Tony Hawk's Pro Skater

"This game has it all."

Controls: 9 out of 10. The controls are excellent, except for some special grinds having button presses required that can move you away from what you're grinding in midair. It's a minor point, but the controls are still good enough for a 9.

Overall Gameplay: 10 out of 10. Tony Hawk has great one-player modes in Career, Free Skate, and Single Session, and some very interesting two-player modes in Trick Attack, Graffiti, and Horse. Trick Attack is great for resolving arguments about who's better on a certain level, Graffiti shows how well you use the whole course, and Horse is great if you like doing it, kind of stupid if you don't.

Graphics: 9 out of 10. It's not ten due to the clipping problems and occasionl skipping camera. Besides that, this game has excellent graphics. I especially like the band videos in various places on the stages. There's a bit of pop-up, but it doesn't interfere with gameplay.

Replay Value: 9 out of 10 would have been a ten if there was some bonus for getting all tapes with everyone. This would definitely give more incentive to really master the game.

Overall this game earns a 9.5 out of 10. This is not an averaged score. Definitely go out and rent this game if you've never played it, then, if you like what the Hawkster's got, the buy it!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/27/00, Updated 01/27/00