Tony Hawk's Project 8

"A worthwhile game or an attempt to cash in on a franchise like Madden?"

That time again?

And yet another Tony Hawk game. Neversoft keeps creating Tony Hawk games like its nothing. But, will this game hold up or is it an attempt to cash in on a popular franchise like Madden?

Feels like the original

I'm proud to say this game has brought Tony Hawk back closer to its roots. It just feels right and most importantly, fun. You start off career mode by creating your character for the story mode. It's kind of shame here but not the shape of things to come. The options to change your character are very restricted. There are a handful of clothes and accessories to choose from and even fewer body features. I guess the good news here is you can colorize some of the clothing, but not all of it.

After you load in with your shiny new character you are set loose, well, not entirely. You have to earn the right to explore other areas. You do this by completing missions ,that characters will gladly give you around the area, or finding gaps, hidden areas, etc. You will mostly be taking missions or tasks, if you will. These advance your skater's rank in the area. The goal is to eventually become number one, obviously, with a twist.

There's always a gimmick

The new gimmick of Tony Hawk's Project 8 is “Nail the Trick“. When you click in both thumb sticks the world slows down zooms in on your skater's board. You then use the control sticks to manipulate the board. It takes some practice, but you can get an insane amount of points if done correctly. Add these to a combo and you have quite the score.

Break out that iPod

The soundtrack doesn't strike to well though; good songs are far and few between. Give us more Ramones, Dead Kennedy's, Misfits, Primus, etc, not this crap on here now. If you want an enjoyable experience plug up your mp3 player or stream music from your computer or hard drive.

Still not next gen?

The graphics don't scream next gen, however they are the best yet of a Tony Hawk game. The lighting effects have been vastly improved though. This is evident in the transition from outside to inside. The water effects are nothing short of amazing though. I would go as far to say they are the best water effects I have seen on any console, and any game. Load times are non existent once loaded into the world, although when you want to go anywhere in the menu (main title screen) there is frequent, lengthy loading.

All the cool kids are doing it

Multiplayer is quite enjoyable, however the animations aren't as fluent as single player. The host has quite a lot of options at his disposable. Where to skate, the game type, the time limit, etc, are all types fun to be had. You can even just free skate around and chat while listeing to music. It's to bad there isn't a co-op type story mode for online, although online isn't disappointing by any stretch of the imagination. Other non Xbox Live options include free skate and 2 player mode

The long grind

Tony Hawk's Project 8 is a great game with there always being things to do. I would recommend buying it if you were or are a fan of any of the older Tony Hawk games. Tony Hawk's Project 8 is definitely worth the 59.99 price tag. With many things to do and many ways to do them Tony Hawk's Project 8 will keep you entertained for a while.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/21/06