phungus's Full Review: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 for PlayStation 2
Let me start this by saying I am a fan of the Tony Hawk Pro Skater games. When I played the first one, I never thought it would be the type of game that I would dig, but I thoroughly calloused up my thumbs while trying to beat it. I recently found a store selling Tony Hawk 3 for PlayStation 2 for $15.99, so I went out the next day and bought it. This title has been out for a while and has been re-packaged as a “Greatest Hits” game.
THPS3 is one of the most feature-rich games I’ve ever seen. It features all the things that made the first 2 games so good: Lots of special tricks, plenty of characters to choose from, challenging maps, etc. But with this PS2 version, they pulled out all the stops. It is fully multiplayer compatible, even over a network, which is something pretty new for the PS2. It also supports USB devices, such as a keyboard or mouse, although I’ve not tried this. With this new version, you can also fully customize the look of your skater and create your own maps. Yes, there is a lot to this game.
Being that this is PlayStation 2 game, you can fully expect the graphics to be substantially better than the PS1 titles. The game functions basically the same, with all the movements and camera angles working just like the other games. However, the graphics are much more detailed and smoother in appearance. Basically it’s the same game with better graphics and different maps.
The only thing I found really lacking about THPS3 was the soundtrack. The previous games sported some cool bands like Rage Against the Machine and Primus, but with this game you can tell they skimped on the music. It has a Rollins Band song and an ancient Red Hot Chili Peppers song, but everything else is stuff I’ve not heard of before, and for good reason, because most of it really sucks.
The game controls are the same as before. Each button does something and you use the directional keys to spin and steer. The tricks are done by combining buttons and spins and so on. There are countless special moves that you can do in this game, much like a fighting game. I’ve always said that the Tony Hawk games combine the best elements of racing games with fighting games.
While this game is more difficult than the previous two, it does feature more chances for you to earn points while playing. You can’t go more than a few feet in any direction without having something to jump on or do a trick from. However, the challenge is setting yourself up to do the best combination of tricks. You get the most points from combos of varied tricks before touching back on the ground.
All in all, this is a solid game for the PS2, and is now a cheap title. I guess that means Tony Hawk 4 is due out soon. There is also a Tony Hawk 3 for the PS1 system, but I’ve not played it and don’t know what the difference are, besides the graphics.
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