Tony Hawk's Pro Skater

"A must have for any N64 owner, there is no question"

Tony Hawk for the PSX is easily one of the best games the PSX has ever seen and was, for some time, thought to be a PSX exclusive. It has arrived to the N64, finally, and is one hell of a game that I can assure you is a must-have for any N64 owner. This coming from someone who hates skateboarding and wouldn't be caught dead trying to skate. It's great fun, has the deepest gameplay I've ever seen since Goldeneye and reassured myself in videogames It possesses the gameplay that makes videogames so much damn fun and is one of those games where no matter who you are, videogame fan or not, you are sure to enjoy this game.

The graphics are nice, not great, but it doesn't matter in this game. The framerate is a constant 30fps and that's all that matters. Animations are smooth (though the McTwist looks a little too quick at times) and the backgrounds on some of the courses, dare I say it, are goregous. As expected, the sound is lacking but what Edge of Reality had to work with (a crappy cart) they sure did a damn good job. Almost all the PSX songs are in the game with most having lyrics and some w/o. Whatever the case, the game does in fact sound good and props must be given to EofR for doin' this good of a job with the music.

Control is a b*tch at first, let's not lie about it. It's tough goin' from the PSX controller to the N64 controller and using the C-buttons for tricks. Sounds crazy, but after 3-4 days of practicing moves and playin' hours on end, I've gotten good with the C-buttons and you'll be over it. You can configure the tricks to any of the C-buttons, but the 'A' and 'B' button aren't used at all. You'll understand why after playing. Practicing for hours will allow you to feel more comfortable on pulling off, for instance, a Backside Grind+Impossible+Frontside Grind. At first you'll never think you'll be able to do it, but you will. I am not that good at games, so this shouldn't be too tough.

The gameplay makes this game what it is. The courses are too good to be true, with open cities, indoor pipes and schoolyards where anything and everything is a grind opportunity or a sick jump. I can't, and don't want to, go into exactly why this game is so amazing, because it'd take hours to describe my favorite aspects of each level. It's just when you think you've seen it all in a level, you hit a huge jump which takes you to the top of a building above a city where you proceed to jump from building to building racking up amazing points. And that's where the game also is interesting: the point system. Without me boring you and saying something wrong, just check out Blitzkreig's FAQ (http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/file/pro_skater_c.txt) on this site for info on the point system. It's the same system as the PSX version and is the most ingenious thing, I think, ever found in a game.

So let's recap: this game is amazing, a must have and basically made me feel that there still are companies out there being intuitive, unique and putting gameplay and control ahead of everything. You have to play it to believe it, see it to believe the incredible courses and just control is to know why I am obsessed with this game. In my honest opinion, this is the only 'good game' to come out for the N64 since Goldeneye. Gameplay makes a game, and this game kills almost every N64 game before it...yeah, even Zelda and JFG. BUY it and you won't b*tch about that comment. And so you know, the reason this game is a 9/10 is because there is a learning curve...and isn't that usually a sign of a good game?

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/19/00, Updated 03/19/00