Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
| Article Published: Tuesday, October 24,
2000 (Vol.6 No.206) |
| Game Review By Alex Dennis |
| E-mail: alex_bigballer@yahoo.com
|
| Publisher: Activision
|
| Developer: Neversoft
|
| Similar to: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater |
| Available Platforms: PC, Playstation II, Color GameBoy,
DreamCast |
| Reviewed Platform: PC |
| System Requirements: P200, 32 MB RAM, 3D accelerator
card, Win 9x |
| Category: Sports Simulation |
| ESRB Rating: Teen |
| |
If you've ever watched skateboard championships
on ESPN, then you're sure to be familiar with the name "Tony
Hawk". He is a talented professional skateboarder whose amazing
stunts always seem to defy the possible. His original Pro Skater
was lauded by many, as the greatest skateboarding game to ever
hit the game market. That statement just got stale with the
resent release of its sequel, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2. This
new offering comes with new skaters and all new real-world skate
parks. It also features an increased number of possible stunts,
making the skating experience that much more involving. The
base object of the game is to accumulate as many points as you
can from the various stunts that you successfully land within
a set time. These stunts may range in difficulty from simple
180° ollies (180° spins in the air) to jaw dropping 900° spins
combined with grabs, kicks and grinds. Each course is equipped
with a wide variety of obstacles that you may use to boost your
score. You've got ramps, skating pits, dumpsters, staircases,
tables, boom boxes, swimming pools and the like. Everything
you see in these 3D-worlds can be used to your advantage including
the walls, fences and even way up on top of cross banners and
light posts.
The star of this game is obviously "Tony Hawk."
But if you're not particularly a "Tony Hawk" fan, there are
about 13 other skating pros at your disposal. In addition to
this you may create an infinite number of your own custom characters
and even tweak existing skaters. Another big plus for this title
is its easy-to-use skate park editor. The good news is that
the "easy-to-use" part is not just some marketing ploy to increase
sales, but actually holds some merit. This feature significantly
boosts replay value. Even after you've fully exhausted the available
skating environments you'll still have good reason to play.
Along with the normal single player mode, there is a free skate
and a career mode. Free skate allows you to skate and skate
as long as you want without a time limit. And the career mode
allows you to skate for money. The money you earn is then used
to buy gear; more skill (I don't understand how one can buy
skill, J) and it also may be used to gain access to new skate
parks. Also, there is a multiplayer mode for this title. Unfortunately,
I spent so much time playing in single player that I accidentally
neglected this part. I'm sorry. You'll just have to check this
out for yourself. But from what I've read, this aspect is set
out well and includes split screen skating, where two gamers
can skate together at the same computer or console.
Ratings (on a scale of one to five stars)
Graphics (*****): The ambience of this
game is nicely enhanced by the attention the developers paid
to its environmental effects, such as, cars racing by the park
and grass that actually flew in the air on the impact of a skateboard.
I also found that the physical features of individual skaters
were very detailed. This includes their facial features and
special characteristics such as tattoos. Most importantly, the
trick combinations are easy to follow. This means that it's
very unlikely that you'll get totally confused trying to figure
out how you pulled off a stunt and this also keeps your spectators
(those watching you play as well as you yourself) that much
more entertained.
Interface (****): This game ran smoothly
without any hitches. During gameplay it displays, in clear view,
the name of the trick or combination of tricks currently being
attempted, as well as the points its worth. The menus are fairly
easy to use and understand.
Gameplay (*****): This game is very easy
to learn. I have my little sister (age: 13) as living proof.
She usually takes months to learn how to play a game, but after
only two days of Tony Hawk she was already making the "top 10
scores" list. It's also very addictive. Large crowds surrounded
my computer for hours.
Sound FX (***): This game has sound effects
for almost everything. You can tell the difference between the
various surfaces (grass, gravel, concrete, etc.) just by listening
to the effects. The only drawback is that these effects aren't
that noticeable, probably because of the blasting music level.
Musical Score (****): A mixture of Hip
Hop and Rock tunes, typical skateboard music. These pound at
extremely high levels from boom boxes positioned in the parks.
This music brings a lot of energy to the game. The tracks were
nice and long and could be switched at a player's whim. If you
don't like loud music (I love it!) you can attempt to turn it
down, but that doesn't help much. The only other option you
have is to turn it off completely.
Intelligence & Difficulty (*****): The
basic tricks are easy to learn. But if you really want to get
high scores and lots of cash you'd better be more creative.
There are a lot of dangerous and very difficult stunts. It takes
a good deal of time, and many unsuccessful spills, before you
finally get them right. And even then you'll be forever coming
up with your own new dazzling combos.
Overall (*****): With the game market being
dominated by 3D-shooters, racing titles, strategy and role-playing
games, it was very nice to see a different type of game excel.
I can't ultimately predict the affect that it will have on the
wider market, but my friends and family can't stop talking about
it. The following are some of their thoughts.
"Boneless! You'll have to play it to understand"
- Shane Dennis
"Pro Skater is a natural high for a hard day's
work" - Tasha Grodger
"Bashment!" - Sharone Dennis "
This game is cool...." - Nicholas A. Grodger
I hope you're now convinced that this game is
for you. If you are then go buy the game, if not, download the
FREE demo from Activision's Website (www.activision.com)
or (http://www.game-revolution.com/download/pc/sports/tony_hawk_pro_skater_2.htm)
and believe me you won't regret it. If you have any questions,
comments or suggestions, feel welcomed to e-mail or ICQ me.
(UIN #70293582)
