THE GOOD:Soundtrack
Controls
No load times
Variety of game-play
Bikeage
Millions of ways to customize your character
The amount of area you space you have to do whatever you want!
THE BAD:
Mediocre plot
No girls in story mode
Character designs are mediocre
SUMMARY:
Game-play - 16/20
The game-play is everything you'd ever want in a Tony Hawk game. It offers several new tricks. Trick customization is also available. But this game offers so much more than skateboard maneuvers.
The latest Tony Hawk game offers no load times, and a whole city to skate through. That city, is Los Angeles. You are given skateboard, biking and even ditching both to just run around. Get pissed off every once in awhile? Smack someone with your board or chuck it in their face. Can't wall-ride to a building? Get off your board and run up the wall.
The game-play has never before been as good as this in a Tony Hawk game. This is how every adventure-inspired Hawk title should be.
Soundtrack - 18/20
The only thing it's missing is The Offspring and NOFX, then the punk would really start it. The soundtrack is focused primarily on Punk Rock with several covers from famous bands of the 70s and 80s such as the Misfits. But a few punk bands have killed the original titles such as the cover of Astro Zombies by My Chemical Romance previously released by the Misfits. With songs from bands like Bad Religion, Black Flag, and the Circle Jerks, this game should appeal to any punk music fan. I bought this game for several reasons and the soundtrack is a primer.
Plotline - 12/20
This is one thing that thrashed the game that could've had more time put into it. It hurt the game and gave me second thoughts after I purchased it. Anyway, the story revolves around a young man in High School that wants to get away from it all. His girlfriend cheats on him and ditches him for a jock, he's failing in school and he's criticized for loving only but skate. He flees to Los Angeles in hopes of getting a career in the extreme sport. He gets on a bus and gets to Los Angeles, only to be mugged by two rival skate punks.
A girl named Mindy comes to his aid and is his source of help. She explains to him the point of your adventure and it is to sponsor her magazine entitled "American Wasteland" and build a park of the same name.
Multiplayer - 12/20
Multiplayer has improved slightly, once again. But in my honest opinion, it's still lacking. There are several mini-games to play, but the stages are worthless. Offering very only a handful of ramps and hardly any rails, the free skating and graffiti challenges aren't as fun as they used to be. But a few stages offer the same multiplayer game-play that can be seen in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2.
Visuals - 14/20
The graphics in this game could've been better, but I'm not complaining because the game-play and soundtrack make up for that. The character models are....Bleh. If you're looking for graphics, phone your Gamestop about THUG 2's availability. Aside from the character models, the level designs are good. The streets are smoothly paved and the buildings and bricked to perfection. There are no limits in this game in terms of location and free roaming across the city. Everything you saw just out reach beyond invisible barriers are no more. The blurry islands you will see off the coast of Santa Monica beach are all accessible by either bus, truck or underground tunnels which you can access at any time.
Overall - 72/100 = C -
This game has several good points and the same amount of bad ones. Handle your decision before buying this game carefully. If you're looking for a good time with a Hawk game, I recommend THUG 2.
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