Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

"Tedious at times, but still a great game."

Ever since the first Tony Hawk's Pro Skater video game was released, the skateboarding genre has seen many ripoffs of the successful 'THPS' formula. While some of the 'ripoffs' were fun at times, none were as good as Activision and Neversoft's moneymaker. Activision capitalized on the success of the first Tony Hawk game by releasing a sequel in 2000. The sequel, dubbed the obvious Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, was released with a ton of hype. For the most part, Tony Hawk 2 manages to live up to its hype.

Tony Hawk 2 features several different modes of play this time around - career mode, single session, free skate, multiplayer, create a skater, and create a park. Career mode is still the biggest and best part of the game (more on that later). Single session allows you to choose a level and try to score as many points as possible in two minutes. Free skate mode is mainly for practicing purposes as the mode doesn't keep track of your scores and it doesn't have a time limit. The multiplayer games are largely the same as the first THPS game, with 'Graffiti' (try to tag more obstacles than your opponent), 'Trick Attack' (try to score more points than your opponent), 'Horse' (do better tricks than your opponent), and a new game 'Tag' (cripple your opponent by scoring tons of points). Out of the four multiplayer games, graffiti mode is most fun.

The two 'Create a' modes, Create a Skater and Create a Park, are new to the Tony Hawk series. Create a Skater allows you to build yourself or anyone else from scratch. While this mode is definitely a nice addition, its options are rather limited. You can edit just about everything for the skater, but there aren't many options to choose from. For example, there are about a dozen different hairstyles but only one hair color for each style. Still, like I mentioned earlier, creating your very own skater is a welcome addition.

The Create a Park mode may very well be the best feature of THPS 2. If you have ever wanted to make your own skate park, then this mode is definitely for you. You are basically given your own building where you can throw in as many pipes, pools, rails, or whatever else you want into the park. Want to name and make 200+ point gaps? No problem. Want to mess around with pre-made levels before you build your own? Neversoft threw in several. Basically, if you've seen an obstacle in the game itself then you can probably add it in your own park.

Even with all of the additional modes, the career mode is the one that you will find yourself playing most. In it, you play as a pro skater who must compete for cash money while skating through eight different levels. Cash can be obtained by successfully completing the ten goals set for each level and by finding the extra dollar bills spread throughout every level. The set of ten goals range from a variety of tasks to perform - some will have you scoring a certain amount of points in each level, while others involve finding the letters 'S', 'K', 'A', 'T', and 'E' and collecting five objects. Some of the goals can get incredibly difficult, especially in the later levels where you have to score in the upwards of 150,000+ points. If you want to fully complete the game, getting all of the extra cash and successfully completing each goal is a necessity. Needless to say, getting 100% done with every character is a tedious process considering that there are 13 skaters total (plus a custom skater). If you do have the endurance to beat the game with every character, then you will get a crapload of rewards for your patience.

Speaking of skaters, the thirteen you can skate as are among the best of the world. Most (if not all) of the original game's skaters were brought over for the sequel, including Tony Hawk, Bob Burnquist, Chad Muska, and Geoff Rowley, while a few new skaters were brought in (Steve Caballero, Eric Koston, and Rodney Mullen). Each skater has their own style and all of their stats can be increased through the career mode by spending cash. Spending the cash you receive can net you new stats and new tricks for your skater of choice. The cash will also unlock new levels.

There are eight regular levels to skate through, and there are two secret levels that have to be unlocked via career mode. The levels range from places like an abandoned hangar to New York to Venice Beach. Out of the eight regular levels, three of them are 'contests' (France, Skatestreet, and The Bullring). These contests are a nice change of pace from the 'beat all of the goals' formula found in the other five. In the contests, you are given three 'heats' to score as many points as you can by doing tricks. Judges will rate your heats, as well as the other seven skaters that you are competing against. The average of the judges' scores are then taken and the skater with the highest average over the three heats wins the contest. While these contests may sound difficult in writing, they are actually easy to understand and you will be trying to get high scores in no time.

Tony Hawk 2's control system is amongst the best I have ever seen used in an 'extreme sports' game. The system follows the 'easy to learn, complex to master' formula with great results. Tricks are performed by holding down one of the face buttons (circle, square, or triangle) and pressing a directional button. Speed is obtained by holding X, while releasing X leads to an ollie. While the system is nearly identical to the first THPS, there are a few new controls such as manuals, the boneless, and switch/regular. Manuals boost your point totals by adding an extra trick to your combination. Boneless gives you more air than a regular ollie would. Switch/regular refers to the skater's stance. Point totals vary with each stance. It may take a while to master the controls, but thy do give THPS 2 a nice 'pick up and play' feel.

Visually, Tony Hawk 2 is not that bad. The game's animations run fast, aside from the 'crash and burn' animations that seemingly take forever to finish. The levels are well-detailed, as are the skaters who even have multiple clothing styles to choose from. There are a couple of visual problems, however. Draw-in (aka popup) is very noticeable in some areas and there is also a bit of polygonal clipping during tricks. Even with those problems, Tony Hawk 2 manages to stay fast while looking fairly good.

As for the audio, well, that is a mixed bag. The sound effects are great - the sound of skating down the street, as well as 'ollieing', are lifelike. The other sound effects, such as the sound when you complete a goal are easily recognizable and fit the bill well. The music does not fare as well as the sound effects. Gone is the great punk soundtrack of the first THPS. In its place is a mix of punk, hip hop, and some stuff in between. Activision also made the soundtrack more 'mainstream' - it contains popular bands such as Papa Roach, Powerman 5000, Rage Against the Machine, Naughty by Nature, and Bad Religion. Despite a few good tracks, most of the songs are subpar at best. The honor of worst song in THPS 2, however, goes to 'Blood Brothers' by Papa Roach. Every time that song comes on, I restart the level so I can get a different song. Yes, Papa Roach is awful.

Overall, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 is a great sequel to one of the best games of all time. With its numerous game modes (including the killer 'Create a Park' mode), there is more than likely something for everyone to enjoy. The career mode can be quite the hassle if you want to get 100% total, but a little patience helps. If you enjoyed the first game but were looking for more stuff to do, then you definitely want to get Tony Hawk 2. If you have never played a Tony Hawk game or any variation of it, then I would recommend playing the original before going on to the more difficult THPS 2. Either way, the Tony Hawk series is not one to be missed.

Best Feature: Create a Park.
Worst Feature: Some goals too difficult.

Final Analysis:
Graphics 7/10 - fast but noticeable draw-in and clipping
Sound 6/10 - great sound effects, average soundtrack
Gameplay 8/10 - loads of stuff to do
Control 9/10 - easy to learn, complex to master
Replay Value 8/10 - create a park mode and career mode will keep you occupied
Challenge 9/10 - very difficult to get 100% with just one character, let alone fourteen
Overall 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/06/02, Updated 01/06/02