PLAYSTATION/DREAMCAST/GAMEBOYCOLOR/NINTENDO
Review by Dale Weir of GameCritics.com on 7/21/00

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First Impressions:

Graphics:

A key factor in the success of this title has to be the game's robust graphics engine. In fact, it is one of the most solid game engines you'll see on any console system. In layman's terms, Tony Hawk's uses an over-the-shoulder perspective, but anyone with videogame experience can attest to the frustration experienced at the hands of the faulty camera systems that come with these types of games. Could Neversoft manage to correct this with the fast pace and kinetic nature of skateboarding? The answer is a resounding yes! To my amazement, whether jumping off handrails or into and out of empty swimming pools and leaping off ramps, the camera followed the action flawlessly. It pulls away and zooms in at exactly the right time to offer the best view (that was also the most dramatic). The essence of skateboarding, the improvisational, is handled fabulously here. From the word "go," transitioning from a handrail to an ollie into a "wall walk," is done with unbelievable smoothness. Neversoft should be commended for such a feat.

There are some parts of the game that I take issue with. For one thing, being that the Dreamcast version is essentially a straight port of the PlayStation version, the only difference between the two games are the graphics. Thanks to the Dreamcast's graphical processing might, Tony Hawk's can be seen in high resolution (640 by 480), but in the process, the PlaySation's low-resolution textures were reused. It's most apparent in the backgrounds of the courses as they retain a grainy quality to them. It's not a major gripe, but I was a bit disappointed to see there wasn't more improvement in this area.

Sound/Music:

Cramming Tony Hawk's with heavy metal tracks the likes of Dead Kennedys and Primus was a stroke of genius as they fit the atmosphere of the game perfectly. However, as I found out with Sega's Crazy Taxi, if you're going to use music of real-life bands for your game, then you had better get a ton of it. After about the third or fourth hour, I was tired of hearing every song darn-near every song available.

Gameplay:

For the uninitiated, the premise is simple: You take the role of one of six/eight professional skaters (including the living-legend, Tony Hawk) through a career mode in the hopes of being proclaimed the best skater in the world. Each comes with his or her own strengths and weaknesses, as well as their own particular skating style. And as far as the rules go, they are quite equally simplistic: Perform a trick almost anywhere in the courses available -- while not falling down in the process -- and you'll be rewarded with points. Naturally you earn more points depending on how many tricks you pull off, and the more difficult and creative the tricks you string together, the better your overall score will be. But before you cringe at the thought of having to learn all sorts of crazy button combinations in order to get anywhere in the game, I have to tell you that there is simply nothing to worry about.

All the motion-capture work done with Tony Hawk; detailed recreation of real world tracks and true-to-life skateboarding atmosphere poured into the game notwithstanding, Tony Hawk's is one of the most approachable videogames I have come across in some time. Literally, within minutes I was handling myself well enough to actually pull off a trick or two before falling flat on my face in a bloody mess (hey, even the best of us take a tumble or two). That's because the button configuration is incredibly simple while hiding the complex maneuvers it avails to you. The simple tricks, like "Ollies" (hopping in the air with the skateboard) and "Grinding" (sliding along the edge of almost any angular surface -- most likely handrails), are pulled off with a simple tap of the button. If I wanted to get a little fancy, all I needed to do was tap another face button and I scored more points as a result. Much to my surprise, the more complicated tricks -- for example, those performed along ramps and pipes -- were pulled off with similar ease.

Another positive for Tony Hawk's is its open-ended quality. To get past each stage requires the meeting of certain parameters for the previous stage. It usually entails five standard things, one of which is finding and collecting the letters of the word SKATE that are scattered around the courses. In true design sense, it isn't immediately necessary that this be done in order to progress, but in order to master the game, such objectives like this must be met. And Tony Hawk's allows you the opportunity to come back at your leisure and try to meet these criteria. As an additional benefit to meeting these objectives, is the possibility of unlocking secrets. Finding video tape icons hidden in the courses offers more of a challenge and are met only after some practice and sharpening of your skills. Once they are found however, they can unlock new decks (skateboards) for a specific skater and new courses.

Enjoyment:

Tony Hawk's was totally enjoyable even by someone like me who never took more than a passing interest in the sport. After an hour's worth of practice, I was handling my 'board like a pro. If there is an issue I take with the game, it's the repetitiveness of the stages. Even though the stages could vary greatly in location and "personality," progressing past them required the same five basic steps, and after a few hours of playing time, it could all feel a bit redundant.

Multiplayer:

Neversoft included other modes to increase the gameplay. There is a Free Skate mode that allows you to skate on any track -- perfecting certain tricks and setting records for most points accumulated, as well as a time-limited test where you have to score the most points in under two minutes. But what is intringent to the skateboarding mentality is competition and "one-upping" your friends with outrageous stunts and tricks, and Neversoft didn't disappoint with its two-player mode. Three modes are offered here, but the best of the bunch has to be the Trick Attack. It's essentially a two-minute free-for-all where you take on a buddy and outshine him with all sorts of tricks before time runs out. Given the ease of controls and the handling of the skaters, it's a snap to put on a show for bragging rights. The other two, Graffiti (do a trick on an area and it is tagged with you skater's color) and HORSE were fun, but they didn't have the frenetic pace of the other modes and got old pretty quickly.

Overall Impression:

All in all, I had a blast playing Tony Hawk's. It was so easy to get into that I was almost fooled into thinking the real-life sport could be that easy. The few negatives I mentioned were not that big a deal. In fact, the graphical and aural issues I had may only annoy hardcore gamers who own every version of the game, and the repetitiveness may bother someone who is new to the sport to begin with. Still, they are there, but are dwarfed by the excellent gameplay and craftsmanship this game has. It's an excellent title all around.

Marketing Efforts Towards Women:

(This section written by Atari) Although the cover and marketing of the game pretty much revolves around Tony Hawk, another character in the game may be catching a few eyes as well: Elissa Steamer. You probably wouldn't know she was in the game unless you actually play it, and after I played the game, I found myself curious about who she was. Further speculation about her came up on our general messageboard, so I decided to investigate. What I found was a slew of websites and organizations run by some super-dedicated women skateboarders, who are trying to show other females that skateboarding is not just a male sport. I was amazed by some of these women's stories and what they have had to endure by following their passion for skateboarding. So, while Tony Hawk's Pro Skater may not have been marketed to females, I wouldn't be surprised if Elissa Steamer's character made some gamers take pause and explore the female skateboarding scene as I did.

Links:

• Females are shredded up the street and vert courses at the now international All Girl Skate Jam.
• Milk and Honey Magazine - keeping the female athletes updated on snowboarding, surfing, and skating scenes.
• Skater Girls - dedicated to girls who skateboard.
• Chicksticks - Selling gear for women who surf, skateboard, and snowboard. They also have some very interesting articles such as the one about Lauren Perkins, 11 year old skateboarder extraordinaire.
• Women in Skateboarding essay showing some of the issues some women skateboarders have to deal in the skater scene.

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