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This thread has been linked to the game 'Tony Hawk's Underground'.
For those of you that haven't played the Tony Hawks series, you're probably not really a 'gamer'. By this I mean that in some point in their life, almost every gamer will have touched down on a title in the Tony Hawks series, after all, they've graced three generations of consoles with around seven titles in the series.
Which brings me to the fifth outing of the 'Hawkmeister'; Underground. What really defines this game is the way Neversoft decided to go away from its grass roots and try and re-invent the format of the game. Now, for all of you that know and love Hawks games, don't be afraid; the basic structure of the game is still there.. just with a host of additions and expansions that really take the game away from where it started.
The Hawk series is an ever-expanding one, with small additions that change the game a lot being added all the time. For those of you who need an example, cast your mind back to the additions of the spine transfers and the revert. The revert revolutionised TH4; allowing the player to link aerial tricks to flatland and grinds, all potential for a huge, or in the words of the Hawk, 'gnarly', score.
So then, the major addition to the game has been the ability to step of your board. Now to those purists who bulk at the idea, don't worry, it's perfectly feasible to play the game without using this at all, however, for certain goals you'll need to get to grips with this feature. Not only does the ability to get off your board allow you to quickly run to a nearby area whilst staying in the same combo, it allows the player to climb and shimmy to areas previously unaccesible from spine transfers and the like which came before. For me, personally, the move has changed the game in a positive way, but I can never really get to grips with it, being brought up on Tony Hawks 2 and 4.
Even the beloved Career mode of the Tony Hawks games has had a major upheaval; now giving you the ability to Create-A-Skater and then take on the streets with them, rising to fame. The story has every feature you'd expect from a Hollywood movie; rags to riches, fame, betrayal and ultimately the victory of the underdog. The name 'Underground' urbanises the experience, but still gives you a wide range of levels straying from the classic city scape to a more advernturous Hawaii. Likewise, 'Underground' doesn't somehow change the skating experience to one of gangs, drugs and everything you might expect from a GTA game; it's still Hawk, just a little more developed.
On the downside, straying away from the use of a skateboard is straying away from what Tony Hawks is all about; raw, adrenaline-fuelled, skateboarding. The over-the-top use of vehicles in the Career mode really detracts from the missions where you have to use them; they all look terrible and handle like a donkey in a panic. Don't expect any glossy roadsters, these vehicles are bizarre; ranging from driving around in a leafblower to a stretch limo.
The game may have updated, yet the visuals still do not make full use of the Xbox, and look no less glossy from what you found in Tony Hawks 2 on the PSOne or Nintendo64. The bailing is still agonizingly slow, and loses you valuable time during a fast-paced mission. Having said this, credit must be given to the game for giving the player roughly an 80% of missions in a level pass-rate to move on, the likelihood being that if you're stuck on one goal you will at least have another option to shift onto, without having to keep repeating and repeating. This, though, shows another problem of the game - it's reasonably short, especially with the ability to just select missions from the start of the level, rather than even having to go and find them for yourself. The unlockable extras such as videos and secret areas, though, will keep you coming back for more.
The multiplayer element has long been what has sold the Hawk games; quick, enjoyable, and a great laugh with a few mates - whatever your age or gaming ability. The game heralds the return of the immensely popular 'Horse', where two players go head to head to beat the score set by the other or else they get a letter. Other favourites, such as Graffiti, Score challenge and King of the Hill return. The downside is the failure to incorporate four players. In my mind, it would be pretty easy to slot an extra two players into all types of game mode, it lends itself to it. Horse could be brilliant playing against another three people, rather than doing a one vs. one and swapping the controller round.
Overall, the game is brilliant and worth getting even if you own any previous Tony Hawks titles. It's a credit to the series that in its fifth installment the fun still hasn't gone. The pure skating based chaos, and multiplayer mayhem, are as adrenaline-soaked as ever and overall outweigh the lacking graphics, slightly dodgy controls, and the cliched 'sk8 lingo'. Considering there are newer titles out there, the game is also a snap, available to pick up for about a tenner in most good game stores. In short, get it, dude.
Which brings me to the fifth outing of the 'Hawkmeister'; Underground. What really defines this game is the way Neversoft decided to go away from its grass roots and try and re-invent the format of the game. Now, for all of you that know and love Hawks games, don't be afraid; the basic structure of the game is still there.. just with a host of additions and expansions that really take the game away from where it started.
