Tony Hawk's Pro Skater

"Evergreen"

Overview

Although not necessarily the first attempt at capturing the hard-driving spirit of alternative sports, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was one of the more perseverant "founding fathers," standing tall over a handful of half-failures with mixed reviews like 2 Xtreme (PSX) and 1080 Snowboarding (N64). It can also be credited as a launching pad to contemporary alt-sports games, giving the entire concept of free-environment maneuvering and tricking a competitive spirit that serves as a foundation for most non-league titles.

From the fractured opening riffs of the Activision logo (music courtesy of the Dead Kennedys), it's apparent that this enthusiastic joyride will be one to remember.

Gameplay

Now a system staple, the player is given the reins on a handful of professional skaters, from the masterful Tony Hawk to the inventive Geoff Rowley. Each comes with an unique look for skating around, and each has special air and grind tricks they can do. Unlike later installments, the special moves here are not able to be bought (THPS2) and are not fully customizable (THPS3), but that issue only mars in retrospect -- as it was then, before personalization became a hot topic, this was fully sufficient for getting around.

Each level comes with goals to accomplish, with ever-present ones like collecting the floating letters of "SKATE" around the level or smashing/grinding a collective thing, such as the School's tables or the Warehouse's boxes. Practicing one's skills to reach high scores and fulfilling a set number of the mini-missions allows the user to advance to new areas. They leave their mark in the new environments by repeating the same steps to advance, which needs to be done before taking on the tournaments.

Held in dingy indoor skate parks and downhill slideaways, these gatherings seem low-key, as if it was entirely illegal and the cops are only moments away. Your skater does his/her run, with large combos and special tricks breezing the contestant to the top of the rankings (against CPU players); bailing and easy tricks bogging him/her down in the standings. By earning a medal, the player advances towards the next areas, and so on.

While each characters' skills are varied a bit, the combinations to do them stay the same. Coupled with fluid control schemes and a simple-yet-intelligent way of progression, one doesn't stay a complete novice for very long. The fact that the game lacks a story is covered up easily with the interesting modes of play (see: Extras) and two-player modes, making one think that the game might actually be worse with extraneous character development.

Graphics & Music

Top-notch! Polygonal character models looks like actual people and not deformed freaks in clothes, and when performing tricks, it's easy to distinguish from one another. Animations as smooth as babies' bottoms segue in harmony with the setting (of which there is sometimes moving objects), and it really pushes the limits of the 64 cartridge. There is no short-changing going on here, and that makes the pricetag pull its weight.

The music is an invigorating mess of skater and punk tunes, from the already-mentioned "Police Truck" by the Dead Kennedys to Primus' technical "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver". Anthemic tunes are pulled from all eras to give diversity, and while the eleven songs may not be strong as some people would like, they portray the head rush of skating with forcefulness.

Extras

Chock full of fun, the extras deliver the goods with finesse. Though only the first game in the now-established series, the design team didn't shoot their foot(s) or aim too low when thinking up diversions from career play. Trick Attack is a two-player romp, with each player trying to trump the other player's score; Graffiti works like tag, with each successful trick off a piece of the environment turning the section a skater's color. The more pieces colorized, the higher the chance of winning. Of course, higher-scoring tricks can change the colors, so it's not completely a free-for-all. The game of "HORSE" has also made the transition from hoops to halfpipes. Each player preforms a (1) trick in a run and the other player has to top it. Failure gains them a letter, and it continues until one person's knocked out.

There are also two unlockable characters with skills of their own, and that always adds a bit of refreshment into a game one's beaten over the years. The extras -- especially the two-player modes -- are as important as the Career mode itself, as they incorporate more players into the mix.

Pros / Cons

+ Roam the expanses!
+ Energetic soundtrack
+ Character models belie the time spent on the game
+ Can skate hands-free or play in one of the many modes
+ The game is without a doubt the "Father of Skateboarding"

- Can't switch tricks around
- Controls may be "hard" to learn after playing the PSX version
- Factory-sealed pricetag is still high, no doubt ($50+)

The Verdict™: A progenitor that kickstarted/popularized a trend that's actually worth playing!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/25/06