Tony Hawk's Life Destroyer 2
Written: Jan 08 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Infinite replay, park creator, skater creator, tons of tasks, manuals for almost infinite combos, simple yet difficult, sheer perfection, the BEST video game soundtrack EVER
Cons: Your life may become nothing more than Cheetos, Pepsi, and Tony Hawk 2
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| awoolcott's Full Review: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 for Dreamcast |
A mythical rule in video games sometimes is no matter how hard game companies try, a sequel never tops the original in terms of making the game seem “fresh.” Oh a few game series have pulled it off – Resident Evil immediately comes to mind, with each of their sequels improving on and on, until they reached the limit with Code Veronica. But for every Resident Evil, there is a Tomb Raider, a series that hit its peak way back in 1996 with the original rendition of that saga. Now, another monster-hit series goes the sequel route: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2. So where does THPS2 fit in among the sequel series? Right straight at the top of the rung. THPS2 is a classic example of how to do a sequel right – and in the way of accomplishing that, they made the most addictive game I’ve played since, oh, the original Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. They ought to rename THPS2 “Tony Hawk’s Life Destroyer”, because that’s exactly what it does to you.
Currently you can get THPS2 on multiple systems – there are versions available for PlayStation, Dreamcast, PC, and N64 & GameBoy (Nintendo’s versions aren’t available currently). This review is on the Dreamcast version.
What’s New? - Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 has all the same features as the original with some twists. You get the standard Career Mode, Single Session and Free Skate, along with some new replay-adding options. Beyond the 13 real-life skaters (all the ones from THPS, along with 3 new ones), you also get a create-a-skater mode to create your own stereotypical skater. My first created skater was a white guy with an afro named Funky McGhee – and the possibilities are endless for what other creations you can make. So along with 13 built-in skaters, you can make your own freaks of nature and raise hell with those creations. And the CAS isn’t weak either – you can make seemingly endless amounts of disgusting creations to show off to your equally disgusting friends.
Also new is a much-loved Park Editor, where you can create your own skate park. It does have a small learning curve but once you get the hang of it you’ll be making your own house of horrors in no time. They do give you a large assortment of pre-made parks (about 60) to play with (like Montana – which is nothing but a tree and planter. Hoo-boy the tricks you can pull off with a tree & planter!) and alter. And like CAS, the Park Editor isn’t light on features so the variety of parks is virtually endless.
There is one major improvement that I have to heap praise on – with the first THPS (for PlayStation), you could only have one saved Career per memory card. With THPS2, you can have as many of the 17 block saves as you can fit on a VMU. It’s a welcome improvement for those who like to carry multiple Careers at a time.
The courses have been completely revamped and are all-new, even though I’m disappointed that the original courses aren’t included as once promised. Many however are variations on the same themes from the original – a warehouse, a school, a downtown area, as well as a couple levels based in the same manner as the infamous San Francisco level from the original. Normally, I would be irritated on a company resting on their laurels and revamping, but instead, while keeping the same theme, they completely reconstructed each and every level with more ramps, more pipes, more rails, more combos, and more opportunities to kick some ass.
Trickin’ With The Hawk - THPS2 has extended the tasks required for completing a level, as well as changed the parameters of accumulation of points as well. Instead of 5 different tasks, you get 10 per level instead. The old objectives are still there; spell S.K.A.T.E (as if skaters really ran around doing tricks trying to grab flying letters..oh the realism), find a secret tape (which has become less “secret” and more “difficult”), and pull off tricks to gain as many points as you can. But this time, instead of only 2 scoring hits to acquire, you have three – High Score, Pro Score, and Sick Score, with Sick being an astronomical amount of points required for that.
Like the original, there is also a couple level-specific tasks – some are a little simple thing, some aren’t. Case in point – New York’s level has a task where you must grind the entire subway tracks from beginning to end (that’s after you acquire the 5 subway tokens to open the subway gates), without getting smashed into by a subway train (which can begin an interesting chain – hit by the train, fall through the tracks to the mainland, only to be smashed by a taxi cab on the way down – with the taxi driver, typical stereotype as well, cussing you out and calling you a motherf..NOT a good combo!). It might sound easy but unless your balance is tricked out you won’t get too far.
Other fun objectives include Venice Beach, California’s tasks – one of the hardest sets in the game. One is so hidden you have to search everywhere and trick on everything just to find it, and even one where you have to Ollie the magic bum (yes you read me right) 5 times (and of course we all know the magic bum of Venice Beach is Hulk Hogan, but that’s an entirely different story). Yeah some of these tasks sound outlandish, but it’s what makes this game so much fun and so much superior to the original.
As with the first THPS, there are a few competitions – a couple regular ones, and one in the Bullring in Madrid, Spain. Complete with a bull running around a circle waiting to gore you if you head into it’s territory. It even takes poops – as heard and seen by the rather..umm..noticeable fart noises it makes when you skate over the pile of poo. No one said this was a mature game.
And the points system is now much different – instead of gaining tapes and just automatically improving your character, you earn money – which you apply to buying new tricks, or upgrading your characters skills until you completely trick out your skater to top form. And the more money you earn, the more levels you unlock, and more points you can gain after tricking out your skater. That’s when it gets fun – once you get your character maxed out, there is practically nothing you can’t do and no trick you can’t pull off.
