"Tony Hawk for the new generation, but not in a good sense"

Every game franchise that is present for a long time seems to get to its peak, and then after that it goes two ways: either it starts repeating itself again and again, adding little quirks and details here and there only the most serious fanatics notice, finally dying out after the nth installment, or it chooses a different, fresh direction, adding new, "cool" stuff.

For me Tony Hawk reached it's peak with its 4th installment. That game was massive, and the changes it included were just what the series needed. Some old stuff was discarded (2 minutes clock), few new moves were added that really completed the whole control scheme, and it finally threw out the old repetitive game concept which was basically to finish the game x times to unlock all stuff. But the best thing was that the game was HARD. Some goals were ridicilous, but once you finished them all (190 of them!) you really got a sense of accomplishment.

What would come next? fans wondered. How can the next installment top this one, since it was almost perfect?

Unforunately, it could not. Tony Hawk did what many franchises did (hello NFS!), which was to cop out. Creators decided that they needed some fresh blood in their fan base, so they tried to appeal them in every possible way - the difficulty was toned down (difficulty levels were introduced, with the highest one actually corresponding to the default one in previous installments), the game got a story mode heavily influenced by Jackass, new moves that don't have actual purpose were implemented ("freaking out" after you fall), the characters lost their realistical look and became cartoony, and so on. Major role in this installment is taken by characters who don't even ride a skateboard? While in TH4 those things were fun little distractions (Bam's shopping cart ride) here they take up so much space that they become a nuisance... but hey, the kids probably love to ride those new wacky contraptions.

I must say I despise almost all of these new stuff that was put in. I admit that the game was getting kinda stale, but I seriously hate going off the skateboard, climbing ladders and shimmying walls Tomb Raider-style. It just isn't what Tony Hawk is about. Furthermore, the control scheme became a little bit cluttered, since all this new additions are more gimmicky the revolutional, as the revert and manual once were. Also, maybe it's just me but the PC controls don't seem so responsive as in TH4, like there is a VERY slight but noticable lag.

All in all this isn't a bad game, but for me it's a big step in the wrong direction for this franchise (what NFS:Hot Pursuit did for NFS games). Newcomers will probably like this though, especially if they found TH4 too hard - which many people did.

Personally I hope to see a TH5 which will continue the TH4 spirit. Fat chance, but anyway. And I'll continue to buy the Undergrounds if they come on PC, but I just know it will never be the same..

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 12/09/04