Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

"This game will take away your life!"

Tony Hawk is one of the greatest skaters of all time. He also has one of the greatest games of all time. Now he has one of the greatest sequels to a game of all time. Confusing? Ok, let's put it this way. Best game of all time! Anyone agree, raise your hand. Wow, that's what I thought. Alright, time for you to find out why it is the best game of all time.

Gameplay:
This is what separates the game from others such as, let's say, 3Xtreme or Grind Session. These games make you feel like you are playing a game. Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 (THPS2) makes you feel like you ARE Tony Hawk, or one of the other 12 characters (plus secret ones!). When you pull off the finger flip air walk or the Muska nose manual you think ''Wow, I did it!'' or you tell your friend ''Did you see what I just did!'' It's a great feeling that only comes with great games. What's even better is that you can pull off these moves and have these feelings on really well designed courses, such as The School 2 and The Bull Ring. In THPS 1 I generally only liked one or two courses, has in this one I only hate one or two courses. That is great design. Gameplay:10/10

Graphics:
Pretty good. The models look great (even the fabric moves) and the courses look real. Bails are new and sometimes make you squint. Just what you would expect. Graphics:9/10

Audio:
The soundtrack from the first THPS 1 was a great punk/rock CD to listen to. Well, with that said, THPS2 blows the first one away. THPS2 is more of a rock/rap hybrid with Powerman 5000 and Rage Against the Machine leading the way. The music will keep you rocking and probably make you spend more time on Napster, if you know what I mean. The sound effects are standard and nothing really to shout about but they do sound good and real. Audio:9/10

Control:
The control in the game is superb. At anytime you can pull off an indy, kickflip, varial, or any of the new moves such as the boneless, pizza man, or the wicked manual. A manual is done by pressing up-down or down-up, and it lets you link up combos for countless points. Since we are on the subject of combos, let me tell you how easy it is to do and link combos. Let's say you do a 50-50 grind, the grind runs out and you jump. You then land on another grind and start to rack up the points. Then you jump off and follow up with a nose manual, keeping the chain going. Finally you manual up a ramp and pull off a stalefish. All this done easily by flawless controls. Controls:10/10

Replayability:
This game as no equal. First you can go through the game and beat it 100% with Tony Hawk or other pros, unlocking cheats. After not having any social life you beat it 100%, with everyone. Now, go beat it with the a created skater, 100%. After all that (phew) beat it with all your secret characters (read you faq to find out who) and you finally unlock a few secret tracks which have to be seen to believe. Ok, think you are the master? Ha ha, silly human, far ways off. Now, the hardest part of all. Find EVERY gap in the game! Wow! But, If some how you do it or you can't do it, then relax in the skate park editor. From here you movie around 200 pieces trying to make the local park, or the ultimate park. If the guys are over, then plug in another controller and go at it in modes such as graffiti, horse, tag. Tag is the new mode in which you pick a time limit and try to hit each other, trying to make the other guy ''it''. Great idea for replay. Replayability:10/10

Buy/Not Buy
I don't like sports to much, and skateboarding never really caught my eye. But, I know a great game when I see one. Buy this game, or suffer the fate of mediocre games forever!Buy/Not Buy:BUY!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 01/08/01, Updated 01/08/01