And it indeed is much more enjoyable than the first – I tried very hard to go back and play the original (the Dreamcast version, because my PlayStation died a couple weeks ago), but I find it to be boring now and nowhere near as fun as THPS2. There is just so much more meat to this game, so much more to do, and so many more combos and tricks to impress your dorky friends with. The addition of manuals (a skateboard wheelie basically) to link one combo into another adds to the pure joy of finally accomplishing a goal – especially when you do more than you normally do. A manual essentially allows you to create a custom combo that can go on as long as either you or the level can take it.
The difficulty is increased though, and that’s also what greatly adds to the replay. I suppose the game itself isn’t difficult – it’s the level goals that are. For instance – in the Philadelphia level you must drain a fountain in the middle of the area. In order to do that, you must gain enough speed, then grind across a small reverse half-pipe, then ollie over The World’s Most Obvious Gap (their name not mine), grind stairway rails, then jump up to a balcony roof, and either go over the railing or grind it until you are firmly set on top. All that needs to be accomplished in less than 5 SECONDS. And it requires sheer and utter perfection to pull off – I’ve attempted it a hundred times since I got the game and I’ve only gotten up there maybe 10 percent of the time. It requires complete concentration and your bestest THPS skillz (skillz to make hip with the cool kidz) to pull a trick like that off.
Those are the things that make Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 that great – it can be frustrating, but the feeling you get after finally pulling that trick you’ve been wanting to pull off forever is priceless.
And once you accomplish these goals – the other fun part kicks in – just rolling around the assorted levels and seeing what kind of mayhem you can pull off. You couldn’t believe the amount of special tricks you can pull off – some are evident, some only show once you figure them out. The school level is a perfect example – once you launch yourself to the roof (where the secret tape is) you can fly over to the opposite roof, slide down, collect the cash, then flip yourself over the roof, and if you’re lucky over the railings to the concrete road (and for extra fun; car plant the crazy SOB that’s riding around trying to kill you) – all in one shot. It’s that kind of stuff that makes just the Free Skate option that immersive and fun – just fooling around on the quarterpipes, halfpipes, and anything grindable – just to see what in the name of Tony Hawk you can string together.
It’s that kind of gameplay and replay value that makes sitting down and playing this game so damn fun – you’ll never ever play the exact game twice.
Purty? - Not that it matters, but it’s a very nice looking game. It might not completely show off the power of the Dreamcast – but it’s still easy on the eyes. A few flaws exist – there is some invisible wall problems, where you can see what’s on the other side, when you aren’t supposed to. Plus, the camera can be claustrophobic at times – and it can put you in a compromising position more often than it should. But the levels themselves are impressive – as well as the skaters. In THPS1 for DC, the skaters looked big and bulky. In THPS2, they are more “human” looking and less robotic – making the experience that much more realistic. But, honestly, you don’t have time to look at graphics because the game is so fast paced and involving.
Control - Perfection. Pure perfection. Tony Hawk 2 does an absolutely spectacular job of making sure the skaters do what you want them to do, when you want to do it. Never will you scream and holler because the skater didn’t do a move you wanted – the controller faithfully does what it’s told. Though there is a bit of an advanced theme – there are extra moves which require more button presses – which can be annoying if you don’t get the command in fast enough. Also, the skaters are more “loose.” What I mean is it’s easier to lose control of your skater in air compared to the original version because they will float around based on where what you make them do. But it actually makes the game more real because no skater does a 720 Judo and lands in the same spot they started in – no way. It’s as close as you’ll get to realism and perfection in a video game. PERIOD.
Sound - Generally the sound effects are just kind of there – you know what surface you’re skating on by the noises, and that’s really about all. When you mess up a trick the skaters moan in pain but besides that there isn’t much of anything to talk about..except….
The soundtrack is hands-down the very best I’ve ever heard. A lot of Extreme Sports games claim to have the perfect soundtrack for the game they are doing – Tony Hawk can boast to being right on the money. The mix of songs is typical skater – some punk here and ska there and finally, some hip-hop to go along with it. The major name bands are there – Papa Roach, Rage Against The Machine (with Guerrilla Radio), along with old-time acts Naughty By Nature, as well as “Bring The Noise” by Public Enemy & Anthrax (God that was/is a great song)..along with some not-as-mainstream bands as well. Put bluntly none of the songs are considerably bad and all fit the skateboarding theme. They even truly pump you up and motivate you to go and tear the hell out of the level. If a record company was smart they would release that soundtrack separate – I know I’d buy it.
If You Aren’t Convinced Yet - Check your pulse, you might be deceased. I used to think Resident Evil: Code Veronica was the best Dreamcast game ever – now it’s a distant second to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2. Nothing at all comes close to being as addictive to play, as well as being so simple to pick up and play – and still give you enough difficulty to master. Add the bonus of a park creator and a skater creator, and you have virtually infinite replay value. Whether it’s the PS, PC, DC, or whatever platform you play – go out and buy this game now – believe the hype, the press, and the reviews – this is a very strong candidate for not just game of the year, but best game EVER.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
awoolcott
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Location: Arizona
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2009 was a pretty good year for games, but next year, wow.
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