Tony Hawk's Underground

"Best skate game ever?"

When I first heard of THUG I was very excited and it was immediately on my Buy list. This is the first game that has strayed away from the usual Tony Hawk style of game. This time putting YOU as the star of the game. To break this review down im breakin it down into Graphics, Sound, Gameplay, Control and Shelf-life.

Graphics: Well with a new game we expect new graphics and THUG is no different I can say that it has slightly improved models from the previous Tony Hawk 4. I do think the animation is better in this one as there are tons of different ''bail'' animations along with many tricks that were captured via motion capture and they all animate well. The menus are easy to navigate and you can even unlock different looks for them. I'm gonna be nice and give graphics a big 8/10.

Sound: This is where the game really shines above most other game soundtracks. Unlike many games which have generic rock and hip-hop tracks for their games THUG rises above the rest. There are about 40-50 tracks from artist ranging from KISS to big names in Hip-hop like Nas and Jurassic 5. Not a kiss fan? Don't like rap? Well THUG takes this into consideration letting you disable a whole genre of music or just certain songs. Very cool. There are actually many voice overs in the game done by the pro skaters them self.
Most of the voice overs are decently well done although it’s apparent why they are skaters and not actors. As for the Sound effects department we have everything from rail grinds to passing by cars. Overall the sound is great and one of the best features of the game. This is one game you don’t want to play with the sound down. 10/10

Gameplay: The actual game play core is different this time around. For starters you can get on and off your board and work this into your combos. Which is very nice addition to the combo system. Now making it possible to pull Million plus combos for even the newest of players. One feature I find unnecessary is that now you can drive cars. Cars?? Yes, cars. Now I wouldn’t have such a big beef with this if it wasn't for the fact that the levels are too crowded with ramps and rails for a car to be of any use. There are a couple of points in the story where you HAVE to use one to continue on but it’s tolerable enough to get to the better parts of the game. The single player is rearranged as stated before you create a skater from scratch this time round. You then follow their story following them from skate punk to one day pro. The story overall isn’t the work of anything that a 4'th grader could write but it still has enough charm that you can still sit through one sitting at least. Although if you want to unlock everything you will have to play multiple times to get all the game has to offer. Activison has now taken into consideration the younger crowd making 4 difficulty levels ranging from a practice like Too easy mode to the Sick mode for Hawk vets. You still have the ever wonderful free skate mode as well as single run. Two player is also revamped with new additions to games one where you can even shoot fireballs at your opponents. Laugh if you may but it adds a whole new dimension to the Hawk franchise. The game play is great and will have you coming back. I give it a 9/10

Control:As for control the hawk games work surprisingly well with the gamecube controler.Hawk vets should have no trouble jumping in and shredding up. While the controls are still easy enough for newcomers to pick up and play.Not much to say about control so I'll wrap it up and give a solid 8/10.

Shelf Life:This game will be played a long time simply for the reason it has so much replay factor. From taking on your frieinds to getting that new high score. This game keeps you coming back. There are over 300 gaps in the game which will also take you awhile to beat the game 100% Overall id say this game is worthy of a 9/10 for Shelf Life and a 9/10 Overall.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/19/04