Best of the Best
Tony Hawk is a name that many pre-teens know better than any political leader you’d care to mention, most famous sports stars, and even members of their own extended family. There’s a good chance they have a Tony Hawk shrine built along a bedroom wall, created from posters, calendars, and cast-off videogame boxes that they had to buy right now ‘cause everyone else has it, please … You get the idea. In fact, you might be one of the many Tony Hawk pro-skater fans who have made this franchise one of the most successful sports titles in history. But those cast-off boxes … Do you remember buying so many? Do you remember why? Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2x debuted on the Xbox to delicious reviews. Even though Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 was available on Xbox® and other consoles, so many fans came running for Pro Skater 2x that you would have thought that the Xbox had better graphics and the game had some new levels or something. Okay, so it does, and it did. The Pro Skater franchise was already a gold-medallion success among console fans as well as pure skate fans. But seeing blades of grass creep out of a previously “green parking lot” and putting real faces to the skaters meant a lot. Plus, you could replay the original Pro Skater game with all of the 2x moves. And you got five new levels for your trouble and expense. Loyalty has its rewards, after all, and Treyarch made sure they delivered. Tony Hawk 3 came out on the Xbox only slightly behind its release elsewhere. The game included massive levels, an enhanced Skate Park Editor, a Create-a-Skater system that finally included female skaters, and an incredible selection of new tricks. As Activision and Neversoft continued to improve on the Tony Hawk license, Xbox continued to one-up everyone else on delivery. The game looked better than ever and suffered less slowdown thanks to the Xbox punch. There was also, for the first time, customizable soundtrack ability, a feature that had many skate punks grinning ear to safety-pinned ear. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 quickly followed and was not a redesign so much as a general tightening and trimming of Tony Hawk 3. Remember, there was only about 12 months in between the release of 2x and 4. Still, enthusiasts noted the new abilities to skitch behind cars, skate over moving objects, and even do transfers over spines as red-letter accomplishments. Tony Hawk’s Underground, or THUG as it has affectionately come to be known, has taken the solid-playing franchise to the next level with its play-as-yourself theme. This time around, you begin as “skater unknown” in Jersey. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to work yourself up to demi-god status and join the ranks of Tony Hawk and his friends as living legends. The customization feature allows you to design yourself right into the game. Or, if you prefer, design yourself as you see your inner skater. Full-body color tattoo? No problem. And what do you want to do with your hair color today? This immersing playground is the largest yet and fulfills on many promises to get you into the action, including the ability to jump off your board and walk, run, or even drive on your quests for fame, fortune, and the ultimate skating challenge.
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