The Hawk series is an ever-expanding one, with small additions that change the game a lot being added all the time. For those of you who need an example, cast your mind back to the additions of the spine transfers and the revert. The revert revolutionised TH4; allowing the player to link aerial tricks to flatland and grinds, all potential for a huge, or in the words of the Hawk, 'gnarly', score.
So then, the major addition to the game has been the ability to step of your board. Now to those purists who bulk at the idea, don't worry, it's perfectly feasible to play the game without using this at all, however, for certain goals you'll need to get to grips with this feature. Not only does the ability to get off your board allow you to quickly run to a nearby area whilst staying in the same combo, it allows the player to climb and shimmy to areas previously unaccesible from spine transfers and the like which came before. For me, personally, the move has changed the game in a positive way, but I can never really get to grips with it, being brought up on Tony Hawks 2 and 4.
Even the beloved Career mode of the Tony Hawks games has had a major upheaval; now giving you the ability to Create-A-Skater and then take on the streets with them, rising to fame. The story has every feature you'd expect from a Hollywood movie; rags to riches, fame, betrayal and ultimately the victory of the underdog. The name 'Underground' urbanises the experience, but still gives you a wide range of levels straying from the classic city scape to a more advernturous Hawaii. Likewise, 'Underground' doesn't somehow change the skating experience to one of gangs, drugs and everything you might expect from a GTA game; it's still Hawk, just a little more developed.
On the downside, straying away from the use of a skateboard is straying away from what Tony Hawks is all about; raw, adrenaline-fuelled, skateboarding. The over-the-top use of vehicles in the Career mode really detracts from the missions where you have to use them; they all look terrible and handle like a donkey in a panic. Don't expect any glossy roadsters, these vehicles are bizarre; ranging from driving around in a leafblower to a stretch limo.
The game may have updated, yet the visuals still do not make full use of the Xbox, and look no less glossy from what you found in Tony Hawks 2 on the PSOne or Nintendo64. The bailing is still agonizingly slow, and loses you valuable time during a fast-paced mission. Having said this, credit must be given to the game for giving the player roughly an 80% of missions in a level pass-rate to move on, the likelihood being that if you're stuck on one goal you will at least have another option to shift onto, without having to keep repeating and repeating. This, though, shows another problem of the game - it's reasonably short, especially with the ability to just select missions from the start of the level, rather than even having to go and find them for yourself. The unlockable extras such as videos and secret areas, though, will keep you coming back for more.
The multiplayer element has long been what has sold the Hawk games; quick, enjoyable, and a great laugh with a few mates - whatever your age or gaming ability. The game heralds the return of the immensely popular 'Horse', where two players go head to head to beat the score set by the other or else they get a letter. Other favourites, such as Graffiti, Score challenge and King of the Hill return. The downside is the failure to incorporate four players. In my mind, it would be pretty easy to slot an extra two players into all types of game mode, it lends itself to it. Horse could be brilliant playing against another three people, rather than doing a one vs. one and swapping the controller round.
Overall, the game is brilliant and worth getting even if you own any previous Tony Hawks titles. It's a credit to the series that in its fifth installment the fun still hasn't gone. The pure skating based chaos, and multiplayer mayhem, are as adrenaline-soaked as ever and overall outweigh the lacking graphics, slightly dodgy controls, and the cliched 'sk8 lingo'. Considering there are newer titles out there, the game is also a snap, available to pick up for about a tenner in most good game stores. In short, get it, dude.
I've only played the PS2 version, but Im sure its similar...
Tony Hawks lost it at number 4. The 2nd and 3rd instalment were arguably the best of the lot with 4 taking a step in the wrong direction. Underground was a huge leap in the wrong way though. Sure it was "fun" and well made. All Tony Hawks games are, after all. The cheesy story made it annoying though. It also managed to detract from the game play. In previous incarnations (2 and 3 mainly) you would have a list of goals and 2 minutes to complete them. You felt there was a need to complete all the goals in a level and frequently re-visited old levels to try that particular goal that you were stuck on, especially in 2 where goals equalled cash and in turn equalled stats. THUG just seemed too rushed in comparison. Once you had done the set number of goals, you would move onto the next level and move on with the story. There was never much of an incentive to go back and try old goals on old levels. If anything it felt like you shouldn't go back.
I also didn't like the lack of a 2 minute timer. I guess this was needed due to the larger levels, but it just felt wrong.
This makes it sound like I don't like the game, which wouldn't really be an accurate description. I enjoy all of the TH games. I've played all of them except Project 8 and liked them all. Even these new ones with different game play styles have still be good and enjoyable games, they just never managed to grab hold of me and entice me to complete every goal in the way 2 or 3 did.
