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Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3

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Posted by: kombo

As Mr. T would so bluntly say “I pity da foo who hasn’t tried Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3”. Months ago, Playstation 2 and Gamecube holders marveled at the third installment of the hawk franchise. And after a seemingly lifetime of waiting, those who possess the Xbox console can finally take in likely the best Extreme Sports title ever crafted. This is your basic, first-rate, advanced ported video game, so don’t go running to the stores expecting a brand new game to place along side your PS2 version. Neversoft took the game, improved the graphics, slow-down, added a level, added a character; basically, re-perfecting a masterpiece, and released it on the Xbox. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 is an unbelievably non-subtle improvement on the second installment released a couple years ago. Xbox Only Features
  • Plug your own soundtracks into the game to skate to
  • Explore an Xbox Only secret level which gives an exclusive look at Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4
  • 4 Player and System Link Play. (Play over GameSpy Arcadeâ„¢)
  • Scary New Secret Character
  • Full-Screen Anti-Aliasing
  • Gruesomely improved blood effects
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 Features
  • Hundreds of insane new tricks and combos
  • Nearly 2 dozen professional skaters to choose from
  • Intuitive and solid control scheme
  • Incredibly realistic, obstacle & secret filled locations.
  • Expanded multi-player modes
  • Improved skate-park editor for increased re-playability
  • Enhanced Create-a-Skater
  • And much more…
Gameplay Build the perfect skater, or choose from a plethora of real-life athletes, play him/her through career mode; grinding, jumping and grabbing through hundreds of insane tricks and combos, unlocking new areas, stat points and characters while you’re at it. The seemingly endless arsenal of gameplay offered through Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 is unmatched. The game is focused and assembled around Career Mode. Here, you perfect each and every one of your characters, through collecting stat points, unbolt new areas by stomping each of the level goals; like grinding certain pipes, hitting new high scores, and collecting the letters of ‘Skate’. Unlike its predecessors, in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 you no longer ‘buy’ new stats/boards, everything is unlocked during the gameplay. If you are favoring the idea of picking up Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 for your Xbox Console, chances are, you either own, or have tried out Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2x. If so, you will have absolutely no difficulties with the control scheme as it is nearly ‘identical’ to that of 2x. The grind, grab, switch, and jump buttons remain the same. Alongside its valuable Career Mode, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 also features an in-depth and enjoyable multiplayer experience. However, besides remodeling Tag mode into Slap!, you won’t find anything new that you haven’t seen in the past games. I guess it’s hard to perfect something that’s already been perfected twice before. Tony Hawk’s Multiplayer Modes consist of…
  • Trick Attack: Duke it out with your friends to see who can score the highest. This is the most common choice for multiplayer battles.
  • Graffiti: Conquer each jump with the highest score, and it will be sprayed your color, the person who owns the most jumps at the end of a given time period wins.
  • Horse: One person sets the score with 1 trick, the following person must beat the score or he is assigned a letter. Spell out Horse and it’s over.
  • King of the Hill: Crown yourself, and hold your territory, because your opponents will do anything to take it from you.
  • Slap!: When two players collide, the slower skater falls and the one still standing earns a point. The one with the most points at the end of the round wins.
In keeping with its loaded package of gameplay fundamentals which keep you thriving for more, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 comes complete with an enhanced Skate Park Editor. The difference in the amount of options and customizability we saw in 2x is simply incredible. The interface is multifaceted and easy to use, and they supply a cascade of building blocks to create the ultimate skate park. Never before have we been introduced to an editor which has no boundaries in what it can mold. Graphics You will melt under the visual heat of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3. The jaggies which are unmistakably evident on the Sony Playstation 2 and Nintendo Gamecube console versions are gone. Going hand-in-hand with its complete and intense gameplay, the Graphical prowess of THPS3 is to die for. Oddly enough however, it does not seem to match the flare and smoothness of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2x. But don’t get me wrong; there is absolutely nothing off beam with how they ironed out the Xbox version of THPS3. It looks as if Neversoft took another handful out of the jar of realism. The Skaters have never looked better; the tricks, transitions, and wipeouts match an equally impressive character model. Their bodies are actually flexible, and will curve, and move to match each trick assigned. You will also be treated to much more realistic and gruesome wipeouts; watching your skater fall of the rail and peel 5 feet on his face leaving a nice, long blood trail behind. The mammoth size levels of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 look incredible from any angle. They are filled with flawless textures which were improved considerably from the other console releases of this game. The graphical letdown in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 is with no surprise, the slowdown. Neversoft has ironed out some of the more famous framerate bogging areas that haunted PS2 and Gamecube players, but it is still there, and definitely noticeable. It isn’t enough to cause as much as an eye twitch, but the day they find a way to smooth that out, is the day they get perfect 10s in the graphical category. Sound Tony Hawk’s soundtrack has always had style to it. Its entire lineup is solid, engaging, and doesn’t get in the way of the game enjoyability. Unlike ‘Birthday Cake’ for those who have played Jet Set Radio Future, you will be able to skate to anything Neversoft throws at you. If for some reason you don’t like what the game puts out, there is an editable playlist much like Grand Turismo 3, where you can turn off certain songs you don’t want to hear. In addition, if you’re too good to listen to their music, you can plug in your own soundtrack using the Xbox CD Uploading feature. The series has always had the sound effects down faultlessly. Every surface has a unique sound for when the board rolls/grinds over it. The pedestrians, a new addition to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, also talk amongst themselves / to you during your run, either shouting at you, complementing you, or engaging in sometimes humorous conversations with each other. Overall Impressions So, you’ve heard what Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 is all about. Now you have to make a decision, ‘Is it worth my money?’. Anyone who doesn’t own a copy of this game should pick it up, and anyone who owns a copy on another console should at least rent it, the enhanced and slightly remodeled gameplay and graphics are enough to safely say this game is worth your money. --Matt Durrant
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