Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3

"Whoah! Am I Playing Playstation?"

I never thought I'd see the day when an excellent console game was ported and made into an excellent hand held game, but THPS3 is definetely an exception. It's probably the best GBA game I've ever played. What more could you want? Fantastic graphics, good controls, no complicated story to follow, and fun gameplay... I could go on and on.
Graphics: 10+-I really didn't think I'd see these kind of graphics on hand helds till the next gameboy comes out. Boy was I ever wrong. These are just inexplicably good. And there are really no camera problems, which has become quite a common factor in extreme sports video games today. And there is one more fun little detail that they did not forget about: the blood. You can adjust 4 levels of blood, from none to gushing. Hehehe. I have nothing bad to say about THPS3's graphics, so let's move on.
Audio: 7-Above average, bot nothing spectacular. While it may lack the sound track of the console versions, the BGM is ok and doesn't get on your nerves. No there aren't 20+ songs that are all famous bands, it's simple 32 bit sound. The sound effects are pretty good, allowing you to but when you're hooked on this great game, you sort of become oblivious to your surroundings anyway. Overall the sound is good.
Gameplay: 9-Heres where your 25 bux really pays off. Unlike the traditional view found in thew console versions, the GBA cersion uses an isometric viewpoint, which you eventually get used to. The game includes 5 of the original levels (not identical to the console versions, but similar), and 1 secret level which you can find out yourself. A total of 6 levels. It even includes one of the best features from the consloes: a character editor! A very large selection of outfits and things, considering that you are on GBA. You can also customize your deck and stats. This game is suprisingly better than I thought it would be, as the past two hand held ports sucked.
Control: 9-Suprisingly good considering the GBA's limited four buttons. You have the same enormous selection of tricks on one set, and I have yet to find any major flaws in the controls. A total countup of around over 30 tricks.

Whomper's Buy-O-Meter-10+++: I don't know how I enjoyed playing GBA without this game, it's a bare neccessity for any GBA owner. This game is amazing.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/10/02, Updated 06/10/02