Originals November 29, 1999

Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2X

Posted by: kombo

If you call yourself a gamer, you are no stranger to the Tony Hawkâ€™s Pro Skater Series, and you can identify that each title wearing that label has delivered outstanding gameplay with lasting appeal. The point where Tony Hawkâ€™s Pro Skater 2x is at variance from the previous games Activision and Neversoft have pumped out, is that itâ€™s a compilation of our favourite levels in THPS1 and 2, with a few exclusive levels prepared for the Xbox. So you already have Tony 1 and 2, and you are wondering, why the heck should I buy this? Think of it this way; imagine all the levels that have indulged you with countless hours of entertainment, brought to life with the Xbox Consoles graphical power. Ok, so I was a doubting Thomas too before I chugged this thing into my Xbox, but one confrontation with my favourite level from Tony Hawk 2; School, opened my eyes. The block-grass are now a realistic field of individual blades, the jaggie-packed-character models are now as smooth as butter, with unique facial features resembling their true life bodies. The sound in the game was pretty much the same kickinâ€™ mix from Tony Hawk 2, but this time around, with the Xbox, you are able to upload your own tracks to play during the game, props to Treyarch for adding this feature. Gameplay The gameplay, as in all of its predecessors, is still Rock Solid. There are seamlessly non-ending possibilities to the amount of tricks, you can pull off in this game. You quickly get used to the button format on the Xbox Controller, and in no time, with ease, you will be pulling off Nose Manual + Boneless + mute + 50-50 + BS Feeble x 4 style tricks. The lasting appeal this game boasts is incredible. We played this game for 6 hours straight the night we got it, and have trick attack matches almost every day! One of the features carried from Tony Hawk 2 is the park editor. Untouched, you can still create large skating environments with different items to choose from. The exclusive levels could have been larger, I was expecting more then what Treyarch gave us. The disco level made up for this disappointment though, with the amazing lighting effects, just canâ€™t get enough of it. The multi-player aspect of Tony Hawkâ€™s Pro Skater 2x is unharmed in the compilation. You can play up to 4 people on your Xbox at one time, with the option of system link to play up to 16 people (or online play if you go through Gamespy Arcade). There are 5 modes of multiplayer. Our favourite being Trick Attack; competing against your friends to see who can grab the highest score. Other modes include Graffiti, Horse, Tag and Free Skate. Graphics Definitely the category where Tony Hawkâ€™s Pro Skater 2x shines. Treyarch has successfully taken two games, which boasted incredible graphics in their own time, and transformed it into the very best looking Tony Hawk game yet with the Xbox Consoleâ€™s graphical power. Whether you are flying up doing a perfect Indy x 5, or crashing down spraying blood left right and center, the game boasts flawless graphics to give you a sense of realism and enjoyment. Using the same basic skaters, THPS2x enhances the character modelâ€™s facial features, clothes and body to a degree comparable, if not better, then the ones found in Tony Hawkâ€™s Pro Skater 3. You have the FunXbox guarantee that you will look at both of this gameâ€™s ancestors as inferior after getting your grubby paws on THPS2x. Sound The sound in Tony Hawkâ€™s Pro Skater 2x is the same groovinâ€™ mix found on the original 2, however, with the Xbox, you can upload tracks from your cds, and play them during the game. The environmental sound effects provided an extra sense of realism, however at some points, it could have done without, like having a gravel sound when riding over grass. All in all, a worthy compilation of the games that revolutionized the skateboarding genre. It had great potential, but we personally feel it lost some points in not living up to itâ€™s end of the bargain for â€˜exclusive xbox levelsâ€™ by giving levels with little or nothing new. However, this game is without a doubt, the best looking Tony Hawk game yet, it will be interesting to see what Neversoft can pump out with the THPS 3 and 4 games for the Xbox. --Matt Durrant