Tony Hawk's Pro Skater

"The first Killer App game for the N-Gage!"

•Introduction•
A week after the worldwide launch of Nokia's handheld gaming device, the N-Gage got it's first must-have game! That game being Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. Although the game may seem a bit dated by todays standards (especially when compared to newer Tony Hawk games), but by handheld gaming standards this game is awesome! It's a near exact replica of the PSone classic with some THPS 2 levels thrown in for good measure. The game includes: N-Gage Arena play, two-player wireless challenges, five game modes, ten playable pro skaters, and music from popular bands.

•Gameplay• 9/10
The main game is comprised of the 'Career' mode. The career mode assigns you five tasks to complete within two minutes. But don't worry if you don't need to complete all five of the tasks at once since you can go back and do other tasks that you didn't do the first time around. This is pretty substandard with all THPS games. However before you go out and attempt to do the career mode, you should become familiar with the 'Free Skate' mode. The free skate mode allows you to freely skate around the games large levels without any limits to restrict your play. There's also a 'Single Session' mode which allows you to go through a level with all the limits, only without any real goals to accomplish (except getting a high score). In addition to those three modes the game also offers impressive wireless multiplayer and online modes (via the N-Gage Arena).

•Graphics• 9/10
'Wow' the one word to describe these graphics. Practically identical to the original PSone version of the game. Along with Tomb Raider and Red Faction this game will definitely showcase the graphical power of the N-Gage. Character models are well done and the impressive levels are still awesome today. The only bad side would be that the N-Gage version features more Draw-in than the PSone version. But even with that problem this is one of the best looking games on the N-Gage yet.

•Sound• 10/10
While games like Pandemonium and Tomb Raider featured practically no music to speak of, Tony Hawk actually features quite a few full length songs from the original versions of the game. The only downside is that the game has to load inbetween songs. But overall, the game's music and sound effects help to showcase the possibilities of future N-Gage games.

•Playtime/Replayability• 8/10
You'll definitely enjoy playing this game for the first time. However, there isn't much of a goal to keep playing the game after you're done because, well there's not much to do after you unlock everything. However with N-Gage Arena gameplay you can play against other players high scores and upload or download content to or from the game. And the multiplayer choices will keep you coming back for more play! Grab a friend and this game owns you.

•Final Recommendation• 9/10

If you're a fan of skating games, and are an 'on the go' kinda person, than you'll definitely find a spot for this game in your handheld collection. As a near perfect port of the original game you'll definitely have an awesome time playing this. And even if you aren't a big fan of skating games than you should be able to enjoy this game for the sheer multiplayer aspects of the game. So either way you win! This game also shows off the power of the N-Gage, overall this game is definitely RECOMMENDED.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/17/03