Tony Hawk's Underground

"One step up, two steps down"

I know everyone's done their Christmas shopping by now, but I thought I'd sneak all the Tony Hawk games in by December 25th. So here I am, with all the Tony Hawk game reviews submitted but his one. So what am I going to say that'll make you put this on your list? Well, nothing that would have you put this on instead of THPS4, because despite the many additions, upgrades etc, this game is a step down from THPS4. I really hate to say it, but there's a number of faults here I can't look past. Let's take a look at them.

The graphics are good. There isn't really anything I have a problem with here. In Story Mode (I'll discuss that later) the cinematics look great. The board scratches even better than it did in THPS4. The pro's faces look even MORE real. The skateboards look more real. The cars are cool. The level design looks really nice. It's THPS4 with a small upgrade. And because it got upgraded, I can't score it lower than 10. SO that's what it gets. 10/10.

Here is where the faults start. In THPS4, I enjoyed every song on the soundtrack. And while I could argue this is a matter of opinion (the music) if you play a game for a long time you adjust to the music, right? Well have you ever had a problem of not being able to adjust to the music? That's the case here. I couldn't adjust to the Kiss songs, I couldn't adjust to some Punk songs. I actually had to go into the options and turn some songs off, and I NEVER have to do that. And, being a rap fan, I was surprised I had to turn off some rap songs! 'King of the Underground' just doesn't sound good... almost like a Pop song. These songs also don't fit with skateboarding to well, so even after you adjust to these, you'll still think 'Yeah, this song is good, but why put it in this game?'. It just doesn't work. Points for the improved grinding sounds (sounds now vary depending on which kind of rail you grind) and everything else (the effects) is OK. 7/10.

The gameplay, the best part of the Tony Hawk games, simply CAN'T be faulted, right? Wrong. The gameplay here is the worst I've seen in the whole series. I'm not saying it sucks, I'm saying it's the worst. It's still pretty awesome, don't get me wrong. But that part about completing one player mode in around 2 hours brings me down. And the fact that Create a Trick is super simple, and it only allows for Air Trick edits, not grinds or manuals or lips. And the fact that Create a Goal isn't all that 'all out'. And the fact that you can't save separate Create a Deck designs, and that the GBA version has a more powerful Create a Deck (you heard). Oh yeah, and our Gamecube, yet again, isn't online. All those faults are disappointing, and it gets me mad. I can't believe Neversoft could let a fan down like this. Not to say these features are totally useless, just rather big disappointments. It's pretty easy to get over, but still... the faults are there. 8/10.

For once in the Tony Hawk series, you won't much want to go through the one player mode again. You'll go Free skate your butt off and having a huge amount of fun there, but once Story mode is done - it's done. End of story. So, for once in an extreme sport game, I have to dock marks on the replay factor. Sorry Tony, I thought this day wouldn't come. 8/10.

Closing Comments - Many more features (yet close to all are disappointing) super short one played mode and some bad sound don't make a good mix. I own this, but I play THPS4 more than it. I can't bring myself to score this higher than THPS4, and many fans could argue it deserves a 10/10. But (this is directed to the fans) look past the overwhelming aspects and get to the meat of everything, and bring back that initial disappointment - now what mark does it deserve? Exactly.

Verdict - I'm no push over when it comes to scoring, but since I'm feeling rather nice today I'll give this a 9/10. Just kidding, I feel like I always do, but this actually does deserve a 9. Get over the original disappointment (though it's hard to look past) and play this thing through, then try free skate. You'll have a good time. I'd still buy THPS4 or SSX 3 over this, but after those, this should be the next game on your list.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/23/03