Tony Hawk's Underground

When Activision and Neversoft first released Tony Hawk Pro Skater, they created an instant hit to an otherwise dead genre. Since that time, Neversoft created four more games in the series and each version is far superior to its predecessor, both in gameplay and graphics. For the fifth version, Neversoft has decided to expand the storyline in the game, and make it more personal. How does this change up the gameplay, and is it as fun as its predecessors? Read on to find out!

In Tony Hawk’s Underground (T.H.U.G. as it is commonly referred to), the story mode takes an ordinary no-name skater (you) and turns him into a pro. Players first start the game by creating their own personalized skater. After that is complete you start off in your Jersey neighborhood and from there you will travel around the world skating showing what you have to offer the world of pro skating. To accomplish this task, players will have to impresses sponsors, local kids, and other pro skaters and hope that they will notice you, so you can go from the bottom to the top. The only way to do this is by complete complex tricks, tasks, and various missions. Can you get sponsored and become a pro skater, only time will tell!

Other than story mode, there are a lot of other things players can do in the game to occupy their time. Players can choose to do a free skate or high score. High school is like a vintage to Tony Hawk 1-3, because this is a two-minute session to see the highest score a player can do in a certain level. Free skate is a relaxing way for players to get to look around in the city and avoid all of the missions.

There are two kinds of multiplayer in this game, two-player and online. In two-player, gamers have the following options to choose from: Trick Attack, Score Challenge, Graffiti, HORSE, King of the Hill, Combo Mambo, Slap, Free skate, and Firefight. In Trick Attack skaters see who can execute the best tricks and obtain the most points. Score Challenge is similar to Trick Attack except the match ends when the first player gets the targeted score. Graffiti is where you “tag” a landmark by doing a trick off of it; for your opponent to steal it, they will have to do a better trick in that same place. HORSE (two player only mode) is where skaters do a trick and the next player tries to surpass it. Combo Mambo is where players who do the biggest combo in one setting wins. Free Skate is where players can just hang out and skate without any time limit imposing upon them. In King of the Hill skaters race to the crown and see who can hold on to it the longest. Slap is where skaters score points by knocking other players down.

Firefight is a new multiplayer mode for Tony Hawk series. In this mode players shoot fireballs from their skateboards, and the higher the combos the more fireballs players can shoot out of their skateboards. The object is for players to hit the other gamers with the fireballs. This is one of the most addicting game modes I have played in this series in a long time.

If you have the Network Adapter, you can play all of the previously mentioned games (except HORSE) and these: Goal Attack and Capture the Flag. In Goal Attack mode players can play Store Mode or player created goals. The object is to see who can finish all of the goals first. Capture the Flag is where players try to capture the opponent’s flag and bring it back to their base before their flag is stolen.

A big theme in Tony Hawk’s Underground is total customization. Players can customize everything in the game more than all of the previous Tony Hawk games combined. Everything is expounded a hundred fold: from create-a-skater to create-a-park mode, it is simply amazing!

Create-a-skater has more options than ever. Players can almost recreate a digital copy of themselves to play as through out the entire game. They can ad tattoos, eyes, skin textures, shoes, almost anything that you can think of is found to create the perfect digital “you”. The Playstation 2 version offers a feature that is not found in other games in create-a-skater mode. It allows players to take a picture of their face, send it to a special email address. After several minutes pass by, you will receive a password. Then you go online with your Playstation 2 and download the face scan via the interface. After it is downloaded you paste the face on the skater and then try to make the skin tone of the body match the face. This is a revolutionary feature that is in this game, as it truly makes the players feel like they are the skater in the game.

Create-a-park is one of the most advanced level editors I have seen in a skateboarding game. Like previous create-a-park modes, players can make everything, from grinds to half pipes. They can set the time of day sax players allowed in the park and many other things that gives total control to the players.

Have you ever thought that you can make better goals than the guys at Neversoft, well now is your chance to put your skills to the test, because players can now create specific goals. This can be from creating the classic “SKATE” letters to high score and many other things that allow players imaginations to run wild.

If that wasn’t enough players can now create and edit their own tricks. It is little things like this that make this game such a classic. In this mode players determine how long the trick will be, the specific animations the character will do, and the things the trick involves. After they are done with the creating process players can name their trick. You can now make all your friends envious of you when you create the ultimate trick.

