Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4

"An incredibly deep skateboard game"

Introduction

This is a skateboard game. Some skateboard games are racing games but this is not one. You can go anywhere you want. The stages contains a lot of things that you can have fun with, like ramps, pipes, roofs, jumps, etc.

The player can perform a large selection of tricks. These tricks give points.

There are several goals in each levels. These goals differ and the tasks are varied. The only point they have in common is that you have a limited time for doing them.

Here are some examples of typical goals in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 : find all letters of the word SKATE, score 30 000 in a single combo, do a lip trick on a ramp, grind a cable between two buildings, etc.

Challenge

This game is extremely challenging, ESPECIALLY for those who never played a Tony Hawk game. A lot of the goals in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater are extremely hard to do. It takes a while to master the skateboard. The first time I played, I was overwhelmed by the high degree of difficulty.

At first, I could not pull off any trick and I had no idea how to reach certain places. As I played more, I discovered a bunch of tricks. I am much better now!

This game is so hard that it is very frustrating. It can get annoying when the guy always trip in the stairs or bump into the wall. I often yell insults at the stupid skater! I think the game would have been a bit better if the difficulty setting was lowered.

Moves

The trick system is very deep. You can perform a huge variety of moves. Its not like those cheap snowboarding or 4*4 games where you can pull only 5 different stunts. There are dozens upon dozens of possible stunts in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4. You can combo the moves for an endless number of combinations.

Music

The music is made by famous bands like AC_DC. There are 9 tracks or so when you start the game, but you can unlock several other tracks as you progress. Some of these tunes are good, but the problem is that you hear them again and again and again. Some of them contain rather dumb lyrics and it gets annoying after a while.

Graphics

The graphics are okay. Nothing special really.

Loading times

In this game, when you select something in a menu, it takes 30 seconds for the next menu to appear. Yes, it is that kind of game. I hate that.

Once the level is loaded, there is no more loading times so it is a good thing. The levels are huge so this is not a problem. The only problem is the slow menus.

Fun factor

This game is really fun...if you are skilled enough to play it! It is also really hard. Some of the stunts you can do are spectacular. The levels are huge and there are tons of things to find. You can grind practically everything. 10/10 for the fun factor!

Buy or rent

Definitely buy. This game has so much stuff to do, and the challenge is so high, that it will keep you busy for a while. Its the kind of game that takes a very long time to have 100 % in everything. And also, its fun so its a good reason enough to buy.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/11/02, Updated 12/11/02