Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4

"Sure its good, but how long does it last?"

I'm sure you have already seen one or more of the previous Tony Hawks pro skater games, which are available on nearly every current platform, But how much is this really different? Sure the graphics are improved, the overall structure changed but after 4 times I think Neversoft need to do ''something'' different. I don't know about you but I can only take so much of the same thing over and over. Never the less if you liked the previous 3 titles you will enjoy this but probably not enough to stay up all night and day to finish the game 100%.

GRAPHICS!!!

Hey don't get me wrong the graphics are superb for a skateboarding game, with blood when you hit the ground just a little to hard. Little cut scenes displaying some of the missions (talked about later) which also come in very handy. Interactive people. Birds flying around, all the little things that you notice and say '' wow that looks real.'' But this is a Xbox we are talking about here. I'm sure Neversoft could have stretched the boundaries just a little further. I say this because I find it very difficult to tell any difference between Tony Hawks 3 on Xbox and 4 Graphics wise. The people look the same even know there is a lot more of them in no. 4 the rails, ramps etc. But hey when a skateboarding game plays this well you barely have time to notice the little things.

GAMEPLAY!!!

The gameplay in Tony Hawks 4 has been completely revamped for this new installment. Instead of receiving the 2 minutes to do as many of the goals possible like previous versions. You are placed in the level in what I will say a ''free skate'' mode and you can just skate around for as little or as long as you like. When you fell like it's time to get down to business you just ride over to any person that has a blue arrow above there head, and they will give you a mission to complete. With missions ranging from as little as 10 seconds up to 2-3 minutes. Varying in difficulty. I think this layout provides much more time to familiarize you with the levels (which is a really good think considering the levels are huge). but in doing so I believe they have made the challenges much more difficult to execute.

SOUND!!!

I will only touch the surface of this section, due to me not having a 5.1 sound system, so I can not really judge it accurately. But what I do hear from my speakers is good in fact its really good, when you hit the ground the sound makes you want to look at your knee. When you grind it makes you want to ran for the fire extinguisher just incase you start a blaze. It really does sound that good, But they could have improved on the tunes that were selected, because they really don't compare to games like project gotham racing & JSRF. The first having a music editor to incorporate your own tracks which I think was a great mistake not adding in Tony Hawks 4 (although it may be there and I have not yet found it as the menu's are a little daunting at first). Overall the sound quality rates high in the charts, and I think you will agree to.

EXTRAS!!!

First of all the park editor has been upgraded, which is a good thing if you are the type of person that really enjoys creating your own stuff. You will also be pleased to know that the create a skater feature is still there, with even more depth than Tony Hawks 3 which already had plenty to choose from. Also scatted around all the levels are mini games including tennis etc. which add a little bit of variety to the game. The only other major thing in extras is that you know buy extra gear, decks, movies, etc. with the cash that you win from completing the challenges and pick up among the place. oh yeah and that all your stat points that you earn are added on to all the characters performance.

OVERALL!!!

Overall I believe that if you love the other Tony Hawks titles then this is defiantly for you, but if you just liked them then maybe you should hire it first, we don't want you wasting any money now do we! the only reason why I did not give this game a higher score is because I believe that they could have maybe stretched the boundaries just a little further for there 4 installment. Nether the less this is one game which I'm sure you will defiantly play before the end of your consoles life.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/30/02, Updated 11/30/02