Tony Hawk’s Underground – PS2 – Review

When Activision and
Neversoft first released Tony Hawk Pro Skater, they created an instant hit to an
otherwise dead genre. Since that time, Neversoft created four more games in the
series and each version is far superior to its predecessor, both in gameplay and
graphics. For the fifth version, Neversoft has decided to expand the storyline
in the game, and make it more personal. How does this change up the gameplay,
and is it as fun as its predecessors? Read on to find out!

In Tony Hawk’s Underground (T.H.U.G. as it is commonly referred to), the story
mode takes an ordinary no-name skater (you) and turns him into a pro. Players
first start the game by creating their own personalized skater. After that is
complete you start off in your Jersey neighborhood and from there you will
travel around the world skating showing what you have to offer the world of pro
skating. To accomplish this task, players will have to impresses sponsors, local
kids, and other pro skaters and hope that they will notice you, so you can go
from the bottom to the top. The only way to do this is by complete complex
tricks, tasks, and various missions. Can you get sponsored and become a pro
skater, only time will tell!

Other than story mode, there are a lot of other things players can do in the
game to occupy their time. Players can choose to do a free skate or high score.
High school is like a vintage to Tony Hawk 1-3, because this is a two-minute
session to see the highest score a player can do in a certain level. Free skate
is a relaxing way for players to get to look around in the city and avoid all of
the missions.

There are two kinds of multiplayer in this game, two-player and online. In
two-player, gamers have the following options to choose from: Trick Attack,
Score Challenge, Graffiti, HORSE, King of the Hill, Combo Mambo, Slap, Free
skate, and Firefight. In Trick Attack skaters see who can execute the
best tricks and obtain the most points. Score Challenge is similar to
Trick Attack except the match ends when the first player gets the targeted
score. Graffiti is where you “tag” a landmark by doing a trick off of
it; for your opponent to steal it, they will have to do a better trick in that
same place. HORSE (two player only mode) is where skaters do a trick
and the next player tries to surpass it. Combo Mambo is where players
who do the biggest combo in one setting wins. Free Skate is where
players can just hang out and skate without any time limit imposing upon them.
In King of the Hill skaters race to the crown and see who can hold on
to it the longest. Slap is where skaters score points by knocking other
players down.

Firefight is a new multiplayer mode for Tony Hawk series. In this mode
players shoot fireballs from their skateboards, and the higher the combos the
more fireballs players can shoot out of their skateboards. The object is for
players to hit the other gamers with the fireballs. This is one of the most
addicting game modes I have played in this series in a long time.

If you have the Network Adapter, you can play all of the previously mentioned
games (except HORSE) and these: Goal Attack and Capture the Flag. In Goal
Attack
mode players can play Store Mode or player created goals. The object
is to see who can finish all of the goals first. Capture the Flag is
where players try to capture the opponent’s flag and bring it back to their base
before their flag is stolen.

A big theme in Tony Hawk’s Underground is total customization. Players can
customize everything in the game more than all of the previous Tony Hawk games
combined. Everything is expounded a hundred fold: from create-a-skater to
create-a-park mode, it is simply amazing!

Create-a-skater has more options than ever. Players can almost recreate a
digital copy of themselves to play as through out the entire game. They can ad
tattoos, eyes, skin textures, shoes, almost anything that you can think of is
found to create the perfect digital “you”. The Playstation 2 version offers a
feature that is not found in other games in create-a-skater mode. It allows
players to take a picture of their face, send it to a special email address.
After several minutes pass by, you will receive a password. Then you go online
with your Playstation 2 and download the face scan via the interface. After it
is downloaded you paste the face on the skater and then try to make the skin
tone of the body match the face. This is a revolutionary feature that is in this
game, as it truly makes the players feel like they are the skater in the game.

Create-a-park is one of the most advanced level editors I have seen in a
skateboarding game. Like previous create-a-park modes, players can make
everything, from grinds to half pipes. They can set the time of day sax players
allowed in the park and many other things that gives total control to the
players.

Have you ever thought that you can make better goals than the guys at Neversoft,
well now is your chance to put your skills to the test, because players can now
create specific goals. This can be from creating the classic “SKATE” letters to
high score and many other things that allow players imaginations to run wild.

If that wasn’t enough players can now create and edit their own tricks. It is
little things like this that make this game such a classic. In this mode players
determine how long the trick will be, the specific animations the character will
do, and the things the trick involves. After they are done with the creating
process players can name their trick. You can now make all your friends envious
of you when you create the ultimate trick.

