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After the game has loaded, rather than boring menus, THPS 3 takes you straight into a skate shop where your skater is stood among a beautifully created shop environment that even includes a typical style owner who talks to you as you progress through the game. Several options are available. Career, Free Skate, Single session, Two player, Network, Create-a-skater, Create-a-park, Tutorial and Options. Career mode, that will be familiar among THPS fans, allows you to use a created skater or real life skater (from 13 available) and pit them on street and vert parks from around the world. Each stage has challenges such as high scores or more fun ones that see you trying to help someone or irritate someone by doing grinds and special tricks. Completing challenges does not only help unlock more parks but also it widens the levels by unlocking new areas. As these challenges are pretty tough you will want to practice. Free skate and single session allow you to do this. If you need even more practice then tutorial is what you need. Tony Hawk himself gives you tips on how to perform the best tricks and other manoeuvres as well tutoring on how to position cameras and such. With hard practice you will turn into a pro in no time.
The multi player split screen mode is great if you have some mates. However if you find yourself lonely why not play a network game? THPS3 is the first PS2 game that will allow you to hook up to the net and play against players across the world. Players go all on all in a park of the host’s choice and try to get the highest score possible that will be put into a top scorers league for all to see.
The game features a very good park creator mode. There are now even more objects than THPS2 that can be added and you can even raise and lower the land to get different heights. Loop the loops and half pipes added together can create an excellent and fun variation from the other available career parks. Three themes that are available feature school, beach and indoor.
The create-a-skater on THPS3 is even better than create-a-wrestler on Smackdown! 3 JBI. You can edit anything on your skater from hats to weight to tattoos to glasses and even more stuff. Once your unique character is created you can edit attributes. These determine how your skater skates and plays a major part in creating a skater that mimics your style of play. Extra points can be obtained by finding icons around the levels that can all be added to your existing skills. Once you have finished making you skater you can choose his skate equipment. Grip styles and wheels can be edited in design and colour while base designs can be unlocked by finding them in levels. After you have finished all of this you should end up with a totally unique skater and are ready to skate!
Game play is very much like the last two instalments but due to better frame rate it seems to flow more. More tricks have now been added allowing you to do lip tricks and new style flip tricks. Flying high in the sky has never been so much fun but it’s not for the faint of heart as a bail will see your skater smack to the ground in a blood splattering style.
Graphics are more than above average. Each of the eight environments are beautifully rendered with lots of detail. Each level is more atmospheric than before with people getting on with their daily routine and vehicles that plough you down and leave a nice gory mess.
Sound is very good with music from AAF and Motorhead with nice SFX like wheel noises and environmental noises such as voices and machinery churning.
Overall THPS3 is a great title and doesn’t let the series down. Highly recommended to anyone. Thumbs up.
im on the LA one.
After the game has loaded, rather than boring menus, THPS 3 takes you straight into a skate shop where your skater is stood among a beautifully created shop environment that even includes a typical style owner who talks to you as you progress through the game. Several options are available. Career, Free Skate, Single session, Two player, Network, Create-a-skater, Create-a-park, Tutorial and Options. Career mode, that will be familiar among THPS fans, allows you to use a created skater or real life skater (from 13 available) and pit them on street and vert parks from around the world. Each stage has challenges such as high scores or more fun ones that see you trying to help someone or irritate someone by doing grinds and special tricks. Completing challenges does not only help unlock more parks but also it widens the levels by unlocking new areas. As these challenges are pretty tough you will want to practice. Free skate and single session allow you to do this. If you need even more practice then tutorial is what you need. Tony Hawk himself gives you tips on how to perform the best tricks and other manoeuvres as well tutoring on how to position cameras and such. With hard practice you will turn into a pro in no time.
The multi player split screen mode is great if you have some mates. However if you find yourself lonely why not play a network game? THPS3 is the first PS2 game that will allow you to hook up to the net and play against players across the world. Players go all on all in a park of the host’s choice and try to get the highest score possible that will be put into a top scorers league for all to see.
The game features a very good park creator mode. There are now even more objects than THPS2 that can be added and you can even raise and lower the land to get different heights. Loop the loops and half pipes added together can create an excellent and fun variation from the other available career parks. Three themes that are available feature school, beach and indoor.
The create-a-skater on THPS3 is even better than create-a-wrestler on Smackdown! 3 JBI. You can edit anything on your skater from hats to weight to tattoos to glasses and even more stuff. Once your unique character is created you can edit attributes. These determine how your skater skates and plays a major part in creating a skater that mimics your style of play. Extra points can be obtained by finding icons around the levels that can all be added to your existing skills. Once you have finished making you skater you can choose his skate equipment. Grip styles and wheels can be edited in design and colour while base designs can be unlocked by finding them in levels. After you have finished all of this you should end up with a totally unique skater and are ready to skate!
Game play is very much like the last two instalments but due to better frame rate it seems to flow more. More tricks have now been added allowing you to do lip tricks and new style flip tricks. Flying high in the sky has never been so much fun but it’s not for the faint of heart as a bail will see your skater smack to the ground in a blood splattering style.
Graphics are more than above average. Each of the eight environments are beautifully rendered with lots of detail. Each level is more atmospheric than before with people getting on with their daily routine and vehicles that plough you down and leave a nice gory mess.
Sound is very good with music from AAF and Motorhead with nice SFX like wheel noises and environmental noises such as voices and machinery churning.
Overall THPS3 is a great title and doesn’t let the series down. Highly recommended to anyone. Thumbs up.