Tony Hawk's Underground

"Neversoft's 2nd classic."

The Tony Hawk series has mostly always been an average one, in my opinion. 1, I hadn't played until after 3, and 2 I didn't like how it was so unadvanced. Then I got 3 for my Gamecube last christmas. I loved it, I obsessed over it. Following it, I rented THPS 4, and I hated it. I expected so much more, and I didn't like the hardness. However... THUG (God... I hate that name...) has changed that, with the difficulty settings.

Graphics: Everything looks very realistic, and it is obvious that the faces are the most detailed parts of the bodies. The levels all look great, and the menus are easy to navigate. There is no problem with the graphics, except for a little minor problems here and there, like the animals.
9/10

Sound: No song really stuck out to me, unlike THPS3, were every song was a classic. The majority of the songs on THUG were either hip-hop, or just something boring. The music was like background music, not music you rock to. Same with the sound effects. None really stuck out, but that's ok, seeing as how a game like this doesn't live on sound effects. However, that is not to say that the voice acting in the cutscenes sucks too. Quite the opposite, the voice acting in cutscenes is excellent, with the exception of your characters voice, if he's a guy. You can choose to be male or female, and as I haven't heard her voice, I won't say anything, but I will say that the guys voice is plain, and pretty boring. You only pay attention to him cause its you.
8/10

Gameplay: Here's where it shines. The tricks are all easy to pull off, and huge combos are easier then ever to pull off, thanks to the new running system. After doing a trick, as your coming down, or in the middle of a manual, you can jump off your board with a simple tap of Z. A timer appears, you have to get back on before it runs out, or the combos over. A simple concept, which leads to the best combos ever seen in a Tony Hawk game. There are... however, some annoying objectives, that I had to redo at least 20 times.
9/10

Story: Oh, what's this? A story in a Tony Hawk game? Is this a first for Neversoft? To make a completely new story? Well, if their stories are this good, I don't want them to stop! This game has so many plot twists, and they don't seemed forced (see Metal Gear Solid 2). They all slide into place. You start to hate some people, and have respect for others. It's all good. The story kept going faster and faster, it never slowed down. It may start slow, but ends up great.
10/10

PSOCecil's overall score: 9/10 (Not an average)
Rent? Buy? Burn?: I rented it and beat it, but I played it obsessively, at least 3 or 4 hours a day, at least. If you play that much, rent. If you don't, buy. But remember, it took me 5 days to beat it with one character on one difficulty setting. It may take you more (or less) time.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/17/03