Thrasher Presents: Skate and Destroy

"There isn't a reason for this..."

-Visuals 5/10-

Given what we've come to expect out of skateboarding games in this day and age, Thrasher leaves very very little to be desired in terms of what there is to look at. Blocky, heavily blocky skaters, dull and relatively flat surroundings and horrid lighting round out a pretty low score in terms of visuals. Even the tricks look very stiff and it can be difficult to see just what is being performed. The only true redemption here, is possibly the view of a cop chasing you down. Other than that, you're really not going to find much.

-Audio 5/10-

Alright, rap music, even old school rap music might sound decent to those who remember the tunes being played here, but after listening to the same track over and over again, you'll be looking to pound your head against the wall. Old school hip hop doesn't belong in a game where speed music should be applied, and you'll find this to be true rather quickly. Sound effects are also at a minimum here, leaving you with just the thudding crunch of your skater smashing into the ground, and the rough grinding effect of skinning a rail. Outside of that, there isn't much else here either.

-Control 1/10-

Possibly some of the worst control in a skateboarding game to date, just trying to ollie up onto a rail take a couple of button presses, and then to pull a trick from that requires some finger-twisting moves on the PSX pad. While this might not be much of a problem for an experienced gamer, it will come across to a novice gamer as something so difficult that just trying to learn how to make your skater jump will take about twenty minutes. Pulling off the high-end tricks is even harder to do, and with going from rail to rail, you'll find that there isn't anything you can do but hope for the best. Very very disappointing.

-Gameplay 7/10-

The only redeeming aspect of the game is the amount of multi-player modes that you're allowed to play here. The single player mode is basically a score and escape type ggame, where your goal is to make a certain amount of points in a limited amount of time, or face the wrath of the cop who endlessly persues you. Several multi-player modes await you, giving you an option between trick scoring, horse, and something that is pretty disturbing called Sick Fix.

Trick scoring is your basic level to level trick fest, where your best moves are your friend, and the higher the score, the better off you'll be. This is especially fun with a couple of friends and the competition can get pretty intense. Horse is your basic ''Follow-the-leader'' type of game where you do a trick, and then your opponent(s) has to follow you in the exact same trick. This mode can also be very competitive.

The final piece of the multiplayer puzzle, is this interesting mode called ''Sick Fix''. The Sick Fix game is something very strange, and very very disturbing, where the point is to smash your skater into the ground and gain as many damage points as you can possibly get. This can be pretty funny to watch and a roaring good time when you smash into a moving car at fifty miles an hour. This mode alone will keep you interested for a long time to come.

-Overall 5/10-

Thrasher tries hard to be a good, realistic skating game. The only problem here, is that the technical flaws of the game ring out so clear, that you'll never really want to play this title if you buy it. Strictly a bottom shelf game, Thrasher is good enough if you're looking for a skating game and Tony Hawk 1 and 2 are out for the weekend. Other than that, stay away from this game, it's a waste of money any way you slice it.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 01/02/01, Updated 01/02/01