Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4

"Skateboards, and Lions, and Hawk. Oh my!"

None can deny the influence of the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater franchise. The original release re-invigorated the once stale action sports genre, single handily brought the sport back into the lime light, and in the process has birthed a new generation of skaters.
The question is; coming into this fourth installment does the hawk still reign supreme?

Gameplay:
Taking a clue from Aggressive Inline, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 ditches the confining time based structure of past installments in favor of a free roaming approach. It's like Free Skate mode, only this time it's actually the career mode. The only intrusion of the timer being when you go to complete a goal. This gives the game a less pressing ''cram all the goals into a single run'' strategy, and instead gives you a chance to simply explore the massive environments and plot your next move. Making things even simpler (after all us gamers like to keep things simple), the game utilizes a handy goal checklist so you can complete goals at your leisure. The trick engine for Tony's latest outing is as addictive as ever, and it even smooth's out some problems from past Pro Skater installments. Flatland tricks and grind and lip transitions are much easier to implement into combos. They are now performed by simply by tapping different directions in conjunction with the grind, flip, and grab buttons. The developers even kept up with their trend of adding a new linking move to further up the score possibilities. First, they added the Manual in Tony Hawk 2, then they gave us the Revert in Tony 3, and for Tony 4, they have given us the Spine Transfer. This ability allows you to easily transfer over to the other side of a ramp, land onto high ledges, or reorient yourself when you accidentally fly off a ramp at the wrong angle. The ability to tweak grab tricks by an additional press of the grab button has also been added to the mix. “Skitchin” , the ability to grab onto cars for a ride (introduced in Aggressive Inline) has also been added to make getting from one end of the level to another all the easier. Not only does the additional press tweak; it can also, in some cases, perform a completely different move.(Experimentation will reap great rewards!) However, the biggest change for the better has to do with the goal variety. Sure, eternal standbys such as spelling S-K-A-T-E, nailing high scores and single combo plateaus, and competing in competitions make a return appearance; but in turn are joined by a host of ingenious new goals to test your skating ability. These new additions include such tasks as: Collecting the letters C-O-M-B-O in a single combo, nailing specific called out tricks (with a time limit no less!), as well as amusing tasks such as being bait for some very hungry lions,
saving a painter from a deadly shark (cue Jaws theme), or recovering a professor's stolen car.
Point is, ingenuity, and ultimately entertainment abounds! Upping the ante, all goals given to you by pro skaters are voiced by authentic recordings by their namesakes!

Create-a-Skater and Create-a-Park modes have both been improved; especially when it comes to Create-a-Skater. There is a avalanche of new character options from the offset, as well a bunch more to be unlocked with cash spent from Career mode. I'm sure this is bound to make a bunch of teenage males horny; but for some reason, Neversoft even saw fit to included an option to tinker with female skaters bust size.
Tell me this isn't just a cry for attention. Park hasn't seen as much improvement, but it certainly is more streamlined than ever before. I'm sure virtual skaters will be spending much more time with these modes than ever before, since they finally have received the attention and nurture they truly deserved.

Tony Hawk 3 was the first online capable title on the PS2. Sadly, Microsoft missed the train with the Xbox installment, and have yet the rectify the problem. Tony Hawk 4 still lacks an online component, and instead opts for system link play (for up to eight players). Besides last years assortment of modes (Trick Attack, Graffiti, King of the Hill, Slap),Tony 4 throws in a heaping helping of brand spanking new challenges for good measure. You have Goal Attack (which uses Career mode goals to test teamwork skills), Combo Mambo (which rewards highest trick strings), and of course Capture the Flag. Standard Two-player Multi-player is also present and accounted for (sans a few online only modes), and features a rock steady frame-rate. It may not present the same level of challenge and depth as system link, but it still manages to present a highly addictive experience for those without the option of system link play.

Xbox Exclusive Content:
For the first time ever, the Xbox port of Tony Hawk 4 comes without any kind of Xbox exclusive content. Both Tony 2X and Tony 3 came with such extras as additional levels and skaters.Alas, such is not the case with Pro Skater 4.

Graphics:
Utilizing a brand new engine, Tony 4 spits out much more graphical goodness then ever before. For one, the character models sport a higher poly count, and are all the much closer to their real-life counterparts. (except for those ugly NPC versions. Yuck!) Clothing and boards actually deteriorate with abuse, and bail blood has been reduced to minimal (and realistic) proportions.
(I can remember the massive streaks your skater left behind in Tony Hawk 3) The levels are much larger than those found in Tony 3; and surprisingly, is free of draw-in and host to very minimum pop-up. Other niceties such as realistic lighting/shadowing, plenty of NPC action, nicer textures overall, and subtle touches as fluttering birds further draw you into this skating world. This is by far, the most fully realized world in an Action Sports title to date.

Xbox Graphics Advantage:
Unlike other Activision 02 titles (coughMatHoffman2cough), Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 has actually seen improvements in the visual department; although very minor. Aliasing is nearly wiped completely from the game, and the Xbox version utilizes a gee whiz motion blur effect for special tricks if you so desire to use it. Otherwise, it's the same outstanding visual package as before.
The PlayStation 2 version was so good looking, that a lack of significant changes is not devastating. The only change I really wish they made was with the ugly NPC's.

Sound: If rock happens to be your thing, then Tony Hawk 4 delivers in a big way. Even better, if you dislike a particular song, you can feel free to turn it off with the new custom play list feature. (Plus, even if you pretty much hate the default soundtrack, you can always
makes use of the custom soundtracks feature.) As I stated earlier, Neversoft went all out, and recorded a hefty amount of audio from all the pro skaters in the game. The quality of the recordings are outstanding, and a few skaters in particular (Tony, Rodney, Bam, and Bucky) really seemed to show their true personality through their contributions. All the other sound effects got their due as well; cars, animals, the subtly of different surfaces; you name it, Neversoft has got it covered. Heck, pro skaters even call you out by name! (unless you are using a created skater)

Control:
Before I played Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2, I was a bit leery of the Xbox controller when it came to Action Sports titles. However, I've found with the exception of manuals, controller is every bit as natural as the Dual-Shock 2. In fact, in Tony Hawk's case, manuals really aren't even a problem. With Mat Hoffman, you were forced to use the two shoulder buttons to spin to any degree of success, which made tapping manuals at a moments notice a real chore. Thankfully, with Tony the same rules do not apply. Gameplay nirvana is still intact!

Lets get this straight: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 was a wonderful piece of software. Not only did Tony make his first appearance on the next generation consoles, he achieved a level of gameplay excellence that simply wasn't possible on the previous generation of consoles. However, if Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 had followed in it's footsteps, the formula would no doubt have gotten stale.
Thankfully, the fine folks at Neversoft understand progression, and crafted an experience that defies all expectations we had of the series.

Score: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/28/03