Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam

"Just Not Good, And I Love(d) This Franchise"

Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam looks like garbage. I need to get that out of the way. Seriously, it looks like a mediocre PS2 title. I know that the Wii isn't the PS3 (that's why I got it), but that doesn't mean I can connive at poor presentation.

But of course, graphics aren't everything. Wii Sports is particularly unimpressive, but I've already spent a good amount of highly enjoyed time with it. This brings me to my second point. Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam plays like garbage. Okay. They got the Wiimote to work. If you've played Excite Truck, it's the same idea: the sideways controller that basically works like a steering wheel. I have no problem with the control style in theory. The problem, though, is that THDJ does not exist in the theoretical realm. The implementation feels trivial. Whereas in Excite Truck, the wheel feel just kind of works, in THDJ it does not. I mean, it's not as if you feel out of control or as if the controller is unresponsive, the game just isn't that fun. You can steer fine, then you grind. Then you do a jump trick. Then you grind. Then you grind. I don't know. It's just not fun.

Sound? It's fine. Rock and roll. No complaints.

Here's my beef. Tony Hawk is trying to be SSX, and SSX is trying to be Tony Hawk. When you play THDJ, if you're anything like me, you're going to want to see the ridonculous air with the flips and twists and some dude doing the damn robot on his board. THDJ just can't deliver that. Sure there's air and there's tricks, but it just doesn't make the transition to downhill racing. No matter how much it wants to attract SSX fans, it will never be SSX, even with characters that were transparently cut and pasted from Tricky. If you want to see my thoughts on SSX's Tony envy (and I don't know why you wouldn't), click over to my review for SSX On Tour for the PS2.

THDJ was rushed. Graphically, it's poop. Play wise, it feels as if they tried to trade out nuanced tracks with cluttered (but poor) design. There's always something new going on in the background, but that's not the same as gaming depth.

If you're an extreme sports game fan to the extent that I am, you will be highly disappointed, and with so many other games that deserve your attention, there's no reason to invest here. If you're a total devotee (and I can respect that), at least rent it or borrow a friend's before you throw down the $50.

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 11/25/06