Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

"A unique gaming experiance"

I’m sure during the summer time, you all turn on your TV to ESPN (or whatever) and watch the X games. Wouldn’t it be great if you can do all those funky moves you see? Just think about it. However, all those athletes to through intense pain, practicing their moves and readying for competition. Wouldn’t it be great if you could do all the moves without experiencing the pain? Well, unfortunately, that is indeed impossible. However, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 brings you as close as you possible can go within the world of intense gravity sports without ever feeling pain (of course, if you experience pain while playing your PlayStation, that is a whole different story). This very realistic game combines gravity sports with functions from cartoonish racing games such as Crash Team Racing. The result is an ultimate gaming experience one would never forget.

The gameplay handles like the original Tony Hawk Pro Skater. Players can select their own skater and do daring moves on a skateboard. This game offers many modes of play. My personal favorite is the career mode. This is similar to the adventure mode in Crash Team Racing (that is why I mentioned the title in the earlier paragraph). Players will select their skater, and go through an area. This area contains many objectives such as finding the letters to spell the word “skater” or reaching a specific score (there are many objectives in one area. The two I listed are just a small portion of the objectives). When objectives are obtained, money will be earned. Moving on to the next area requires a set amount of money. But the money earned will not be in vain. Money can be spent to raise a skater’s statistics, or it can be used to buy new moves (both purchases will result in boosting your score). Completing all the objectives in all the areas will get you secrets. Another mode I enjoy is the create your own skater mode. This mode will allow you to do as the title suggests. You can create your own skater (really obvious, eh?). You can set the physical appearance of the skater, and the moves and stats he/she has. You can then earn more money and get better stats and more moves. But that mode is not where the customization ends. This game also throws in a create your own park mode. This mode will let you create your own skating park, customizing the ramps and gaps so you can perform the radical moves you always wanted to. You can create huge gaps of spikes and make your park as hard as you possible can! The possibilities are endless. If the pressure of the career mode is really too much for you, not to worry. There is a free skate mode, just for you. In this mode, there is no time limit, all you do is skate until you get hopelessly bored. And the area here is the same as the one in the career mode, so you can practice on it before taking it on in the career mode. But of course, you have to unlock the areas in the career mode before you can play it in the free skate mode. But is free skate too boring? Want a bit of a challenge? But don’t want to take on the full challenge in the career mode? No problem. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 has all the bases covered. There is a mode where you play through one area with a time limit just as you would play it in the career mode. This way, you can practice the area with the set time limit. Think of this mode as a dress rehearsal. This game’s two-player mode has improved from the original Tony Hawk Pro Skater. It offers many more modes, making it much more fun.

The controls in this game can definitely be better (even though it’s not really that bad). The basic controls are all very well done. You can jump and perform basic stunts very easily. But the complex stunts and moves can be a bit iffy to get on the controller. Also, quite a bit of button mashing is required. That makes this game not such a good choice for those of you who easily get a sore thumb. The challenge here is excellent. This is mainly because there are many objectives for each area. They provide a good range of challenge for beginners as well as veterans. The learning curve, however, is a tad high. But, on screen tips help ease this curve. The scaling difficulty is very mild, but does show signs of extreme increase in some areas (but not a whole lot).

Even though this game does not require as elaborate of graphics as any other game, this game truly is a visual spectacle. All of the skaters are severely detailed. There are no signs of lag anywhere. Also, the skater you created yourself is down to its finest details. Another positive thing about the graphics is that the replay provides the viewer with many different camera angles, making this game very realistic. It is very close to something you would see on television. Also, the movies in this game are taken from real life television. The intro movie is an excellent example, which shows clips of the skaters featured in this game in real life.

The sounds is another place where this game truly excels. First off, the soundtrack is one of the most impressive in this day and age. This game utilizes rock/metal songs by top bands such as Rage Against the Machine and others of the sort. This game definitely has a soundtrack to remember. But the soundtrack is obviously not the only component to the sound category. The sound effects are impressive by themselves. They all sound extremely accurate to their real life counter part. With the mind-blowing sound effects and the remarkably realistic graphics, this game is one of those ones that look like real life.

The fun factor in this game is very high. You can play this game for hours in one sitting, watching those extreme moves. Also, this game is fun with two players playing. The replay value is also very high. When you are done getting a perfect in every area in the career mode, do it with another skater, a new challenge awaits. You can play this game for a long time and never get bored.

Overall, I’d say this is a rather unique gaming experience, definitely a game that stands out. But I suggest you rent it first. This game may not be suitable for everybody.

FINAL RANKINGS:
Gameplay:9
Controls:7.5
Challenge:8.5
Graphics:9
Audio:10
Fun Factor:9
Replay Value:9
Overall:9

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/14/00, Updated 10/14/00