5-Nov-2004 This 'don't try it at home' thing is all getting a bit out of hand. Rocket-airing off the church roof may require some form of precautionary warning, sure, but wheelchairing up an air vent while wearing a leg cast, spinning a 720 chair-flip and acid-dropping onto a Berlin art gallery from a height of 40 feet? Come on, only a fully trained kamikaze airhead would be ready to commit himself to that one. But then, that is exactly what this game is all about.
If anything, the new Tony Hawk's game has taken things to the next level of extremity. Rather than restricting control to your custom-created skate punk, the main Story mode lets you alternate between recognisable pros (Rodney Mullen, Chad Muska et al) and mystery guest stars. These range from go-kart riding Aussie natives to Jackass mentalists on mechanised bulls (see A Load Of Bull, next page). It all makes for a game that is marginally more fun and out-there than previous entries.
The quest begins with Tony Hawk and loud-mouthed Bam Margera leading two teams of upcoming pros (some fictional, some real, some from Jackass) on a World Destruction Tour, with the losers forking out for the entire competition. Gulp! You'll start off in Boston, before flying off to sample the delights of Barcelona, Sydney, Berlin and more. This makes for the familiar gameplay of skating around the city, nailing fixed goals (grinding specific routes, setting cops' heads on fire etc), picking up extra challenges and unlocking goodies.
The twist comes in the additional ability to control both your pro team-mates and a bevy of new characters, with less obvious extreme sports vehicles offering alternative handling but similar stunt capabilities. The best - the wheelchair-bound maniac Paulie (whose voice is very suspiciously Cartman-like) - zips along at such an unbelievably fast rate, you'll be bouncing, spinning and grinding across rooftops like a pigeon with its backside on fire. It certainly ramps up the series' humour, whilst also milking its Jackass connection for all its worth.
But the new Tony Hawk's Underground (THUG) experience doesn't end there - Neversoft has generously complemented the new levels with a Classic mode. This revisits the time-limited gameplay of the Pro Skater games, giving you two minutes to complete a number of much-adulated tasks like collecting S-K-A-T-E, smashing sick scores and finding the hidden video tape. Crack the early levels and you'll unlock environments from Pro Skater games 1-3 too, such as the legendary warehouse. With the addition of all your new tricks (like jumping off your board) and the improved grinding skills, beating Classic mode is considerably easier than it used to be. Still, you're essentially getting two games for the price of one.
So something for everyone, then. However, in spite of the gratifying additions, you can't help but feel THUG2, even in Story mode, still plays very much like its predecessors. The controls are virtually identical (if it ain't broke, don't fix it), the skaters perform mightily similar manoeuvres (even aboard a lawnmower) and, stylistically, it's an unnoticeably touched-up affair. In fact, for all its free-roaming environments and Jackass-style humour, at the core remains an experience as close to Pro Skater 2 and 3 as you can possibly get without risk of passing infection. Which is, to be fair, great. Unless you're bored rigid of the greatest extreme sports series known to man, of course.
There are some minor downsides too. The city settings could certainly be larger and more varied. Some feel noticeably restricted in size, while others appear as lacklustre extensions of the previous ones, sporting similar buildings, landmarks and vehicles to trick off. A day and night rotational cycle simply annoys because the lighting is predominately basic (compare it to the forthcoming Midnight Club 3, which is stunning), and the split-screen multiplayer (there's no Live support) is horribly claustrophobic on anything other than a huge TV set. Fortunately, the rest of the game is typical Tony brilliance.
With the reintroduction of the old-skool game, this is certainly the most complete Tony Hawk's offering yet. It may be more cartoon-like than its predecessors, but provided you haven't grown tired of all those boomerangs, kick-flips and boardslides, it is certainly the one to get.
Official Xbox Magazine staff
// Overview
Verdict
Not much progression in gameplay, but still an excellent, totally enjoyable sports outing that is two Hawk's games in one.
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