Join a band and bust some tricks with Whirl Tour.

MTV + gas-powered scooters + aliens = Universal Interactive's extremely unusual game. While all elements don't quite gel, Whirl Tour exudes the funky charm of a "Munsters" marathon.

Spin City

When the game begins, all seven members of the band Flipside are abducted off the stage by aliens. As the band's roadie, Wasa B., you must track them down in eight huge levels crawling with frightful creatures. Levels include a medieval castle, a festive amusement park, a movie set and a suburbanscape that may remind you of your own neighborhood. Eventually the game will whirl you off to Tibet, where you will face off against the mysterious figure who is behind the abductions.

Scooters. A rock band. Tibet. Of course.

Go Along You, Scoot

Each level is littered with half-pipes, ramps and rails that are perfect for flaunting your scooter skills. Tricks at your toe-tips include grinds, grabs and flips. Landing a variety of tricks will fill your adrenaline meter, which allows you to perform impressive Super Tricks that are unique to each character.

Goals for each level include posting a high score and landing specific tricks. The unusual boss-battles open new levels. You defeat one of these ornery critters by jumping into it while performing a trick. Even though some bosses hurl projectiles and others stomp angrily, none provides much of a challenge.

Exploration is particularly enjoyable. Levels seem small at first, but grinding over switches triggers events like opening a drawbridge or draining a pool.

The Soundtrack of Your Life

As you might have guessed from the roadie angle, music gets a starring role in Whirl Tour. The seven band members represent just about every genre since Beethoven. You got your punk bassist, your Britney-ish singer, your goth keyboardist, your turntablist with "Ice" in his name, etc., etc., etc. You collect CDs to unlock 33 rock, punk, hip-hop and techno tracks from 26 bands, most of which are unknowns.

To unlock a band member, you must beat an alien ogre in a downhill race. Perform tricks to gain speed, but be careful not to crash. Eventually, you'll also be able to unlock, customize and use the seven band members and 10 scooters. For a full lineup of both, click on Artwork, above.

The cartoony band members, not-very-scary monsters and whimsical levels give the whole shebang the flavor of a Halloween ball at which everyone's gettin' down to the "The Monster Mash."

A Rock 'n' Roll Combo

In an innovative twist, two players can venture into Story Mode as teammates or competitors. Also, 10 players can take turns competing in a stunt contest.

At heart, Whirl Tour is an action-adventure game decked out in extreme-sports garb. Its high points are a wild-and-wooly Story Mode, outlandish characters, hot tunes and two-player co-op mode. X-sports freaks may scoff at the meat-and-potatoes trick engine, but if you're in the mood for some alt.fun, you might want to give Whirl Tour a whirl. For a sharper and clearer image, select the Progressive Scan option when playing on a TV set that supports that feature.