TONY HAWK'S PRO SKATER 4
PlayStation 2
Activision
Now this is my kind of game!
After a year of button-bashing boredom with Tekken 4 and Two Towers, and some less-than-spectacular Spider-Man movie game action, I've finally found a game that's worth shelling out hard-earned cash for.
If only I wasn't so bloody skint�
As the name suggests, Tony Hawk's 4 (not to be confused with Tony Hawks 4, which is about Norman Wisdom and Moldovan tennis) is the latest in a long line of skateboarding games. It has a strong pedigree, and a hell of a lot to live up to.
The game engine has been used, reused, and modified for games such as Tony Hawk 1-3, Mat Hoffman's BMX and the Spider-Man series. It remains basically unchanged from the earlier games, as does the intuitive and easy-to-master control method.
What this meant, for an old hand like me, was that I was able to sit down with the game and get right into all the old tricks. What it means for the novice 'boader is that you'll soon be ollieing, grinding and Japan Airing with the best of them.
The game environments are expansive and varied, ranging from a grotty Noo Yawk dockyard to a slick Californian college campus, full of ramps, half-pipes, grindable walls, and every sort of grindy-bouncy-cripple-you-to-fall-off-it land feature you could wish for. There are even pedestrians to buzz, and cars to skitch on to. There's so much to do and learn in Tony Hawk's 4 that it would be impossible to see it all in one day.
Graphically, Tony Hawk's 4 is smooth and detailed. The blockiness of earlier incarnations has all but vanished. Character animation is excellent, and has expanded to include some slightly curious "taunting" moves, as well as some wincingly realistic animations for those moments when you crash out like a good 'un.
The sound design is a notch above the rest, too: the pro skaters have recorded hours of dialogue for the game; the sound effects are realistic enough to be unobtrusive; and the music included with the game is fantastic (De La Soul? Blimey)
The gameplay is much the same as in earlier versions: you start off with a small bag of tricks, and a certain level of skill in all the skaterly disciplines (jumping, balance and elongation of the word "duuude"). Through the accumulation of cash and special tokens, you purchase extra tricks, better equipment, improved skills, and a wider vocabulary.
In earlier iterations of Tony Hawk, the player would be given two minutes to bomb around the level, trying to complete as many of the set goals as they could. Then, at the end of the two minutes, the level would reload, and you'd have to try again.
As much fun as the earlier games were, this constant loading and reloading was always a bit of a pill.
However, the designers have altered the format for Tony Hawk's 4, so that the player only has to load the level once. In this version, the player skates around the level, accepting challenges from the other pros, bystanders, and anyone else with a loud enough mouth. In each case, the challenge has to be performed either within a set time, or in one long, complicated move. If you mess up, well, you just have another go. Or you try something else. No long, unforgiving pauses while the game reloads here�
The learning curve on the complexity and intricacy of each task is sufficiently well judged to be both addictive and achievable. You won't be throwing your controller at the wall in frustration over this game (hello, Tekken 2).
The challenges include grinding along a rail to please some tourists, collecting tokens, floating letters and other items, competing in trick competitions with non-player characters, and Fighting Crime (really!). Interacting with the other pro skaters - and their mothers - is a hoot. Even if some of the free-roaming characters would rather kick you off your board than talk to you.
There are even some secret challenges that reveal themselves as sub-games within each level. You can earn cash by, amongst other things, playing tennis and Ghost Baseball (with your skateboard).
As if the massive levels, huge range of tricks, and gut-punching soundtrack wasn't enough, there are a number of special features, including videos of the real skaters in action, and a skate park construction kit.
As in earlier versions, you can create your own custom skater, complete with their own name, clothes and skill set. The number of potential body types has grown exponentially, with the addition of tattoos, proportion controls, marsupial heads and the entire female sex. You read that right: finally, the distaff gamer can create her own digital counterpart. Skate On, Sisters!
For my part, I'm just glad that I don't have to skate around with a huge white afro anymore�
Tony Hawk's 4 is the most fun I've had on the PS2 this year. It's a plug-in-and-play game that the whole family can enjoy. Alone, or with your mates, it has enough new tricks, levels and secret goodies to keep you playing until next Christmas.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4: Matthew Craig's Game of the Year, 2003.
Review text (C) Matthew Craig
Originally published in the pop culture magazine Robot Fist