Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3

"The Hawk is back!"

The day of me writing this is Halloween 2001. I just got the game today and after spending some extensive time with it, I have to say that Tony's back and better than ever. Levels are brilliant, Music's great, Gameplay has been improved, and the graphics have also been improved.
Here's the breakdown of this über-game.

Control: 9.5/10
The control is pretty tight, but I do have some gripes with it. Sometimes it will not recognize when you put in a few button presses for specials. It does get annoying after a while. The Revert controls could have been a little tighter, as I have pushed R2/L2 on time but don't get credit for the Revert. A minor gripe, but an important one because Reverts can help you chain more tricks together, thus giving you a higher score. The idea of trick combos is new, and thus should be commended. (Press <- square, square during an oliie.) Though some of them are a tad random.

Music: 9/10
The music as always fits the game. (How do they keep doing this? 3 games and they nail the right music. How is it possible!?) Many bands and artists liscensed their music for the game. There are even more tracks in this game than #2. Almost all of them are more of the ''heavy'' tracks. No more of the lighter tracks like ''Cyclone'' from #2. Good mix, but needs a little more work.

Gameplay: 10/10
Gameplay is good, borrowing heavily from THPS 2. There are differences though.
Difference 1- Revert. This little trick allows you to gain some bonus points for going vert. Follow it into a manual, and you can get some major pointage.
Difference 2- Trick Combos. You can tap the buttons in different combos for more points in a trick. (Aforementioned combo will nail a Double Kickflip.)
Difference 3- No cash. There is no more cash to collect. Instead goals are laid out that allow you to access the new levels. They range from grinding over something, collecting S-K-A-T-E, performing a task 5 times, doing a trick over a gap, finding the tape, or racking up points. The points to raise your stats are spread throughout the level, as well as decks.(Like bonuses) If you get all bonuses you also get another special trick slot.
Difference 4- Editing Stats. You can now edit your stats for different levels. Though you have limited points that are increased as you find the points during your game.

Those are the main differences.

Replay Value- 10/10
Plenty o' replay value here now that they've included LAN and 'net play.

In other words, BUY THIS GAME!!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/01, Updated 11/01/01