Developer:
Neversoft Entertainment
Publisher:
Activision
Available
on: Gamecube, Playstation 2, Playstation,
Xbox (eventually)
Reviewed
on: Gamecube
Release
Date (US): Nov 18, 2001
Retail
Price: $49.99
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In
direct opposition to the dynamics of the movie business,
sequels are generally welcome entities in the world
of videogaming. Personally, I was far more enthusiastic
when I heard that the good folks at Neversoft Entertainment
were creating a third installment of Tony Hawk's Pro
Skater than when I heard that Police Academy 9: Extreme
Policitude was coming to theaters. Videogame sequels
are, more often than not, much tighter and more refined
than their predecessors. They give developers a chance
to return to their original concept and implement things
they may not have had enough time to before.
I was worried about this one, though. Tony Hawk's Pro
Skater 2 was simply amazing. It was a game that managed
to add an entirely new facet to the mechanics of the
phenomenal first game and emerge as an altogether new
and different beast. I became addicted to that game.
Chronically addicted. That game actually brought me
to tears one night last year. I had an early class and
I couldn't bring myself to shut if off at 4:00 in the
morning.
I could not imagine how anyone could add anything
substantial to the gameplay and not destroy the whole
concept.
Apparently, Neversoft has a better imagination than
I.
GAMEPLAY
The new addition to the combo system is a handy trick
called the revert, which is essentially a switch pulled
off during a vert landing. If you do a manual directly
after reverting, your combo continues. The revert
is accomplished similarly to the switch stance; you
merely tap the R or the L button as you land. This
may initially seem like a minuscule addition, but
with practice, it becomes a vital part of the combo
system. No longer are vert tricks and lip tricks condemned
to be combo enders, as you can link them up to any
manual. Combos now exceed 100,000 points regularly.
Aside from the addition of the revert, the rest of
the familiar moves have been upgraded and tightened
up. Now both the grinds and the manuals trigger balance
meters to pop up, giving you the ability to tweak
your grinds in ways you never could in previous games.
Keeping your balance is now an integral part of the
gameplay, forcing you to keep an eye on your balance
meter at all times. While this makes the game more
difficult, it also opens up the possibility of doing
insanely long grinds, and it becomes second nature
after a few hours of play.
Veterans will quickly notice that the super meter
builds during combos now, so it is possible to do
super moves on your first combo. This is definitely
a welcome change.
Overall, the gameplay seems much faster and weightier.
The skaters have lost their floaty tendencies and
actually seem to fall to the ground somewhat realistically.
If you are familiar with the previous games, the feel
of this one will initially feel quite alien.
The game has been programmed with next-generation
systems in mind, so the levels are far more expansive
and complicated than those in earlier games. Canada,
in particular, is enormous. My favorite is the final
cruise ship level, which offers the possibility of
1,000,000+ point tricks. The levels themselves are
immaculate, yet I couldn't help but feel that there
were too few of them. Sure, you can open several classic
levels later on, but I would have liked to see more
new levels.
VISUALS
Graphically,
the game is very pretty. The level geometry is fairly
complex and the textures are decidedly high-res. On
the Gamecube, the framerate maintained a steady 60
fps, though it did drop inexplicably on a few occasions.
Keep in mind that the game was under a tight time
schedule to make it to a pre-Christmas release. The
graphics are better than average, but they're not
amazing.
SOUND
and MUSIC
The
sound in the game is very, very nice. All of the characteristic
clangs and rumbles are there, and the NPCs scattered
throughout the levels come to life with humorous dialogue.
The soundtrack is top-notch once again, with offerings
from a diverse and eclectic mix of artists. Any game
that has both The Ramones' Blitzkrieg Bob and Redman's
Let's Get Dirty on the same tracklist is okay by me.
There is a surprising amount of music, too, as the
game has more individual tracks than any previous
THPS.
PRESENTATION
The
presentation is serviceable, but I found the pre-game
menus to be rather annoying. I'm not a fan of the
new skateshop setup. It's muddled and confusing. The
in-game menus, on the other hand, are wonderful. They're
speedy and functional, allowing you to alter even
super move keys on the fly.
REPLAY
VALUE and ADDITIONAL FEATURES
The
game features hundreds of secret features that get
unlocked after extended play. There are upwards of
40 secret characters, and countless cheat modes. The
first two characters you unlock are Darth Maul and
Wolverine. Yes, the game is THAT cool. As you clear
the game with different characters, the level objectives
get mixed up a little bit, adding a nice bit of variety.
Unfortunately, it does tend to get repetitive, as
you are playing the same 10 levels over and over.
A few more levels would have helped the game tremendously.
The
game features a nifty park editor mode, which is functional
and fun. The create-a-skater mode is also back, featuring
more adjustable traits than ever before. The Gamecube
version lacks the netplay mode that is present in
the PS2 version, which is unfortunate, but not a huge
loss. If I want to play games over the internet, I'll
use my computer. I have yet to see the value in online
console gaming.
TO
SUM IT UP...
No
doubt about it, this game rocks. The controls are
tighter, the levels are better, and there are more
secret characters than ever. It's definitely worth
the price of admission. My only gripe is a lack of
new levels, but other than that, the game is excellent.
A worthy heir to the Tony Hawk franchise.
FINAL
VERDICT:
9
out of 10
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