Tony Hawk's American Wasteland

"Welcome to the American Wasteland"

Introduction to: Tony Hawk's American Wasteland

This is yet another game from the elusive and legendary Tony Hawk line. There was the 4 of the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skaters, then 2 Tony Hawk's Undergrounds, and now the brand new Tony Hawk's American Wasteland. This game is available in a special edition which adds a few new features as well. Similar to Tony Hawk's Underground 2, this game has a story mode AND a classic mode. This game is rated T for Teen.

Story

You're just moved to Los Angeles and have a very small amount of things. You meet someone named Mindy, and she helps introduce you around to a few people. You also get introduced to the Skate Ranch, a dump of land that you need to fix up to a cool skate park. Using your demolition skills you tear apart the city and use random signs, side walk pieces, sculptures, and whatever else you can find lying around to build you park. Problems occur along the way and you have to travel across L.A. to meet new people who can help you with the police among other people who try to get in your way.

Game play: 10/10

Most of the tricks in THAW are the same as past Tony Hawk games, but some new things were added. For example, the bert slide. This allows you to slide your hand across the ground and swerve back and forth to continue a combo. Another add on is stalls, where you can just stall on a rail instead of grinding. This was created very smoothly so that if you attempt to stall on a slanted rail you will slide until you are out of momentum.

Another big change in game play is the introduction of bikes. That's right, you can now ride BMX in a Tony Hawk game. There is quite a few tricks for the BMX, although not nearly as many as there are for skateboards. There is even custom goals held by BMX stars that appear in the game where you learn new tricks on your bike. There is a bike laying around different areas that you can hop on to at any time you want.

Some more new things are the compass, a small bar at the top of the screen that will help you find things like skate shops, new goals, bikes, by using moving symbols. This is a great add on as one of the problems in THUG 2 was the difficulty to find some people. Another add on is the complete redesign of the levels. Instead of a bunch levels, there is several large levels that are connected by pipes and big hallways. You go through these sewage-like pipes and hallway-like structures to get to the next levels, without ever having to break for a load screen.

Everything is still very customizable so you can look however you want to. There is also a few changes in running ability, now you can jump in the air when off your board and do a flip or run up walls. The wall run makes climbing large buildings much easier when combined with the jump or tuck flips.

Graphics 8/10

The graphics overall are very solid. They look much like the graphics from the more recent past games, with a few improvements here and there. Overall what I'm trying to say is that the graphics for Tony Hawk American Wasteland are in no means ground-breaking technology, but they are solid and clear. There is very few problems/glitches that I've experienced from the graphics.

More specifically, the level design is smooth and realistic. The new system of throwing your board when you get off looks good, the skateboards don't just disappear, they actually interact with the environment. If you get off your board and throw it, it will slide down a hill, bounce off a wall, etc. Just a little thing that adds to the realism. The characters look pretty good, no sharp edges or anything. Overall, solid.

Sound 9/10

One of the major things that I disliked about THUG 2 was the sound track. The sound track for Tony Hawk's American Wasteland is much more diverse and overall just better. There is a lot of everything that the game needs, punk, rock, and hip hop, and no one category is over-enforced. It is easy to control the sound levels from the option menu like always, too.

The in-game sound effects are very good. They also add to the realism of the game. The sounds of cars, talking people on the streets, even the sound of spray paint spraying out of the can all sound very realistic. The bike also has a good sound to it, with the clean squeaks heard when quick stops are made.

The voice acting is also very solid. The voice of Mindy does get a little annoying, in my opinion (voice actor who did Suzie in Rugrats among other cartoons), but overall the voice acting is great. There is only a few problems here and there with missing lines, and the lines being said don't perfectly match up with the lines being subtitled at the bottom of the screen, but for the most part there is no major problems with the sound.

Wrap-up

Overall I think that this game is much improved from THUG 2, as not only were new features added, old problems were fixed. There is few things that I dislike about this game, it is pretty easy compared to past games for example, and for the most part it is an enjoyable game for all gamers, especially Tony Hawk and skateboarding fans.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/10/05