The Hawk franchise gets increasingly "zany"
Publisher: Activision
Thu, 3 February 2005
by: Mugwai
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Another year and the Tony Hawk franchise spawns yet another sequel, and usually this involves me ignoring the missus, hitting my lovely crack pipe and completing the whole damn game 100%. I am a massive fan of this franchise, so why this time am I not ignoring my wife, neglecting my importing of illegal immigrants for mugwai t-shirt sweat shops and skating away 'til the wee hours of the morning ?
Neversoft seem to be continually moving away from the semi-realistic skating experience, moving to the more wacky CKY/Jackass inspired experience. Don't take my crack inspired writing the wrong way, I love CKY and Bam Margera (whose proficient skating ability is rarely displayed) but this series is becoming less about skating and more about madcap inspired mission and item collecting.
The first three games were mostly about skating it tight and clean, busting ridiculous combos and appreciating the growth of the skating mechanics throughout the series. Since then it appeared Neversoft were running out of ideas, so after THPS4 came THUG (Tony Hawk Underground), now THUG 2.
Although THUG introduced a storyline and made you the padded crotch hero, it didn't differ that much from its predecessors. THUG 2 is no different. The ability to dismount (your board, not the ladies) and run around & climb returns, and you will have to do it more, to reach hidden areas, to tag a billboard (tagging is now part of goal structure) or find a new playable character
From herein the game becomes more like a platformer than a skating sim. Playing a wildly uncontrollable Steve'o on a mechanical bull or Voodoo Magic man on a tricycle is about as much fun as a Ku Klux Clam Bake in Compton. (The story is fairly insipid, so I won't bother describing it).
O.K. what is fun, is the skating. The skating engine is always more refined with every version. The Sticker Slap/Wall Push is an excellent addition and enables you to combo in your environment in ways you wouldn't have previously (skating combos, not like say you, the missus, her best friend and the Pizza guy), and the Wallie, where you can ollie from a wall ride is also cool.
The main new feature is the skating mechanics is focus. This is essentially (get ready to groan, this concept has had more mileage than your sister. C'mon, just accept it!) bullet time for skateboarding which can be money to watch your flips in slow motion, but really just makes it easier to rack up the large combos. It's more of a gimmick (no dis to the man!) than a full gameplay improvement. Seasoned veterans like yours truly, will probably prefer not to use it and earn their points the purist way.
Whilst the skateboarding is all well and good, the level design ruins the experience you normally have skateboarding in the Tony Hawk world. Levels are cramped and uninspired; none of these sweet levels like in 2 and 3 where you can have those long natural fluid runs that make comboing so enjoyable. Sure, you can bust large (like page 3 girl Jordan) but should it feel so askew all the time?
Spain's boring, Sydney's clichéd and New Orleans is just plain stupid. With the exception of Skatopia and a couple of the unlocked levels upon completion, I've seen better designs done on the park editor (still included, thank Christ!).
It's cool but kind of sad that THUG 2's redeeming feature is the classic mode, where levels are played through like the original Tony Hawk Pro Skater, (including original goal structure). Fans will dig it, but the fact that a concept nearly 7 years old is more enjoyable is worrying. It just feels like Neversoft just punched this game out knowing us suckers will buy it. I mean come on, tasks such as tomato the locals, skate as Bigfoot, disrupt the balcony diners, drive a go-cart with an Aboriginal, cornhole your neighbor, it's pretty lame and insulting.
You have to remember, a lot of people who played this game in the first place, were skaters. Where's the cool trick challenges, goals that test your ability, not debase stereotypes and your intelligence? Why can't we unlock Ed Templeton or Danny Way rather than Shrek as a playable character?
On the plus side, some of the music elevates the game's mood somewhat, it won't appeal to everyone, but any game with Cut Chemist and Jimmy Eat World has gotta have something going for it.
Forgive this reviewers slant, it's not a bad game, newbies will love it, Bam fans will buy (does anyone know how well he can skate?), but true fans of the series and skaters will be left feeling that shouldn't have slept with that nasty skank with the hairlip the night before.
Versions of this game are also available on PlayStation 2, PC, Gamecube and GBA.
by: Mugwai
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More articles by Mugwai
C'mon Neversoft, remember why you made this game in the first place, turn off the auto pilot and bring back the love. | |
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