Gaming Trend

Gaming Trend Review

by Keith Schleicher

Few series have endured longer than the Tony Hawk series.  Ever since debuting on the N64, Playstation, and Dreamcast, the Tony Hawk series has appeared on just about every console made since.  While he has made appearances on the Game Boy and GBA, those games were closer to the arcade game Skate or Die with their 2D graphics and overhead perspective.  That all changed when Tony Hawk was released on the PSP with Tony Hawk Underground 2 Remix.

A couple of years have passed since then and now Activision is releasing their eighth iteration of the series with Tony Hawk's Project 8 (THP8).  THP8 lets you play as an up and coming skateboarder trying to get noticed by the pros.  You perform tricks in different areas and complete goals to complete your rank.  Will you increase your name high enough and become a part of Project 8?  Is it a journey worth taking?

The graphics of the PSP version of THP8 aren’t much different from the PS2 version.  Since the game appears to use the same engine as Tony Hawk American Wasteland, the graphics aren’t the huge draw that was found in previous games.  The character models haven’t advanced much, and the textures do look blurry.  The models of the real life skaters actually look kind of creepy in action.  If you can imagine a cross between the skaters and the Pillsbury Doughboy, you probably have a good idea behind what the characters look like.

The backgrounds in THP8 are less detailed than the characters.  Each of the areas has their own theme and each environment looks different enough from each other.  The problem is when you get close to the objects get very blurry.  They are also very blocky with sharp angles.  This is especially noticeable on objects like circular platforms or sculptures.

Animations look like just about any other Tony Hawk game you’ve played.  They move smoothly and accurately depict the movements of your skater.  The backgrounds though are desolate and static.  While some times you can manipulate objects in the environments, most of them are immovable.  Even the people in the background stand around in the same place waiting for them to interact with you.  The new “Nail the Trick” mode does look very cool though.  When moving into this mode, the game focuses on your board and zooms into your feet, blurring everything around you.  Time slows down in a Matrix-like effect.  The effect works well and looks very cool in action.  However, this can cause some clipping issues with your board actually going through objects as you are performing tricks.

The music in THP8 is as rebellious as the activity represented in the game.  Mixing a bit of rap/hip-hop, metal, reggae, and other styles, the music adds flavor to the game without being too distracting.  It also helps to keep the movement of the game flowing.  However, it’s very difficult to hear the music at the default setting, so you’ll probably want to turn it up to hear the tunes.

If you’ve played any Tony Hawk game, you’ve heard the sounds of a THP8.  Grinding, landing tricks, and manuals all sound the same.  What is a bit disturbing is that no matter which surface you are skating on, it all sounds the same.  Sidewalks, cardboard, lawns, city streets all start to sound the same.  If there are differences they are subtle.  There aren’t any ambient sounds in the levels, but part of that is the desolation of the areas.  This isn’t any different from other Tony Hawk game though.

The voice acting is convincing enough coming from the pros themselves.  However, sometimes some non-skaters will send you voice mails on your cell phone.  For instance, Jason Lee sometimes leaves a message to congratulate you on the new sponsor or let you know of some pro in town so you can impress the pro.

Movement in THP8 is handled with the D-pad, while the camera controls are done with the analog nub.  Using the R key in conjunction with the D-pad allows you to turn quickly.  Ollies are performed with the X key, while you grind using the Triangle key.  If you want to perform flip tricks you use the Square button, and grab tricks are made with the Circle button.  These are the most basic moves, but more advanced moves can be made with combinations of the controls.

You can move into the “Nail the Trick” mode by moving up or down on the analog nub while doing an Ollie.  Then the D-pad controls the responses of your left foot while the action buttons control your right foot.  The feeling of using this control scheme isn’t as natural as using two analog sticks, similar to how Me and My Katamari feels different from playing Katamari Damacy.  This makes nailing those tricks even more difficult.

The controls of THP8 for the PSP aren’t much different from other Tony Hawk games.  Unfortunately, the design of the PSP hampers the control scheme.  The awkwardness of the D-pad and action buttons for the Nail the Trick mode and the difficulty to enter that mode is disappointing.  Using the D-pad for movement is less precise than the analog nub.  Trying to perform manuals (moving up then down) with the D-pad really takes a lot of practice.  Page 44 has done a good job with the hand that they were dealt, but the controls really don’t feel comfortable even after playing it for several hours.

