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Intro Yes, that lovable star of Gleaming the Cube and those annoying pizza roll commercials is back once again to entertain the masses in the first PlayStation 2 installment of his massively successful series: the one, the only, Christian Sla..er, Tony Hawk. Gameplay: 8/10 That is right, the series that made severely un-sporty game reviewers everywhere spout out skater lingo like they had been doing it all of their lives and had them falling over themselves to make it as though they were apart of the scene is back. Unfortunately, unlike the step from the first to the second, there isn’t as much of an evolutionary feel in this latest installment. Sporting the now-famous gameplay style of linking tricks into combos to beat previous scores and accomplish level goals, there are a few new additions to the formula to keep things interesting. There is now a ‘revert’ command that allows you to link tricks from vert ramps (oh! I feel just like a skater saying that!) to street tricks. This helps in the scoring department, but it also slows down the momentum, making it a bit more difficult to pull off impressive tricks at close, opportune spots. The special meter also fills up during a combo as opposed to after it, which allows for longer and more fluid combinations. Some old favorites make an return appearance here, such as create-a-skater, create-a-park, along with the skater shop to accessorize your skater and his or her skateboard. There is a new snazzy storefront that makes these options accessible, and the interface is much more streamlined. The one major feature that is a bit ahead of its time is the online multiplayer option; with Sony not having its broadband and dial-up adapter combo out, gamers will need something along the lines of a 3com USB modem to play online. That would be an extra $50-plus, especially considering that the official PlayStation 2 version is coming out soon, and so this is a feature that won’t get as much play as intended, at least for a few more months. It is nice to have it added though; at least there is a real title that will be ready to go once the network launches. One noticeable improvement would have to be the level design. In the previous titles, my attention would wane part-way through the game, as the middle levels and some of the later ones never held my attention as much as the earlier ones. I’m happy to say that nearly every level here is rock-solid in their design, and feature a lot more ways to interact. The level goals are still there and all help to keep the game fun, though some are a bit vague, and they vary per skater and get increasingly difficult with time. Thankfully, they also allow some leeway, as levels can be unlocked while only some of the tasks are accomplished. This was nice as it kept me going and let some potentially annoying parts fall by the wayside, as the newer levels would renew my attention. In all, though, this just feels like a brief step up in the series, or an add-on as opposed to a full-fledged sequel. While I was disappointed with the lack of new features gameplay-wise, the much improved level design and areas made up for a good deal of it. Even with its faults, the game still sports some of the more addictive gameplay that can be found out in the market and is a nice title to play in any sort of situation. Whether it is for a group of friends, an hour or so to kill time, or even for a ten or fifteen minute gaming spurt, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 fits the bill and does so well.
Graphics: 7/10
The skaters themselves look well and are animated nicely, though unfortunately
sans the nice motion-blur found in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2x. As
the only gruesome aspects of the game, the blood splatters and the pain animations
are much more detailed, with a few that made me wince in my chair. There are a
few problems though: the animation that the skaters go into when the time is up
will be in effect regardless of where they are, so if the time is up and they
are on the side of a mountain, then they will stand perfectly still in their stance
while they do an odd side-slide down the mountainside. There is also some polygon
breakups when close to the camera, albeit very little. Visually, I expected more
than I got. Yes, the larger levels are nice, but with other titles out now, it
just shows that so much more could be done; instead of taking full advantage of
the PlayStation 2, it just looks like a souped-up version of the second title. The sound within the levels themselves isn’t that bad. While fellow skaters will be heard talking when approached, a car engine will fade off as it gets farther and farther away. While not too ambitious, there is enough going on to make the game world feel much more real than in the previous efforts. From construction workers banging away at a house to some men shooting the breeze around a barbecue pit, an admirable job is done to make the world more alive. Control:
8.5/10 Overall:
7.5/10 [ top ] | |||