Tony Hawks lost it at number 4. The 2nd and 3rd instalment were arguably the best of the lot with 4 taking a step in the wrong direction. Underground was a huge leap in the wrong way though. Sure it was "fun" and well made. All Tony Hawks games are, after all. The cheesy story made it annoying though. It also managed to detract from the game play. In previous incarnations (2 and 3 mainly) you would have a list of goals and 2 minutes to complete them. You felt there was a need to complete all the goals in a level and frequently re-visited old levels to try that particular goal that you were stuck on, especially in 2 where goals equalled cash and in turn equalled stats. THUG just seemed too rushed in comparison. Once you had done the set number of goals, you would move onto the next level and move on with the story. There was never much of an incentive to go back and try old goals on old levels. If anything it felt like you shouldn't go back.
I also didn't like the lack of a 2 minute timer. I guess this was needed due to the larger levels, but it just felt wrong.
This makes it sound like I don't like the game, which wouldn't really be an accurate description. I enjoy all of the TH games. I've played all of them except Project 8 and liked them all. Even these new ones with different game play styles have still be good and enjoyable games, they just never managed to grab hold of me and entice me to complete every goal in the way 2 or 3 did.
For those of you that haven't played the Tony Hawks series, you're probably not really a 'gamer'. By this I mean that in some point in their life, almost every gamer will have touched down on a title in the Tony Hawks series, after all, they've graced three generations of consoles with around seven titles in the series.
Which brings me to the fifth outing of the 'Hawkmeister'; Underground. What really defines this game is the way Neversoft decided to go away from its grass roots and try and re-invent the format of the game. Now, for all of you that know and love Hawks games, don't be afraid; the basic structure of the game is still there.. just with a host of additions and expansions that really take the game away from where it started.
The Hawk series is an ever-expanding one, with small additions that change the game a lot being added all the time. For those of you who need an example, cast your mind back to the additions of the spine transfers and the revert. The revert revolutionised TH4; allowing the player to link aerial tricks to flatland and grinds, all potential for a huge, or in the words of the Hawk, 'gnarly', score.
So then, the major addition to the game has been the ability to step of your board. Now to those purists who bulk at the idea, don't worry, it's perfectly feasible to play the game without using this at all, however, for certain goals you'll need to get to grips with this feature. Not only does the ability to get off your board allow you to quickly run to a nearby area whilst staying in the same combo, it allows the player to climb and shimmy to areas previously unaccesible from spine transfers and the like which came before. For me, personally, the move has changed the game in a positive way, but I can never really get to grips with it, being brought up on Tony Hawks 2 and 4.
Even the beloved Career mode of the Tony Hawks games has had a major upheaval; now giving you the ability to Create-A-Skater and then take on the streets with them, rising to fame. The story has every feature you'd expect from a Hollywood movie; rags to riches, fame, betrayal and ultimately the victory of the underdog. The name 'Underground' urbanises the experience, but still gives you a wide range of levels straying from the classic city scape to a more advernturous Hawaii. Likewise, 'Underground' doesn't somehow change the skating experience to one of gangs, drugs and everything you might expect from a GTA game; it's still Hawk, just a little more developed.
On the downside, straying away from the use of a skateboard is straying away from what Tony Hawks is all about; raw, adrenaline-fuelled, skateboarding. The over-the-top use of vehicles in the Career mode really detracts from the missions where you have to use them; they all look terrible and handle like a donkey in a panic. Don't expect any glossy roadsters, these vehicles are bizarre; ranging from driving around in a leafblower to a stretch limo.
The game may have updated, yet the visuals still do not make full use of the Xbox, and look no less glossy from what you found in Tony Hawks 2 on the PSOne or Nintendo64. The bailing is still agonizingly slow, and loses you valuable time during a fast-paced mission. Having said this, credit must be given to the game for giving the player roughly an 80% of missions in a level pass-rate to move on, the likelihood being that if you're stuck on one goal you will at least have another option to shift onto, without having to keep repeating and repeating. This, though, shows another problem of the game - it's reasonably short, especially with the ability to just select missions from the start of the level, rather than even having to go and find them for yourself. The unlockable extras such as videos and secret areas, though, will keep you coming back for more.
