Tony Hawk's Underground

"Take a day off work...THUG has arrived"

To be honest, I truly didn't know what to expect when I popped THUG into the PS2. After so many different installments with different twists and add-ons to keep Hawk fans satisfied, I had to ask myself, ''What else can they do!'' Apparently a lot more. Way More.

THUG expands on the Tony Hawk gaming experience by continuin to push the envelope in creativity. Honestly, I'm totally amazed on how they keep producing fresh material sequel after sequel.

NEW FEATURES

Where to begin? Well, the obvious revamping of the Story mode is a great place to start. You are no longer choosing a pro and going through goals that have no meaning whatsoever. Instead, you create a character using the fairly in-depth Create-A-Skater mode, and start from bottom of the ladder as an aspiring skater from the streets of New Jersey. YOu take on several challenges, meeting with friends and rivals alike as you fight to become pro. The Goals are slightly altered as well. There is no more collecting S-K-A-T-E or C-O-M-B-O. Instead, most goals tend to push the story ahead a little more.

There is also the innovative feature of face mapping. Although I have not tried it on my PS2 since I have no internet connection for PS2 (AAARRRGGGHH!!!!!!) I have seen it in action at a friends. It prety unreal to see the person sitting next to you in a video game. Try it.

Remember the Create-A-Park in THPS3 & 4? That's just the beginning of an entire new aspect of THUG. Now, you are able to Create-A-Deck, Create-A-Trick, and Create-A-Goal. To create a deck, you are given a substantial amount of designs, pictures and text in order to create the board of your preference. Create-A-Trick is pretty unreal too. It's similar to a music editor. You are allowed to take any trick from the game, and layer tricks over each other, change the speed of it and make your own unique maneuver.

There are also many new tricks to add to you arsenal, such as the Wall Plant, Caveman, and the Wall Push, all which are fairly easy to execute. OH yeah, if you've heard nothing of thtis game, you can step of your board at any time. You can walk wherever you please, and go to places that are unreachable on land. This is my only gripe with the game. The control for the skater when walking is very shaky. The character runs too fast to be controlled smoothly. It is also hard to walk on ledges, since the skater's movement's are very jerky. This also applies to the driving sections of the game. Although this sounds appealing, don't let it fool you. The novelty will wear off after a few goals involving the car. All cars handle like a go-cart. If your doing mission, get the car goals over with.

There are also 2 new skaters, Paul Rodriguez and Arto Saari.

GRAPHICS 9/10

Overall the graphics are very sharp. I have not seen a moment in gameplay where there was any slowdown whatsoever. The character models are very lifelike, and there is actually good lip-synching during the cut-scenes. There are a few rough edges when it comes to car models and far distances, but this doesn't hamper gameplay that much

SOUND 10/10

I've been waiting to say this for a while...A skating game with truly realistic rail sounds. I guarentee you this-not one rail sounds the same. As you increase speed, especially on handrails, you can hear the change in the sound. Great attention to detail. All other sounds do not disappoint, and the soundtrack is outstanding. The best variety of all Tony Hawk Games. THUG includes tracks from Queens of the Stone Age, Jurassic 5, KISS, The Transplants, and more.

Gameplay - 10/10

Without a doubt the most stellar in the series. With the many new tricks, abilities, goals, and depth of the story mode, you will be hopelessly addicted until you 100% the game. The controls are as fluid as ever, besting the XBox and GameCube version by far. The ability to walk off your board and drive cars wasn't perfectly executed, but it does add a new dimension to the game. There is so much to do that you will never get bored. 27 chapters of story mode, online play, create-a board, goal, skater, park and you get to put your own face in? If they come up with something new next year that tops this, ill be amazed.

OVERALL 10/10

If you have ever played a skating game in your life, buy this game now. Right. Now. Do not hesitate. If you're a skateboarder yourself, you will be in the ride of your life. Hands down the best game in the Tony Hawk series, hands down the best skating game ever. That is, until the NEXT installment comes out.

*NOTE If you have beaten THPS4, play the Story mode on SICK mode. Trust me. The scores in normal mode of THUG don't go as high as its predecessor.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/12/03