"Activision will ride the lightning ."

A demo version for the PC can be found at : www.Downloads.Com . Run a search for it .

The first Tony Hawk game broke the ice in play control , re playability , and overall fun . However with great power comes great responsibility .

Neversoft CEO : Hahaha , they loved the first one , they will surely buy it again !

There are a few new features , like Create a Skater . CAS is very fun , except it's extremely slow when selecting clothes , etc . You must also buy tricks , which is a big minus . The Create a park is also new , and also has it's downsides . It's hard to place pieces , you are extremely limited , and you absolutely M U S T put gaps for last , as they stick a huge green thing in your way . However , it is still fairly fun , regardless of the tiny space you get . The control is almost the same , but it isn't exact , it's a little worse due to a few button changes . Now you can not do Nollies the old fashioned way , you use the R or L button . They've renamed half the tricks , threw out many of my favorite tricks ( Or just renamed them so I don't know what they are . ) , and stuck in manuals ( which , as a skater , I do not consider a real trick ) . A manual is like a wheelie . The levels are open and nice , but look like they were designed with random insanity in mind . For instance , there are kicker gaps in the middle of the streets , the ''subway'' train TURNS ON A DIME , and you are not going to get hit just once if a cabbie falls upon you , you're in for a trip . With all of the bad points , this game does have good ones , like Create a skater and the new levels . One more new thing : Cash . I don't like the way they've changed the whole idea of the game . I think the tapes were much better . As with the first one , the soundtrack has been trapped under ice as opposed to the PSX version . Luckily , I had bought Metallica's ''Ride The Lightning'' album at Wal - Mart , so I didn't have to suffer through much of the music . Now on to the 'ancy review style .

Graphics 7/10
The graphics are a stair gap down from THPS 1 . Most everything is blurry except the levels and skaters .

Sound / ''Music'' 5/10
The sound is very realistic , such as when you skate on concrete it sounds different than plywood , and the grinds are also very good . The sound gets a 4/5 . The music , on the contrary is very low class 90's rap and such which is horrible . Even the first game had better music . Go get a real CD ( One with more than 4 tracks ) .

Graphics 6/10
The graphics are like trucks that have been used to grind one too many sharp , jagged rails . The crystal steel of the first tony hawk game has been eroded into a garbled mess of color .

Re playability 8/10
THPS games have high re playability , they're just plain fun . This one is no exception . I played for 2+ hours when I first got it .

Extras (2) 6/10
There are two extra features , the editors . The create a skater is fun , though slow . The park editor lacks way behind in pieces and ease of use . They function anyway .

Control 7/10
Here's a hint - never buy a shark pad pro . It malfunctions and always goes to the left . The first one had much better control , and it used the C-buttons . The new button system alienated me and my friends from new players .

Overall 7/10
While this game can definitely be fun , you should absolutely , positively NOT buy this game ! Go ahead and rent it , but you won't enjoy it before the new things get to you .

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 08/31/01, Updated 08/31/01