Tony Hawk's Underground

"THUG will not leave bloody and wishing you had your money back!"

When I first saw the commercial for THUG (Tony Hawk's Underground obviously ^_^) It blew me away! This game gets you hooked and its hard to put the controller down. This is the best Tony Hawk game for any platform EVER in my opinion. Neversoft made a Gem when they created this excellent game.

Game play- 10/10

This game plays a lot like every other Tony Hawk, but there are a few new features such as On foot mode where you actually jump off your board and hit the streets, jump from rooftops, climb ladders, and even climb onto power lines. Also there is more of a GTA aspect because you can Actually jump into cars and ride around doing certain mission, but it seems out of place especially in a Skateboarding game.

Also the game does not directly involve the pro skaters like in the past Tony Hawk games. You are yourself (Or whoever you create your character to be). The Create-A-Skater is very well done. You can make yourself a Pirate to a British police officer it gives you a very deep level of customization and instead of buying your skills with skater bucks you have to perform certain tasks to get your skills bumped up.

Story- 10/10

As I said before you are yourself skating in Nowheresville, New Jersey. You and your buddy are both talented skaters and you are trying to make it to the pro circuit. Many pro skaters show up to help you along your way and teach you your specials. This new story mode tops the modes of the past and gives you a...Well not accurate representation of a person trying to hit it big in pro skating, but its fun anyway! Also the tasks seem a little more relevant than they have in the past which is a nice new feature. Also new to the Tony Hawk world are cut scenes which show interaction between your character and top skate pros to Russian Army men. This gives the game once again a new and better feel.

Graphics- 10/10

This game looks spectacular on the Gamecube. Although your Create-A-Skater faces don't look that great the pros faces are done beautifully. The NPCs even have an individual look to them which adds to the reality of the game. This game was done great.

Controls- 10/10

What can I say I like Tony Hawk with the Gamecube controller better than the PS2 Controller. Very good control layout out, but sometimes you might want to use the tiny directional pad and for a lot of us its very hard to use accurately. Although there is no problem using the control stick.

Sound & Music- 10/10

Its a Tony Hawk game of course there is going to be a great soundtrack to it. Very versatile from KISS to J5 you get your fill of Rock, Punk, and Hip Hop. The sound effects are just the same old oophs and ows and sometimes your skater might complain about a hurt knee or ankle and you can't help but laugh at their misfortune. Characters talk in this game and its sounds very nice not choppy like some other games...For people who are to lazy to read subtitles this is a very, very, very, very nice feature to this game.

Play time/Replayability- 10/10

There are lots of movies to unlock and lots of gaps to hit in THUG to complete the game 100%. There are also different difficulty settings so THUG will keep you busy overall. My first time I played THUG it was on the second to easiest setting and it took me a good 10-12 hours to finish with some difficulty and I'm not even close to finding all the gaps in it. What's Tony Hawk with out a multiplayer? Well its a good game, but its not as good! There are pretty much the same Multiplayer games found in the last Tony Hawk, but there is a new addition where you launch fire balls out the bottom of your board at your friends which is weird, but enjoyable!

Final score- 10/10

Final Recommendation-

BUY THIS GAME! You'll get the full Tony Hawk experience sure its a good rental, but you won't be disappointed with this game. Its a guaranteed good time for all!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/11/03