Tony Hawk's Pro Skater

"Experience The Trill Of Skateboarding Without Even Leaving The Confines Of Your La-Z-Boy!"

With skateboarding getting more and more popular by the minute, skateboard legend Tony Hawk figured that it would be the right time to come out with a video game based on the sport. First Tony went to the developers of the original skateboarding game, 720. They told him that no one would want to play a skateboarding game (No one wanted to play theirs). Finally, Tony went to Activision, and they agreed to undergo the project. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was released on the Nintendo 64 and the Sony Playstation, and quickly became a bestseller.

Gameplay ~10/10~ Tony Hawk's Pro Skater introduced a new style of gameplay that had never been seen before, and it the standard for all extreme sports games to come. You basically skate around, pulling big tricks off ramps, railings, and other things within a time limit. There is a bunch of famous real life skaters in this game to choose from, such as Bob Burnquist, Bucky Lasek, and of course, Tony Hawk. There’s also a well done multiplayer mode in this game too. The camera control in this game is PERFECT. The camera follows your skater around from behind. When you go off a halfpipe, the camera rotates around to the front of the skater, so you can see your landing. There was a wide variety of tricks that you could try, from different types of grinds to all sorts of aerial stunts. The trick you do and how long you hold them will affect your score. There are many types of tricks to do in this game, ranging from simple kickflips to 900's. In the majority level there are certain challenges you must complete, such as collecting the S-K-A-T-E letters, which you will find scattered throughout most levels. There are also a few skate competition levels, in which the only objective is to do your best so you can win the gold medal. The control for the N64 THPS is a little awkward, which is probably why more people prefer the Playstation version. You use the control stick to move around, although I find using the control pad is far easier. You only use the A and B buttons at menus, but not in the actual game. The C buttons are used to ollie, grind, and perform the tricks. After playing the other Tony Hawks on the Playstation, it takes time to get used to the N64 controller.

Challenge ~10/10~ Out of all the games in the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series, the original for the Nintendo 64 is certainly the most challenging. Of course the challenge is usually due to the lack of tricks, and the strange controller. It's much harder to impress judges at competitions than it is in the second, third, and fourth games in the series. Some of the challenges are mind-numbing as well, especially as you progress through the game. Thankfully, THPS isn't frustratingly hard.

Story ~0/10~ Since this is an extreme sports game, I can see why there isn't a story to it. If you're upset that THPS lacks a storyline, make one up and have fun.

Graphics ~8/10~ All the Tony Hawk games had good graphics, and the first is no exception. Sure, THPS may have horrible graphics when you compare it to the games of today, but back when the game came out they were pretty advanced. The levels, although not very expansive, were detailed to a large degree. The warehouse level looked exactly like an old, abandoned warehouse should: Dark, dirty and dangerous. Not every level was great though, as some were quite plain, notably the San Francisco stage. There was also too much fogging in THPS, but then again, over-fogging seemed to plague every N64 game. The skaters are distinguishable from each other too, but you have to look hard to see the differences. Was it not for all the skaters wearing different clothes, it would be nearly impossible to tell them apart. The last problem with the graphics would have to involve the skateboards themselves, in that they don’t look like actual skateboards of today. They look like boards out of the 70’s or something, like banana boards. They don’t have any of the curves that modern skateboards do.

Sound ~8/10~ The Playstation THPS has a definite edge over the N64 version in this department. The cartridge packaging of the game does not allow for incredible audio qualities. All the songs that are played in the background sound muffled and distorted. There are only a few songs that I can understand in this game, whereas on the Playstation version, I can make out every word the in the songs. Other than the punk rock that is being played in the background, there aren’t very many sounds in this title. There is the sound of an ollie, which sounds realistic (How could they mess up on an ollie sound? It’s just a loud “clack”). You can also hear the grunts of the skater as he or she crashes and tumbles to the ground, as well as the skateboard as it’s rolling up a ramp. That’s about it.

Originality ~10/10~ As I said before, THPS set the standard for extreme sports video games. Gameplay like this had never been seen before the release of this game. THPS may not have been the FIRST skateboard game, but it was definitely the first GOOD one.

Playtime ~9/10~ If you’ve never played a Tony Hawk game before, then you shouldn’t get bored of this anytime soon. After you’ve completed all the challenges with a couple skaters, then the game could start to become a little repetitive. If you’ve played any of the THPS sequels, then this game will get boring quickly.

Replayability ~7/10~After you beat this game once (What I mean by “beat” is to finish the game with every skater, not just with one person), there may not be any real reason to go back to it for a while.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater was the first successful pioneer into the world of extreme sports video games. The game was so unbelievably successful, that it gave way to several sequels for different systems, two of which, can be found on the N64 alongside the original.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/25/03, Updated 06/25/03