"A nearly perfect skateboarding game, but it has it's flaws"

This is nearly the best skateboarding game created to date, but it still has some flaws. If you were a fan of the past Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games, you'll love this one. I've played all the other ones, and say that only one of them can compare to this one. That's right, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4. When I first saw this game, it looked freaking awesome, thought it would play awesome, then I got it and, I was right. So if you like skateboarding or extreme sports games, this is the game for you.

Game Play: 9/10

T.H.U.G's (Tony Hawk's Underground) game play is nearly perfect. First off, the physics look amazing in the game, mostly it looks like what any skater would while skating on the street or in a vert. But, there are also some unrealistic elements too. Such as pulling off a back flip on the skateboard or doing a front flip. The skater's motions look awesome as well, like how they pull off the tricks and bail. All of the grab, kick and grind tricks look very good and well animated, but there still can be some glitches in the game. Mostly the only thing I did not like about the game that was you can drive cars. That totally destroyed part of the game for me. It is useless to drive them, unless you are doing story mode. Like you will be driving it and then want to get out of the car, you will be transported right back to the spot where you found the car. That annoyed me, since I got to places I wanted to go to and I just couldn't get there anyway else. Overall, I would say that the game is very easy to play. Also, you can play against your friends online or just in multiplayer, so it can become harder in those ways.

The control is perfect, without a doubt. If you have played the previous Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games, you will have no trouble moving your way around in the game. There are 2 new control schemes though, getting off your board and driving vehicles. For getting off of your board, just tap R1 + L1 at the same time to get off, then tap X to jump or hold it down to run, and R1 + L1 to get back on your board. For driving cars/vehicles, pressing circle will get you into one. You can then hold X to accelerate, square to break, R1 for the handbrake and triangle to ditch the vehicle. For everything else in the game, the controls are the same as the past games. Another great game play feature is that you can design your own deck! Which is new to the series, but could be improved.

Graphics: 10/10

May I be one of the many to say, this game has superior visuals to many of the games out today. All of the skaters look completely realistic, with no flaws. Even the civilians in the cities look good, though some of them do nothing but stand there. The levels look amazing as well. Every city/place is so detailed, you could probably take awhile to see what is actually there. Out of all the skaters, I would probably have to say Tony Hawk looks the best. Which isn't actually a surprise, since he is the front man for the series and the inspiration of a lot of skateboarding stuff today.

Sound/Music: 10/10

Allow me to say, the best game sounds/music today. For the sounds, each one sounds very realistic. Such as the sounds of the skaters doing a flip trick or a grab, nailing a grind. The voiceovers are pretty good as well. Activision got all of the skateboarders who are featured in the game to record certain points. Also, there are many other voiceovers for the civilians and Eric Sparrow. But one down point is that your custom skater only has 2 voiceovers, one for male and one for female. Which is a shame, since we could have had the opportunity to select different voices to make are characters unique.

The soundtrack is amazing, to say the most. It includes bands such as the Alkaline Trio, In Flames, Bad Religion and Mastodon. Those bands alone helped make the music in the game awesome for me. Something new for the music also came to this game, the option of what type of music you want to list to. It is split into three categories; rock, rap/ hip-hop and punk. Whatever floats in your boat will probably be in store for you and your friends. There is some downfall about the music though, too much rap/hip-hop music for me. Activision could have added more rock, metal and punk songs since the majority of skateboarders and fans probably listen to that style of music.

Story: 7/10

This was another flaw in the game for me. You're just with your buddy Eric Sparrow, trying to get big and become a famous skateboarder that everyone wants to be. The goals can get a bit strange at times (I won't list any though) but it's still good to play through if you want to learn more about doing stuff in the game. Such as learning new tricks, unlocking levels and getting various stuff. This has to be the weakest part of the game for me.

Replayability: 10/10

Tony Hawk's Underground has a high replay value to me. You could spend countless hours while first trying it, then come back for a few more hours and so on. That is what I did, played it for 4 hours, took a break and then played it for a few more hours. This game could never get boring to you, since you will have to unlock all the levels, get all the tapes and get every single gap to fully complete the game. For the replayability, playing online is another story. You can spend quite awhile just trying to beat the other player's scores and times. Another is that there are literally thousands of people to play against, so the challenge never really gets boring to most and myself.

Pros
- Awesome graphics
- Design your own deck
- Online Play

Cons
- Weak story
- Ability to drive cars/vehicles
- Not enough voiceovers for custom skaters

Final Recommendation: 10/10

If you absolutely love skateboarding games or extreme sports games, you will probably want to go pick up this game right away. But if you're just looking for a game to waste a few hours on, I'd suggest that you rent Tony Hawk's Underground. But it still is a good game to add to your collection. Is T.H.U.G worth the $70.00? I would certainly say that it is. So if you would like a good game to play through, I highly advise you to buy Tony Hawk's Underground.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/26/04