Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix

"Best Tony Hawk Game? Probably!"

When I bought my PSP, I had to decide on a game to buy and it was tough. I declined to get MLB, Twisted Metal, or Metal Gear Acid, thinking they were bad (though I ended up buying them all later and they were all good) and I saw this game. Now let me clear this up. I hate Tony Hawk games. Ever since the first one I have never been able to play them and found them to be too difficult while my friends loved the game. I then got THUG and loved it but it was still to hard for me. With this game I hoped to give the Tony Hawk series another chance and boy was it worth it.

Graphics - 8

With this being the first portable 3-D Tony Hawk game, the graphics don't dissapoint. Nothing looks bad or stands out in any way except their is a fair amount of clipping absent in the PS2 version, though that will not detract from the gameplay experience. Some levels, such as the new Las Vegas, look pretty good but what does bother me is that you can see the polygons that are making up everything. This isn't a big deal but other PSP launch games (like Twisted Metal) look much better than this game which is why it gets an eight.

Controls - 10

Now this is a topic of debate. A lot of people feel the controls translated over quite well and others believe the controls are botched. Me, I think they work fine. I never found myself fumbling to complete a certain task except entering focus mode (done by flicking the analog stick) which sometimes caused me to fall out of my manual or grind. Another complaint for some is that the R button has multiple functions but this never really becomes a problem either. On a side not, you cannot use the analog stick to move your skater when he is on his board, only when he is off.

I guess this could count as controls too so, the camera does get in your way and it is hard to control as sometimes especially when your on your board. It really never hampers your game though, so it's no big deal.

Sound - 8

The sound in this game is pretty good but not outstanding hence the score. Sound effects like grinding and falling off your board sound like they should and the voice acting is intact. Also, showcasing the PSP's sound, this game included the soundtrack from the PS2 version which I thought was pretty decent. Overall, sound is good and does its job.

Story - 5

This game's story is pretty weak. Basically you are drafted to Tony's team as he takes on Bam's team in a world destruction tour. There is really nothing else to the plot except you switch teams a few times. The story is average at best.

Gameplay - 8

This game has so much to do its unreal. In each level there are four skaters, yourself, a pro, a guest and a secret character each with their own sets of goals. There are over 10 levels (I forget the exact number) with around 20 goals in each level. The good part is though, that you don;t have to complete every goal to finish the level, only a majority of them. This is good because some goals are just plain cheap or lack a proper description and will force you to suffer to complete them. For that reason only, I took off two points.

If you don't like the THUG mode of the game, you can go old school with that mode and play goals from the old Tony Hawk games. This mode is good and suffers no problems except some goals are pretty hard.

Replay Value - 8

Obviously, this game has alot of content. To make it even better, this version includes four extra levels not found in the PS2 version, Wifi multiplayer, face-mapping to make yourself a character in the game, and a create-a-mode for everything except the create a level. You'll get sick of this game guaranteed before you finish everything.

Overall - 8

Great game with few flaws. Buy it now. It is worth the fifty dollars it costs.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/16/05