Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3

"Hawk is back and better then ever!"

Background/Story
In Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 you pick one of fifth-teen possible characters and perform many stunts and tricks on a variety of skate parks while improving your character's statistics. This game was developed by Vicarious Visions and published by Activision.

Game Statistics
6 skate parks.
1 secret skate park.
3 game modes.
3 tour modes.
5 multiplayer modes.
13 selectable characters.
2 secret characters.
Create-a-skater option.
Battery backed memory to save progress.
64-megabit cartridge.

Game Design
After playing Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 to death, I often wondered if Vicarious Visions could actually improve upon that THPS2's excellent game play. It appears as if they can. There are many new game play additions to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 to keep fans of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 interested. The most notable game play addition is the additions of people and moving objects into the levels. Almost every level in the game contains people that your skater must interact with. Sometimes these people will knock you over, sometimes you must knock them over and sometimes you must bring certain items to people in the levels to complete goals. Some levels even contain moving cars. You can grab and perform stunts on these cars which are quite fun. Furthermore, the levels in this game are superior to the ones found in THPS2. Each of the levels in THPS3 contain very interesting gaps. The levels in this game allow you to be imaginative and find interesting trick strings. Vicarious Visions has also included options that gamers wanted in the original THPS2, a multiplayer mode and a create-a-skater option. The create-a-skater option is pretty self-explanatory but there are some cool multiplayer modes. In the trick attack mode, you try and get more points then your opponents in a specified period of time. In the tag mode, you quite simply play tag. In the King of the Hill mode, one player must find a crown, once he/she wears the crown, a timer will start counting up. The player that wears the crown the longest is the winner. In the horse mode, the skaters will compete to get the highest score each round. When the round ends, the player with the lowest score gets a letter. The last player without spelling the word horse is victorious. Any word can be chosen for this mode (not just horse). There is also a free skate where you and up to three friends can simply skate for fun. The many new game play additions in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 make this game a good choice for fans of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2.

Graphics
Vicarious somehow found a way to push the capabilities of the GameBoy Advance even further in THPS3. Every polygonal character in the game is now texture mapped. The skaters in this game look much better then in THPS2. Furthermore the addition of people in the levels increases the polygon count. It was thought that the GameBoy Advance could only handle one polygonal character at a time. That is not the case. Unlike THPS2 the framerate may slowdown. Framerate slowdowns are extremely rare though. The levels in this game are much more vibrate then in THPS2. The levels in THPS2 appeared bland, in this game they are not. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 is graphically astounding.

Sound
All of the excellent sound effects from THPS2 have been improved upon. You will actually notice what you are skating on. If your skateboard lands on wood, it will sound like wood. If you skateboard lands on metal, you will hear a ''cling'' type sound. Also, when you pass cars they will honk at you. People in the skate parks will scream at you. The music in this game is just as good as in THPS2. All of the alternative rock tunes add to the overall skateboarding feel of the game.

Control
The control scheme in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 is identical to the one found in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2. The controls scheme allows you to pull of stunts with relative ease. However, maneuvering your skater may take some time to get used to. Turing your skater is a little tricky at first in that pressing left or right will turn the skater to his left or right, not left or right on the screen. It is just something that the gamer must get used to through experience. Gamers experienced with THPS2 will have no problems with the controls scheme in this game. Players who are new to this series may encounter problems at first.

Satisfaction
Fans of THPS2 will not be disappointed. The excellent level design and multiplayer modes add to an already excellent original. Gamers experienced with THPS2 may find this game a little easier, however, this game is still quite challenging. The create-a-skater mode is a nice addition as well.

Replay Value/Game Length
This game contains the same amount of skate parks as THPS2 (seven in total), but there is more to do in this game. There are different tours. Once you complete the Pro Tour you can enter the Sponsor tour. Different tours contain modified level goals of increasing difficulty. Furthermore, the multiplayer mode greatly increases replay value.

Overall
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 is better then original and that is saying a lot because THPS2 was a great game. If you are thinking of picking up one of the two games, buy THPS3 then get the other.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/15/02, Updated 03/15/02