Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3

""Fly like an eagle" will now be known as "Fly like a hawk""

When I first got my hands on Tony Hawk 3, boy was I excited! I loved THPS1 and 2...and then I popped the game in, and the amazement hasn't stopped since.

I created myself into the game, using the game's immense create-a-skater option, which definitely adds a lot of replay value to the already awesome game. I got through career mode, and I've been just chillin' in the streets!

Graphics: 9/10

Sharp, always sharp. Nothing really ''spectacular'', but hey, it looks good! And the blood is a lot more realistic than that stupid cartoon blood in the past games. Each character is fluid with detail and really good-looking.

Sound: 7/10

What's this??! THPS3 has a really crazy soundtrack!! I've heard about...2 of the songs on there, and they're not even famous ones. Goodness, the music got so bad I had to turn half of the songs off! But what's left is a lot of cool punk and rock stuff. But geez, Dave Mirra 2 had better music than this! Where's the Sum 41? The Godsmack? System of a Down?! You won't find it in the game, that's for sure. Other than some slightly sucky music tracks, the music isn't half bad. Oh wait, yes, half of the music IS bad, I forgot.

Controls: 9/10

Controls are solid, as always. Switching from a Casper to a Nosegrind to a 360 varial has never been easier. And while the arrows can be quite difficult to all press, it's still very easy to pull of big ones such as the 900 or a Misty Flip. Manualing is easy, and being able to balance is a lot easier now, for some reason. Great, as usual.

Difficulty: 9/10

My goodness, is this game difficult!!! If you want a game you can just whiz through, think again! Of course, it's quite easy to just blast through career mode just barely making it through to unlock the 8 main levels. But if you want to unlock all the secret levels and characters, finish all the levels, get all the decks, etc., you'll be spending a lot of time on this game. Trust me, a lot. You'll need lots of practice-and patience-to master this game. Plus it would help if you didn't crash just about every single move. It's a doozy.

Fun Factor: 7/10

It's hard, yet fun. But there are some things that it lacks. For one, the levels are quite small. Take a look at Dave Mirra 2's levels, and they make Tony Hawk 3's levels look like a dollhouse!! Sure, the places look real, and look big, but when you've been skating around in them, they seem quite small. The difficulty of this game also takes away from the fun. It's literally insane at some times (you know, teeth-gnashing, throwing-the-controller type stuff). But still, the Create a Skater option is fun. I don't even bother with the Create a Park, since it takes so long, and in the end your park looks like a junkyard. Just stick with the regular levels.

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Now, I don't want this to sound like THPS3 is a terrible game, because it's not. THPS3 is the best extreme-sports game to come for a while, even better than SSX (although that's not saying much). If you have a PS2, buy this game. If you love Tony Hawk or skate boarding, buy this game. But if you don't like difficult games or games that you can't just sit down and beat it, put your wallet away. Because you'll be spending a lot of time on this game. And trust me. Every second is worth the ride.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/04/01, Updated 11/04/01