Tricking Tips

The Tony Hawk games have become the extreme sports version of the venerable Madden franchise, constantly refining and upgrading a foundation of solid gameplay. This year's model, Tony Hawk's Underground 2, expands on the recently added "get off the board" feel of the original THUG with a hilarious story mode that will have you grinding some of the most outrageous levels you've ever seen, and climbing into trouble at every turn. But, no new Hawk would be complete without a new set of moves to add to your ever-expanding array of trick options.

Don't freak, dude—wait, on second thought, freak.

The first new feature you'll probably discover is one you find the hard way—the Freak Out option. If you blow a trick, you have a brief window in which to tap Y furiously, building up your unbridled skater rage (indicated by a red bar that fills up the faster you tap). The bigger the red bar, the more destructive your next move is—you might simply stomp your board flat, receiving a replacement from "offstage," or you might get mad enough to just hurl the thing into the stratosphere. The angrier you get, the higher your "freak out bonus" is for your next trick. It's a nifty way to turn tragedy into triumph and let you work out your aggressions when that 17-part perfect trick turns into a face plant.

Tossing fruit at fools never goes out of style.

Slow-Motion Focus modeis, well, not a move, exactly, but a mode that lets you gawk at your own brilliance—and you're already playing a Tony Hawk game, so you know that's your thing anyway. Build up that special meter by pulling plenty of tricks, then hit the white button when the meter's full. You'll snap into slow-motion Focus mode, which, in addition to letting you ogle yourself gives you a little more leeway in pulling off your current trick and adds beaucoup bonus points to boot.

As long as you're being a menace to society, why not engage in a little random tomato chucking while you're at it? THUG 2finally gives you the chance to live that dream with the simple "pick up and throw stuff" move. If you see something you can pick up, like an empty spray can or an old piece of fruit, just hit the B button to grab it, then the X button to release it at an appropriate target, like Phil Margera.

Create your own tag-everyone's doing it!

Cool as they are, none of the aforementioned new moves are technically tricks, but Activision and Neversoft wouldn't leave out new ways to extend those combos, now would they? The Sticker Slap is a variation on the tried and true Wall Plant, but it's much more useful. The move mixes in tagging (thanks to the sticker) with a way to keep the combo going, and in some areas can even be used to take out obstacles like cracked walls. Now that's a powerful trick. The flashiest new trick has to be the Natas Spin, which takes your basic nose plant to ridiculous extremes and sets you spinning like some kinda nutty top.

As if all these new options weren't enough, THUG 2 goes one better by including "Create-a-Modes" for virtually everything. Want to Create-a-Skater? Check. "Create-a-Park? Check. "Create-a-Trick/Goal/Graphic?" Check check checkity-check. THUG 2 won't be the last word on Tony Hawk, but for now it's definitely the ultimate Xbox® skateboarding experience.

By Danny Chihdo