Tony Hawk, the international man of trickery, is back for his seventh (or eighth – I'm starting to lose track) journey to stunt perfection. It seemed wise to go underground with such a dangerous sport, but this time Tony Hawk is taking his game to a place that no extreme sports game has gone before: a large, streaming world with the promise of there being no loading and no end to the areas you can explore. Sounds too good to be true, and it probably would've been had not been for the fact that this is the zillionth sequel to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. This series doesn't make a habit of disappointing its players.

With new locations and new thugs to choose from, Tony Hawk's American Wasteland takes a different approach to becoming a stunt master. Classic Mode lets you play the old way: reach the top scores, find the hidden tape, perform stunts over objects, and collect the letters to spell S-K-A-T-E and C-O-M-B-O. The new Story Mode is where the game turns into that Grand Theft Auto-inspired adventure that so many have aspired to become.

Pick a skater, hop on a bus, and the real-time movie will explain the rest. It seems the leading characters want to get away from it all and become a star. Hollywood is for actors, yet that's where he'll end up. He'll meet lots of weird and unfriendly people along the way, running into trouble the second he gets off the bus. His stuff is stolen, and thanks to a raspy-voiced girl he meets afterward, he discovers that his look isn't going to cut it here. To survive you've got to look like the scum you're running from. With a little practice he'll even learn how to become a bit of a punk himself – and get his stuff back.

American Wasteland is Tony Hawk's Pro Skater with several creative twists. It's filled with mini-goals, not mini-games. Skitch this, grind that. Score the listed point total to open a specific area, to gain more cash, or just to impress your competitors and push closer to the final goal.

The new trick learning system lets you prove yourself to other boarders while gaining valuable button sequence information. It's no secret that I'm not a Tony Hawk master, but if I were I still wouldn't know that I can jump off my board, run up a wall, flip back and land on the wall behind me, then jump from that into an ollie. Unless the game gave me an indication that that was possible, which it does with all of the new moves, both visually and eventually with the exact commands needed to execute those moves.

I couldn't help but think of Spider-Man as I bounced off walls and performed moves that defied the laws of extreme sports. It was as if Peter Parker had given a few of his powers to these boarders, letting us manipulate them in ways that took years to imagine – ways that have made American Wasteland achieve a new level of richness and seamlessness.

Old tricks are taught just as the new ones are, an element that may turn off hardcore players initially. I liked how the game explained most moves and kept the key information on the top of the screen. This was especially helpful for biking, which has finally become a part of the Tony Hawk series. Not that it needed to be (this is a skateboarding game, not BMX), but since Matt Hoffman and Dave Mirra are nowhere in sight, this was the perfect opportunity for Neversoft to show 'em how it's done.

Biking controls are a bit different from Tony Hawk's mechanics, applying various spin moves to the right analog stick. Whereas the skateboard has you constantly moving forward unless you push down on the left stick, bikes are stationary until you hold down the X button. Releasing it executes a bunny hop, and when the bike loses momentum it'll stop moving.

That alone takes some getting used to. Toss in the combo list, the weight increase, and the hundreds of unique tricks and you've got American Wasteland's most challenging new feature. It's also the most fun.

Missions – which are (to a degree) set up in the same, pick-'em-when-you-want-'em layout as Grand Theft Auto -- fall into one of two groups: skateboarding or BMX biking. Smart gamers will catch onto the fact that if you explore with a bike you'll never be without one and be forced to "come back later," as the game says when you don't have one. Dropping the bike automatically returns you to your skateboard, which stays with you at all times even when you can't see it. Bikes, however, are left wherever you leave them. They're not hard to find and are usually located near bike missions, so no matter what you're unlikely to run into problems.

Not long after American Wasteland begins it becomes apparent that, like Grand Theft Auto, there are a lot of distractions to keep you entertained (and away from) the main mission. Some are important, some are not, but most give the reward of cash. I have little desire to change my character's appearance more than I have to, but those who love to customize are going to need a lot of dough.

Gameplay: 8.5
Tony Hawk 4.5 or 5.6? It’s hard to say. A wasteland this is not. Lacking in innovation but not in extreme fun, this game is like paradise to anyone who wants to perform radical, gravity-defying stunts. The new wall plants and low board moves (and back flips and wall runs) are enormously enjoyable to execute. The story mode’s 24-hour (not real-time) cycle gives you new goals everyday, and with hundreds of side challenges to complete, you’ll be playing this game for a very long time.

Graphics: 7.6
Solid but dated graphic design with large environments, a consistent frame rate and animation that's smooth 95% of the time. (The other 5% has weird glitches that split the character image and two and make walls disappear, among other odd occurrences.)

Make your character look as cool, as ugly, or as weird as you want, changing everything from hair color and style to clothing and facial hair. Change your board, your pants and your shirt, everything. For multiplayer create a new character and map your own face onto it with the EyeToy camera. The effect isn't spectacular – you're going to need a well-lit room and find the best place to set your EyeToy if you expect to get a discernable picture.

Sound: 8.9
This punk rocks! American Wasteland's punk rock soundtrack of modern hits and classic covers are thoroughly entertaining. The voice-overs tend to get a little annoying, but the story sequences can be skipped if you're all about the game and nothing lame.

Difficulty: Medium
All but a cakewalk for hardcore fans and nearly a nightmare for neophytes, American Wasteland will test your skills in hundreds of ways. Moderately detailed trick explanations give newbies just what they need to get started. I’m no Tony Hawk pro so I liked this aspect. Tony Hawk masters, however, may view this as an in-game tutorial (which it pretty much is) and get bored waiting for the really hardcore challenges to hit.

Concept: 8.0
American Wasteland’s move collection has set the standard for extreme sports games.

Multiplayer: 8.5
As addictive as ever. New locations are always expected and do their part in keeping the multiplayer from losing its edge. The new moves are just as appreciated, bringing hours of additional fun and replay value to the eight-year-old Tony Hawk courses

Overall: 8.5
I’m not blown away, I’m merely shackled to my PS2 with unheard-of addictiveness. Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland may be an upgrade, but it’s a grand upgrade and is by far the most immersive Tony Hawk made this generation. The new tricks, new learning system, the new courses and the many Create-A-Modes provide hours on top of hours of fun. Fire up the multiplayer modes and you’ll be doubly immersed in the never-ending battle between friends, enemies, and friends who become enemies after you beat them by several hundred thousand points (take that, guys!).