The multiplayer element has long been what has sold the Hawk games; quick, enjoyable, and a great laugh with a few mates - whatever your age or gaming ability. The game heralds the return of the immensely popular 'Horse', where two players go head to head to beat the score set by the other or else they get a letter. Other favourites, such as Graffiti, Score challenge and King of the Hill return. The downside is the failure to incorporate four players. In my mind, it would be pretty easy to slot an extra two players into all types of game mode, it lends itself to it. Horse could be brilliant playing against another three people, rather than doing a one vs. one and swapping the controller round.
Overall, the game is brilliant and worth getting even if you own any previous Tony Hawks titles. It's a credit to the series that in its fifth installment the fun still hasn't gone. The pure skating based chaos, and multiplayer mayhem, are as adrenaline-soaked as ever and overall outweigh the lacking graphics, slightly dodgy controls, and the cliched 'sk8 lingo'. Considering there are newer titles out there, the game is also a snap, available to pick up for about a tenner in most good game stores. In short, get it, dude.
Which brings me to the fifth outing of the 'Hawkmeister'; Underground. What really defines this game is the way Neversoft decided to go away from its grass roots and try and re-invent the format of the game. Now, for all of you that know and love Hawks games, don't be afraid; the basic structure of the game is still there.. just with a host of additions and expansions that really take the game away from where it started.
The Hawk series is an ever-expanding one, with small additions that change the game a lot being added all the time. For those of you who need an example, cast your mind back to the additions of the spine transfers and the revert. The revert revolutionised TH4; allowing the player to link aerial tricks to flatland and grinds, all potential for a huge, or in the words of the Hawk, 'gnarly', score.
So then, the major addition to the game has been the ability to step of your board. Now to those purists who bulk at the idea, don't worry, it's perfectly feasible to play the game without using this at all, however, for certain goals you'll need to get to grips with this feature. Not only does the ability to get off your board allow you to quickly run to a nearby area whilst staying in the same combo, it allows the player to climb and shimmy to areas previously unaccesible from spine transfers and the like which came before. For me, personally, the move has changed the game in a positive way, but I can never really get to grips with it, being brought up on Tony Hawks 2 and 4.
Even the beloved Career mode of the Tony Hawks games has had a major upheaval; now giving you the ability to Create-A-Skater and then take on the streets with them, rising to fame. The story has every feature you'd expect from a Hollywood movie; rags to riches, fame, betrayal and ultimately the victory of the underdog. The name 'Underground' urbanises the experience, but still gives you a wide range of levels straying from the classic city scape to a more advernturous Hawaii. Likewise, 'Underground' doesn't somehow change the skating experience to one of gangs, drugs and everything you might expect from a GTA game; it's still Hawk, just a little more developed.
On the downside, straying away from the use of a skateboard is straying away from what Tony Hawks is all about; raw, adrenaline-fuelled, skateboarding. The over-the-top use of vehicles in the Career mode really detracts from the missions where you have to use them; they all look terrible and handle like a donkey in a panic. Don't expect any glossy roadsters, these vehicles are bizarre; ranging from driving around in a leafblower to a stretch limo.
The game may have updated, yet the visuals still do not make full use of the Xbox, and look no less glossy from what you found in Tony Hawks 2 on the PSOne or Nintendo64. The bailing is still agonizingly slow, and loses you valuable time during a fast-paced mission. Having said this, credit must be given to the game for giving the player roughly an 80% of missions in a level pass-rate to move on, the likelihood being that if you're stuck on one goal you will at least have another option to shift onto, without having to keep repeating and repeating. This, though, shows another problem of the game - it's reasonably short, especially with the ability to just select missions from the start of the level, rather than even having to go and find them for yourself. The unlockable extras such as videos and secret areas, though, will keep you coming back for more.
The multiplayer element has long been what has sold the Hawk games; quick, enjoyable, and a great laugh with a few mates - whatever your age or gaming ability. The game heralds the return of the immensely popular 'Horse', where two players go head to head to beat the score set by the other or else they get a letter. Other favourites, such as Graffiti, Score challenge and King of the Hill return. The downside is the failure to incorporate four players. In my mind, it would be pretty easy to slot an extra two players into all types of game mode, it lends itself to it. Horse could be brilliant playing against another three people, rather than doing a one vs. one and swapping the controller round.
Overall, the game is brilliant and worth getting even if you own any previous Tony Hawks titles. It's a credit to the series that in its fifth installment the fun still hasn't gone. The pure skating based chaos, and multiplayer mayhem, are as adrenaline-soaked as ever and overall outweigh the lacking graphics, slightly dodgy controls, and the cliched 'sk8 lingo'. Considering there are newer titles out there, the game is also a snap, available to pick up for about a tenner in most good game stores. In short, get it, dude.