Each Tony Hawk game offers something new that expands the gameplay ten hold.
Tony Hawk 2 introduced the “manual”, which allowed more combos to be strung
together for an ultimate high score. Tony Hawk 3 expanded the game by adding the
“revert,” which is a 180-degree spin that is performed after coming down a vert
ramp or a lip trick. This trick allows players to string together more combos to
acquire an insane score. Tony Hawk 4 added the spine transfer, which allowed
players to transfer over a spin. Tony Hawk’s Underground’s biggest addition is
the ability to hop off your skateboard and walk around, jump, and climb
buildings.

Switching to walking mode is extremely easy, all players have to do is tap the
L1 and R1 buttons at the same time. Also in this mode, players can climb and
hand off buildings. This allows players to get into places they normally would
not be able to get to while they are on their skateboards. Unfortunately the
controls for the walking mode are not as smooth as the rest of this game. The
characters move really clunky and awkward; it is a shame that this mode is not
as refined as the skating mode.
Besides walking, players can get in cars and drive them around. The car control
is not as refined as Grand Turismo, but the missions that you can drive them in
are fun. At times players will have to get a car to over heat and ditch it in
the bay, or drive a leaf blower around. While it is not as refined as the
skateboarding, this offers a nice diversion to the main game and helps prevent
any repetitiveness.

Tony Hawk’s Underground is rated T for Teen. It requires up to 110kb on your
memory card for game saves. To play online you must have the Network card and
broadband or dialup. It also is compatible with AOL Dial-Up.

Gameplay: 9.5
The Tony Hawk series has always had exceptional controls, which is why it is
so acclaimed. Beginners can pick up the controller and start playing like a
veteran in an hour. The game allows players to move the camera to any position
and adjust the controls that they feel most comfortable with. It is little
things like this that make this series such a delight to play.

The storyline for the game is really unique and gives the game a whole new
flavor. I really like that Neversoft had the guts to try something this radical
and ditch the formula that they know works so well. The only bad thing is the
controls for the walking segments are as refined as the skating parts, but they
are easily manageable, and you will not spend that much time walking around.

Graphics: 9.0
The level of detail in Tony Hawk’s Underground is simply astonishing, nearly
flawless from the character models to the varied levels. Players can have
myriads of tattoos, different faces, clothes, and even skateboards. The level of
detail Neversoft put into each stage is astonishing, with great use of textures
so no two levels look the same. Each level contains numerous pedestrians and
other obstacles to avoid, making the game even more challenging.

There are also a lot of new animations added in this game. The biggest
animation addition is more bails. They are better and funnier than in previous
games. If a skater bails, his board can break and they can kick it, the
skateboard can zoom off in the distance, or they can take longer to get up
moaning and groaning about how hurt they are. All of this makes the game feel
much more realistic and brings this genre closer to home.

Sound: 9.6
I was extremely surprised when I found out that there are over 70 songs in
this game. Each year Neversoft crams more and more songs in their games, and it
is amazing! The sound effects are also top notch. During the course of the game
players will hear bone crashing, board snapping, and skater groaning. As in real
life, when skating on different surfaces different sounds are heard. When
skaters pass pedestrians, they will comment and critique how they have been
skating. All this can be heard through Dolby Digital Pro Logic II and it sounds
great!

Difficulty: Medium
There are a few different difficulty modes found in this game, and they
range from very easy to extremely hard. The difference between these difficulty
levels is the goals that are in the game. For example one goal might be to get a
high score: under easy the points might be 50,000 while under sick mode it might
be 500,000. Bottom line: Tony Hawk’s Underground suits players of all skill
levels and players will enjoy it regardless.

Concept: 9.3
I love the fact that Neversoft decided to take a new direction for their
latest game. This is not a revolutionary step in the series, but it is an
evolutionary one, and shows that Neversoft is not afraid to try new things. It
is great to see a developer try something completely new, and succeed in doing
so. Besides the new premise of the game, the addition of walking and driving
cars is pretty neat as well. Great job Neversoft!

Multiplayer: 9.3
Each year Neversoft adds new multiplayer games in, and this year they have
outdone themselves with the Firefight mode. This is one of the most addicting
multiplayer games I have played in a long time, and it is even better when you
play it online against eight different people. The online portion is also very
good, and I never ran into lag once.

Overall: 9.5
Tony Hawk’s Underground is one of the best skating games around. Anyone who
is a fan of this genre owes it to themselves to pick up this excellent game. If
that wasn’t enough there is a playable demo of MTX Mototrax located within this
game. This is one game that no one should be left without this holiday season!