate into your skating to bump that high score even further skyward. Why land in a boring old manual when you could revert into it? Why do a standard trick or grind when you could add a rotation or pull off something more complex with a longer – and riskier - animation? And hey, are you grind switching on every rail you can? It’s an impressively layered game, and does a grea...

Olli Olli 2 may be incredibly difficult at times but it is also non stop fun. It takes everything that made the first game great and made it even better. If you missed out on the first game, you really can't go wrong with this one. This is a game that I feel that anyone can enjoy and especially those who need an extreme skateboarding fix since Tony Hawk and Skate are now dead. If there is an Olli Olli 3, I anxiously await to see how they are going to top this one.

OlliOlli2 is a sequel to last year’s indie hit OlliOlli, a side-scrolling skateboarding game that impressed a lot of people with its simple-yet-addictive gameplay.  OlliOlli2 builds on the strengths of its predecessor, delivering another smooth, polished experience that packs a surprising amount of fun into a tiny package.  You will get pulled in by its relaxed and fun vibe – but beware, you will also eventually hit a wall of frustration as it ramps-up the difficulty to near inhuman levels later on.

Tiny Hawk.

There's only one way to build upon a game's success: take the original concept, tack on a Hollywood theme, and pack it full of puns. British developer Roll7's clearly been taking tips from fellow favourite Hello Games, as OlliOlli 2: Welcome to Olliwood [Sigh – Ed] has followed an almost identical progression to daredevil extraordinaire Joe Danger. Fortunately, as with the aforementioned filmic foray, this is destined for success at the annual indie academy awards – in fact, this slick skating sequel schools most blockbusters when it comes to raw gameplay appeal.

It also wouldn't be right not to acknowledge OlliOlli2's truly incredible soundtrack. With catchy electronic beats and pulsing tunes in the background, players will be nodding their heads as much as they will be trying to frantically push up and down on the analog sticks. Not only does the soundtrack make the game a delight to play, it also helps to make OlliOlli2 the least frustrating game of its kind and as a game that will have you addicted after the very first level, 'not being annoying' is a key strength.