Tony Hawk's Underground

"When I was just thinking that it couldn't get any better..."

Introduction
The brainchild of the Activision and Neversoft teams, the latest installment of the ever popular Tony Hawk games is as fun as the rest but better. Tony Hawk 1 was a good start, flip-grind-flip combos looked awesome. Tony Hawk 2 was a great game especially with those manuals in - huge combo lines reaching 1 million were born here. Tony Hawk 3 was a massive leap forward, those tricks looked so much sweeter than the PS One versions. Tony Hawk 4 was a blast, lots of new stuff added like skitching cars and spine transfers. Oh how those scores increased. Now we have Tony Hawk's Underground - a massive leap forward in the series with all new story mode and create-a-trick opens up a whole new level in skateboarding - all that without once bruising yourself. Good stuff. But just DON'T grind electrical wires outside your bedroom unless you have enough balance!! Or your face could end up on the ground or, even worse, next-door-neighbor's barbwire. Ouch.

Gameplay 9/10
Sure it may be a little easy but this is still top class. This is really fun stuff, even on your millionth play through. The controls, you will NEVER find slicker controls for a skateboarding game in the world EVER. The special tricks are easy to pull off yet rewarding. Easy controls mean ridiculously high combos made real easy with a lot of practice. You'll be scoring 10 million in no time. But if you bail, keep practicing. This is where the fun really is for most people. The only bad thing is apart from the hardest difficulty level, the game is really easy after a couple of completed games. But you might not notice.

Story 8/10
The first story in the series. And what a cracker it is too. The story includes you and an in-game friend skating across America and a few other places to become world pros. You get sponsored by real companies in the story (Birdhouse, Vans etc.) so the touch of realism is applied here. And you have to use a customized character to play it so you really feel involved - a first. With options to create a deck and put your face onto the game this is a blast. Except that it's so fun it's all over too quickly.
But just imagine the scenes had Final Fantasy X movie graphics...

Graphics/Sound 10/10
Well this is the PS2 isn't it? An awesome soundtrack from punk, rock, metal, and hip-hop artists make sure that you won't rip out the TV speakers. The sound is very realistic, just as you'd expect. The graphics are excellent although the car graphics could be a little sharper. They look a little bit blocky. But that doesn't matter. Impressive building detail and trick graphics more than compensate for that. Just wait until you pull off the Indy 900. You'll see what I mean.

Playtime/Replay Value 9/10
The story is a little too quick for most people but it is playable over and over again so it'll be a long time until you get tired of it. That is, if you ever get tired of it. And if you do and think ''that's it'', wrong! The create goals option is an absolute Godsend. This option allows you to write and create your own story, up to 130 goals. This is more than the normal story alone. And the actual goals you create are, while a bit limited, can create endless possibilities of play through. It does lack some types of goal, although what you've got can be the next Tony Hawk game. It does take a very very long time however, typing up the speech text and end message, use a PS2 keyboard for that. Well, at least it'll last longer than the normal one.
The classic create a park option returns with all new pieces and an awesome rail tool which allows you to place rails anywhere you want. This, when used in conjunction with other pieces, can create killer gaps worth 20,000 points but only can be put 700 points up. Making your gaps look weak to some extent. But you can also place goals in the parks to give it that extra oomph.

Altogether, the replay value will definitely last you until the next Tony Hawk game, or even your entire life. Just don't end it early by head planting from a 50 ft drop off the overhead wires.

Final Recommendation
Rent, buy, sell or trash? With the above information in mind there's one clear choice. Buy it and keep it all your life. I guarantee that you won't get tired of this game. Definitely one game to recommend to the world. And if you're still not convinced after this review...well...It is a game that whoever doesn't like it - or doesn't like skateboarding for that matter - should sell their PS2. Seriously.

Overall Score: 10/10
If this is pure class, just you wait until the next game.
You'll be in your bedroom all your life. I promise you.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/21/04