kdm2004's Full Review: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 for PlayStation 1
Tony Hawk 3 for the PS1 just doesnt stack up. The premise of the Tony Hawk games is that you get to be a skater and do various goals in a multitude of levels (its usually between eight and ten).
You perform tricks by combining various buttons, usually an arrow (they have four in the 4 basic directions) with a shape (triangle, square, circle, or x). The tricks get complex enough, but nothing too challenging. If you string together enough things, or at least do enough tricks in rapid enough succession, your SPECIAL meter fills up and you can do special tricks.
Available skaters include Tony Hawk, Elissa Steamer, Bam Margera, Kareem Campell, and more. The skaters do supposedly have different tweakable stats, but honestly, they all seem to perform basically the same to me.
Tony Hawk 3 was first available for the PS1, and thats how I originally got it. Then it came out for PS2 and the PS1 version is so bad .its just really, really depressing.
Tony Hawk 3s levels include (not in order, since the order was somewhat different in the PS1 version) Foundry, Canada, Suburbia, Tokyo, Airport and such. The levels have several goals, most of which seem to be on the lighter, easier side.
Tony Hawk 3 for PS1 has a very limited Create-A-Skater mode, which has very basic graphics and options. It also has a marginal Create-A-Park mode. Tony Hawk 3 for PS1 did do one good thing for the Tony Hawk line: It introduced the online gaming aspect.
The sound/music on Tony Hawk 3 is pretty good. It gets repetive after many hours but really is a strong point in this fairly weak game.
As for the graphics, its the worst part of this game. Compared with PS2, this looks like a $5 Yard Sale game. Its blocky and dull looking. Also, with the PS1 being capable of movies, why cant we have the slick goal videos of the PS2 version?
Overall, Id almost automatically recommend not buying this game, and getting the PS2 version instead. I suppose its adequate if youve only got the PS1 system. If you have nothing to compare it to, unlike me, you might enjoy it.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 delivers realistic, cutting edge graphics, action-packed gameplay, seamless video cinematic sequences and crisp special effec...More at eBay
1 or 2 Players Vibration Function Compatible Analog Control Compatible Soundtrack includes Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Ramones, and Alien Ant Farm Rate...More at Amazon Marketplace
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.