Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4

"it's good...but lacking...a lot..."

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 was released March 4th of 2002; the release of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 was November 9th of 2002. It was 9 months after the 3rd version that be got the 4th. In that 9 (or more) months, THPS4 GBA was born...I wish they took a little bit longer.

Graphic wise, THP4 is great. The best of all 3 released on The GBA. You can see the tricks be preformed perfectly, the blood animation, skater are shown perfectly, the pedestrians, the water, etc. they are all shown greatly. The graphics are done nice. They made the level design good, they're big too, so when there are big levels, you expect the levels to look not that great, especially on the GBA. But these are one of the best graphical games on the GBA. Vicarious Visions had done a great job with the graphics.

Control wise, it's also great. I've played all the Tony Hawk Games (for all systems too) and when it comes to this franchise, the controls are perfect. The controls don't disappoint you here either. Even if you are new to the THPS series, you'll get use to the controls easily. Sadly, your R button might not. (R for grabs, R for pivots, R for reverts, wow) The controls are done well here; they're really easy to pick up and easy to learn. With the endless number of combos you have in this game, you'll be happy that the controls are so easy. Just free skate around a bit, get used to the controls, and you'll be ready. Thought there is a lot to know about the controls (grabs, grinds, Flip tricks, manuals, reverts, spine transfers, flatland tricks) you'll pick it up fast. Then you'll be ready for the insane (yet easy) combos.

Sound wise, meh. The soundtrack to this game is what you'd expect. Rock beats with no lyrics. It's the same sound you'd expect from the GBA versions of the Tony Hawk games. Nothing special here about the soundtrack. The sound Effects are also what you'd expect. The noise of wheels going over certain objects, the noise of your board grinding rails and other grind able things, the sound of your skater falling. Everything you'd expect for the sounds of THPS on the GBA, nothing really new.

So far, you may think I’m crazy to give this a 5, because I’m almost praising this game. Well...I never mentioned game play...

Ok, you know have a new concept for the Tony Hawk Games. Instead of each skater going through Career mode, completing different goals with a certain time limit, you now have a new career mode. This time, all the skaters share a career mode. You start off each level as a free skate mode. You skate around to different people, and then if you press L in front of a certain person, they will give you a goal to do. Although it is a big change in game play, it takes out a huge chuck of replay value. Then once you have completed 60 goals, each skater may attempt their pro challenge. This is a personal goal that is based on their background on skating. But, they aren't as fun as the console version. One you have completed that goal, you move on to pro challenge, where you can try to complete more goals.

This game is short; it took me 2 days to beat this game. No, not 48 hours, but 2 days, which includes sleep, eating, going places and parties. That’s how short this game is. Replay value is small. Free skate gets boring. Flat lands aren’t really a big deal. And no catching a ride on the back of cars.

And the biggest thing that disappoints me, is the create a skater mode. It isn't good. It sticks. You can hardly create anything. The selection of clothes is small. And you can't unlock new ones. It isn't as deep as the one in thps3.

The fact that this game is short, and lacks for create a skater disappoints me. To me, it doesn't live up to the past Tony hawks. Sure it's a good game, but it's too short and too easy. Really, skip this thps4 and go for the console versions. It’s worth a rent, but that’s it. You aren't missing much if you skip. Stick to thps3...at least their secret characters were better...

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 03/08/03, Updated 03/08/03