"T.H.U.G. - The New Tony Hawk Revolution!"

Neversoft and Activision’s Tony Hawk series has always given gamers something to look forward to, and its latest release, Underground, is no exception. T.H.U.G. is a new revolution to the ever popular genre. In past games you have assumed the roles of pro skaters like Tony Hawk and Jamie Thomas working to accomplish goals such as grinding police cars and earning the letters S-K-A-T-E. This is a game that gives the fans of the series exactly what they have always wanted… to be the actual star of the game.

In T.H.U.G.’s story mode, you start off as a New Jersey skate punk with the dreams of turning pro. Unlike past games, the goals of the story line actually make since. You enter events, shoot footage, and amaze the pros so that you can get a shot in the big times. You can customize your character’s physical attributes to match your own. Neversoft has also introduced the ability to map your own face onto that of your character’s by uploading a picture of yourself at the official Neversoft web site. Neversoft will then email you a password, which you will be able to use to retrieve your face through the games online play, though your picture can not have blotches of light or your face will look distorted. Also introduced in this game, are the abilities to drive cars and to jump on and off your board allowing you to run, climb, and jump your way through nine vast levels.

Creating your own skater is not the only trick up this game’s sleeves. T.H.U.G. also allows players to create their own tricks and boards after unlocking them in the game’s story mode. Players will no longer have to go through the agony of choosing a board once they are able to create their own. Creating a trick takes some time to get used to, because there are variables to the trick that you have to set in order for it to be landed successfully. The more difficult the trick is, the more points a player will receive. Returning again to this game is the ever-popular Create-A-Park mode. With a wider selection of pieces and a larger area, players can “create and skate” in their own skating paradise.

The soundtracks and graphic are nothing to frown upon either. With over 75 songs from names like Kiss, L.A. Symphony, and NOFX, the game offers genres of rock, hip-hop, and punk. The fully rendered 3 dimensional levels add that life like feel to the game. Although sometimes it is hard to tell where your skater’s boundaries are, the levels are larger than previous Tony Hawk titles. The games physics are nice, however, at times are unbelievable…literally. The ability to grind on power lines and drop off three and four story buildings are very imaginative, but take away from the reality of the game. Controlling the game is smooth and easy to learn. Most users will find themselves mastering the controls after the first twenty minutes of the game. However, sometimes players will find their character “tripping up” as they try to perform grinds.

Although the physics can be improbable at times, the game is still eye catching and hard to put down. After mastering all the moves, T.H.U.G.’s online play is a must. Being able to test your power, skills, and resources with others in all nine levels adds to the competitive spirit of the game. The fact that both dial up and broadband users are able to play this game together is holy ground for online gamers, along with the fact that it is free to play.

Playing online is not the only way to have fun with others. The two-player mode offers a wide selection of games to keep players in competition with each other. The latest addition to the multi-player madness is the firefight mode. Players can kick flip fireballs in each other’s direction knocking each other off their boards, depleting the life of that player. The game still has the classic trick attack, graffiti, horse, and king of the hill modes, which are still very popular.

This title is a “must have” if you love the Tony Hawk series, or just enjoy being able to defy the law of physics. If you are not a fan of either of these, then renting the game for a weekend is a good idea. A lot of people like keeping their games in the boundaries of reality, but if you do find yourself addicted this game, it will be hard to resist striving to set high scores over and over again, even after you have beaten the game’s story mode. There are many features that can be unlocked by completing gap lists and goals. With promises of future Tony Hawk titles, one question sets on player’s minds… “Could the Tony Haw series truly get any better?”

Overall Rating: 9 out of 10 Stars

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/28/04