Each Tony Hawk game offers something new that expands the gameplay ten hold. Tony Hawk 2 introduced the “manual”, which allowed more combos to be strung together for an ultimate high score. Tony Hawk 3 expanded the game by adding the “revert,” which is a 180-degree spin that is performed after coming down a vert ramp or a lip trick. This trick allows players to string together more combos to acquire an insane score. Tony Hawk 4 added the spine transfer, which allowed players to transfer over a spin. Tony Hawk’s Underground's biggest addition is the ability to hop off your skateboard and walk around, jump, and climb buildings.

Switching to walking mode is extremely easy, all players have to do is tap the L1 and R1 buttons at the same time. Also in this mode, players can climb and hand off buildings. This allows players to get into places they normally would not be able to get to while they are on their skateboards. Unfortunately the controls for the walking mode are not as smooth as the rest of this game. The characters move really clunky and awkward; it is a shame that this mode is not as refined as the skating mode.
Besides walking, players can get in cars and drive them around. The car control is not as refined as Grand Turismo, but the missions that you can drive them in are fun. At times players will have to get a car to over heat and ditch it in the bay, or drive a leaf blower around. While it is not as refined as the skateboarding, this offers a nice diversion to the main game and helps prevent any repetitiveness.

Tony Hawk’s Underground is rated T for Teen. It requires up to 110kb on your memory card for game saves. To play online you must have the Network card and broadband or dialup. It also is compatible with AOL Dial-Up.

Gameplay: 9.5
The Tony Hawk series has always had exceptional controls, which is why it is so acclaimed. Beginners can pick up the controller and start playing like a veteran in an hour. The game allows players to move the camera to any position and adjust the controls that they feel most comfortable with. It is little things like this that make this series such a delight to play.

The storyline for the game is really unique and gives the game a whole new flavor. I really like that Neversoft had the guts to try something this radical and ditch the formula that they know works so well. The only bad thing is the controls for the walking segments are as refined as the skating parts, but they are easily manageable, and you will not spend that much time walking around.

Graphics: 9.0
The level of detail in Tony Hawk’s Underground is simply astonishing, nearly flawless from the character models to the varied levels. Players can have myriads of tattoos, different faces, clothes, and even skateboards. The level of detail Neversoft put into each stage is astonishing, with great use of textures so no two levels look the same. Each level contains numerous pedestrians and other obstacles to avoid, making the game even more challenging.

There are also a lot of new animations added in this game. The biggest animation addition is more bails. They are better and funnier than in previous games. If a skater bails, his board can break and they can kick it, the skateboard can zoom off in the distance, or they can take longer to get up moaning and groaning about how hurt they are. All of this makes the game feel much more realistic and brings this genre closer to home.

Sound: 9.6
I was extremely surprised when I found out that there are over 70 songs in this game. Each year Neversoft crams more and more songs in their games, and it is amazing! The sound effects are also top notch. During the course of the game players will hear bone crashing, board snapping, and skater groaning. As in real life, when skating on different surfaces different sounds are heard. When skaters pass pedestrians, they will comment and critique how they have been skating. All this can be heard through Dolby Digital Pro Logic II and it sounds great!

Difficulty: Medium
There are a few different difficulty modes found in this game, and they range from very easy to extremely hard. The difference between these difficulty levels is the goals that are in the game. For example one goal might be to get a high score: under easy the points might be 50,000 while under sick mode it might be 500,000. Bottom line: Tony Hawk’s Underground suits players of all skill levels and players will enjoy it regardless.

Concept: 9.3
I love the fact that Neversoft decided to take a new direction for their latest game. This is not a revolutionary step in the series, but it is an evolutionary one, and shows that Neversoft is not afraid to try new things. It is great to see a developer try something completely new, and succeed in doing so. Besides the new premise of the game, the addition of walking and driving cars is pretty neat as well. Great job Neversoft!

Multiplayer: 9.3
Each year Neversoft adds new multiplayer games in, and this year they have outdone themselves with the Firefight mode. This is one of the most addicting multiplayer games I have played in a long time, and it is even better when you play it online against eight different people. The online portion is also very good, and I never ran into lag once.

Overall: 9.5
Tony Hawk’s Underground is one of the best skating games around. Anyone who is a fan of this genre owes it to themselves to pick up this excellent game. If that wasn’t enough there is a playable demo of MTX Mototrax located within this game. This is one game that no one should be left without this holiday season!