I Bought Tony Hawk 3 just to Impress the Chicks
Written: Dec 21 '01 (Updated Oct 01 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Detail to moves, levels, and challenges; graphics, control, modes
Cons: Trying to unlock everything, same old same old
The Bottom Line: The overall improvements with Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 are enough to label it as one of the year’s best games to hit any system.
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| Horhay's Full Review: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 for PlayStation 2 |
Intro:
Neversoft and Activision have without a doubt created one of the fastest growing and popular videogame franchise in the gaming industry. I’m sure that anybody who has been playing videogames for the past couple years has heard of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. The series has been released on every console out on the market today, and each title sells like hot cakes. Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 (THPS3) is newest installment, and it’s the most polished and entertaining game in the series.
Gameplay:
The concept of the game is rather simple. Players select a professional skate and enter levels where they must perform tricks and complete goals. As usual, you’ll find a ton of extra modes and hidden goodies along the way. The career mode is the game’s one-player focal point. You start the game with only one-level. You must unlock the other levels by accomplishing the tasks that are given to you. Challenges range from stopping a police chase in Los Angeles, to impressing girls with your tricks. Previous concepts are still intact, such as collecting letters to spell the word SKATE, finding hidden items, and trying to gain a certain amount of points. A new twist to the series is that some of the challenges are mixed up. The letters for skate will be in different locations, and there are numerous gap and grind tasks to complete. Players can also collect skate points and hidden decks. Skate points are used to improve skating skills.
I was very excited to know that the game contains a revert move and flatland tricks. Player can now link combos together when landing from ramps using the revert trick. Flatland tricks include caspers, one-footed, and handstand manuals. These extra tricks can result into huge combos. The new moves are fairly easy to learn, and there’s even a tutorial option for beginners. Handplants can also be mixed, allowing players to do multiple tricks while performing the handplant. Those are pretty much the huge trick system improvements; there are also plenty of new specials, grabs, and kick tricks.
The level design makes THPS3 standout. Levels are unlocked when you complete goals and do well in competitions. Each city/environment provides everything you need. Interactive characters, rails, huge gaps, cars, pools, and ramps can be found in almost every level. There’s so much stuff to find; you'll spend a good amount of time exploring and discovering places to pull off combos. There are also environment changes such as skate park’s wall breaking down and revealing a pirate ship.
THPS3’s control has remained unchanged. The total feel is natural, and the button setup is perfect. Moves are responsive and easy to perform. I still prefer the digital pad, since the analog control is a bit touchy. Finally, there’s a great balance meter. It feels accurate and players actually have more control over skater movements. There are various camera angles that players can choose, and most importantly the right analog stick can be used to look around.
There’s so much that players can do. There are a handful of 2-player modes to play. Players can create their own skate parks and skaters. After beating the game a certain amount times, new characters are available (such as Darth Maul), and old levels from the original Tony Hawk can be accessed. There’s also an online mode. I haven’t tested this out yet, but it sounds awesome. As I speak, skaters are battling it out by means of using third party USB Ethernet adapters. Personally, I’m just going to wait until the PS2 adapter comes out later next year.
THPS3 doesn’t have many faults. The challenges might be overwhelming for beginners and trying to beat the high scores in the last levels can be frustrating. If the THPS series has never held your interest, then you pretty much should stay away from this version. The sheer size of the game can get annoying. For example, in order to unlock special features players must beat the game 15 times, with all goals completed, and 3 gold medals. That’s a lot of work!
Graphics:
THPS3 is the best looking game in the series. The framerate is silky smooth and objects and characters are well-crafted. Levels are lively, containing people going about their daily business. Skater animations are fluid, and the game’s visuals shine when pulling off crazy combos. The blood effects have been improved. You can see blood splatter on the walls or see some of it on the floor. Skater videos are lengthier than ever, providing both behind the scenes and real skating footage. Overall, a great looking game.
Sound:
I gotta start out with the soundtrack. The music remains true to sequel, providing a solid mix of old/new hip-hop and hard rock. There are some notable artists such as The Ramones, the Peppers, Redman, Alien Ant Farm, Xzibit, AFI, KRS-One, and Motorhead. There are several gems in the playlist, but I’m not feeling some of the songs when skating. I think Neversoft is trying to hard to outdo last year's soundtrack, and as a result the game's losing the skateboarding atmosphere. I want more punk music and funky beats.
The sound effects get the job done. Grinds are crystal clear and your skateboard wheels produce realistic sounds when skating over different surfaces. The sound bites coming from spectators in the game is cool. They’ll make fun of you when your face hits the cement, encourage you to do better, and cheer when you perform a worthy trick.
Overall:
THPS3 infuses great level design with awesome play mechanics. The overall improvements with THPS3 are enough to label it as one of the year’s best games to hit any system. I haven’t been glued to a skateboarding game like this since the original came out in 1999. Clearly a must have for fans or anyone interested in an exciting game.
Recommended:
Yes
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Horhay
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Member: Jorge Vazquez
Location: San Francisco, CA
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