The main mode in THP8 is the career mode.  In this mode you work on increasing your rank so that you can become a part of Tony Hawk’s newest skateboarding team, Project 8.   You go through different areas like the suburbs, downtown, and the City Center, completing goals by performing challenges.  As you do this, you increase your rank, get sponsorships, and earn that coveted spot in Tony Hawk’s elite team.

The first thing you need to in THP8 is create a skater to represent you in the game. Here you can change the face, hair, eyes, hat, glasses, shirt, pants, socks, shoes, board, and other accessories.  However, the number of options for each article of clothing and feature is rather low considering the create-a-player features in other games.  It would have been nice to see more variety in the options available.

Once you have a skater created, a tutorial level is available to play through.  Here the controls are explained.  If you’ve played a Tony Hawk game before you’ll instantly be familiar with most of the controls.  However, there are some changes, so it is a good idea to go through it and get some practice in.

When you start up you have a few skills and very low stats. As you travel through the area you meet up with people who have goals for you to perform.  Each of these goals has three levels.  They are AM, Pro, and Sick.  The AM level is usually very easy to perform and can be done without too much practice or increase in your stats.  The Pro level is a bit more difficult to do, but it can be completed with some increase in stats and practice.  The Sick level is just that…sick.  Unless you have increased the stats of your character it’s almost impossible to complete these levels until later in the game.

As you complete these goals, you increase in rank and get voice mails on your cell phone.  As you increase in rank you eventually get sponsorships.  You’ll also get a little video that plays on the PSP advertising the sponsor with the voice mail.  While I understand that this part of the game tries to immerse you in the culture of skating, it almost feels a bit too commercial.  If you are big into skating you might enjoy seeing these ads, but it gets kind of annoying after a while.

Every couple of levels you gain extra stats to improve your skater.  Stats include areas like air, Ollie, spin, and flip.  When you start playing THP8, the stats in these areas are really low. Scoring the AM level is about the level you can complete at first.  You’ll need to go through and increase your stats, unlock new environments, perform a few new goals at the AM level, and then go back to the original environments and earn the Pro and eventually Sick levels.  This will take a while to complete the game, and each of the levels has a different objective, so it doesn’t feel like you are doing the same thing over and over again.  At least the load times are relatively short, so moving from one environment to another doesn’t seem to take too long.

You can find people with different objectives around the environment.  Once you have a goal selected, you can try to repeat that goal until you have succeeded at the level you want or exit it.  The objectives range from completing specific tricks for a photo op, getting a high score in a certain area within a certain period of time, or following someone with a video camera and performing the stunts that they call out.  While some of the objectives are similar, they are different enough that you don’t get bored with it.  Still, the game doesn’t have much to differentiate it from some of the more recent games in the Tony Hawk series.

While the Career mode is the main portion of the game, a few other modes are available as well.  In Classic mode you have specific objectives to complete in each level.  Each goal has an AM, Pro, and Sick difficulty.  The number of objectives you complete in two minutes will determine the difficulty level you complete.  This unlocks new levels in the Classic mode.  In Horse you play against another person on the same PSP.  You each battle back and forth to create a better combo from the same point on a level.  The one who gets less points or takes a dive earns a letter.  The first to spell Horse (or another word of your choosing) loses.  You can also Free Skate through the levels you have already unlocked.  This is a good way to be able to practice tricks without worrying about completing goals.

The Wireless mode you can play up to twelve different games against others over the Internet.  The include Trick Attack, Obstacle Course, Graffiti, Elimiskate, Scare Challenge, Capture the Flag, and King of the Hill.  While some of these games have been available in previous versions of the Tony Hawk series, it’s nice to be able to play online against others.

If you are a huge fan of the Tony Hawk series, you’ll enjoy the game presented in the PSP version of Tony Hawk's Project 8.  There are plenty of options to play the game how you want to, and the objectives give a nice variety.  The difficulty of the tricks and the length of time it will take to reach the Sick level ensures that there is plenty of longevity with the game.  However, the commercialism of the game got old very quickly, and the game still feels a bit stale.  Except for the Nail the Trick feature, there isn’t much new to the game.  If you aren’t a fan of the Tony Hawk series, Tony Hawk's Project 8 really won’t do anything to turn you into one.

Gaming Trend Score

75

1. Graphics: 78
2. Audio: 82
3. Controls: 72
4. Gameplay: 70
5. Value/Replay: 75
6. OVERALL:75