Tony Hawk's Underground

[RLench]

Thanks Tommy. Just what I wanted to hear: the new crap is just a small part and the actual game is top class

btw what are the high score challenges like? Anything over 1,000,000? 2,000,000?

Put a sick score challenge of 2,000,000 in and I promise I'd play non-stop until I finished it

[sininc]

Personally I cant wait for this game, I was never a big fan till the third game, but loved that and played that and THPS4 to death.

[InsideOutBoy]

All in all, THUG has turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. I believed the franchise was heading down a tiresome alley with number 4, but THUG has re-awakened my interest in the series.

The levels are large, realistic, and immersive. You feel like you?re in a genuine city and not a fake set.

There?s a good balance between whacky goals and trick competitions, combo challenges, etc.

Being able to get off your board and walk around works well. It adds to the authentic feel, and opens up several new combo possibilities.

The multiplayer is very addictive and the new fireball mode is a good laugh, though short-lived.

The unlockables are actually worth unlocking. It seems that all the re-worked levels from Tony Hawk?s 2x have been included as secrets.

The story mode is genuinely interesting and at last gives all the skating action some framework. It?s a very refreshing change to being a pro skater.

On the negative side:

There are too many ?find the 5 something? challenges. Skating around a large level with no map or arrow, searching desperately for a small package is tedious.

There?s a lot of dead weight on the soundtrack. Annoyingly, the Xbox version adds a hall-mode style effect to your own custom soundtracks that completely ruins them, so there?s no escape from it either.

The car driving is very unsatisfying and feels tacked on. Thankfully its kept to a minimum, but it doesn?t work. The cars glide across the road and get stuck in levels designed for skateboards.


But all in all, I?d say it was the best Tony Hawk?s game made so far. The positive reviews are well-earned. (It's even better than THPS2).

[JibberX]

I don't want to sound like a grouch, but I personally think the game could do with being a tad more realistic in the trick department. I remember when I put the cheat on to make THPS3 "real" and it was great, it was like watching me skateboard. THUG is just a bit too fast and basically the same, its been 5 iterations and its possible to rack up the same tricks without much difference, its kinda going FIFA. I was hoping Underground to take the series to people like me who want to play a game where an ollie kick flip is the most amzing thing to perform.....

[RLench]

But when people play Tony Hawk's they want to be doing completely OTT moves and combos. I know I do, anyway.

What's going to be more fun to a non-skater: an ollie over a dustbin, or a 900 Indy flip over a huge statue? Ok, that's an extreme example but surely you get my point.

[phillai]

Can I just quickly ask if anyones played the PS2 version and how's it compare to the other versions graphically?

I've always thought that the PS2 controller is best out of all the other console controllers for the Tony Hawks Series...

[RLench]

I have the PS2 version but haven't seen the others.

It looks fantastic IMO, but there is a tiny bit of slowdown on some levels (so much going on at once, basically) It isn't too noticeable

PS2 pad is my favourite choice for this game though

[JibberX]

I think I could kick off into a long in depth thing about games, game engines and quality design. But needless to say, it would be possible to make performing the most apparently simple tasks as exhilarating as doing an 800 mile grind. I guess its just a question of big brush americanisation juxtaposed with subtle gameplay mechanics.

[phillai]

Just wanna curiously ask...
Which of the Tony Hawks is best?
I throughly enjoyed Tony Hawks 3 which was my first introduction to the Tony Hawks series.
I got TH4 which I've hardly played and THUG looks more or less like TH4...

[Magnakai]

Well, from what I've played, THUG is definitely the best one in the series. It's a bigger step forward for the series than anything since the manual in THPS2, but if you weren't that fond of Tony Hawk's then you won't like it.
As you say you thoroughly enjoyed THPS3, I'd pick it up sometime, as long as you're not bored of the basic gameplay, cause that hasn't changed much.

[mr_sockochris]

Just wanna curiously ask...
Which of the Tony Hawks is best?
I throughly enjoyed Tony Hawks 3 which was my first introduction to the Tony Hawks series.
I got TH4 which I've hardly played and THUG looks more or less like TH4...

For me, THPS2 was best. I used to have it on the DC but i recently got it for my PC from play.com for about ?8. Woth every penny

[Marvelon]

I've been playing TH games since TH2 (but I did get and complete TH1) I'm a fan, if you will.
imho 1, 2 and 3 are the best out of the 5 because they make you do the same thing over and over again. That sounds bad but it forces you to get to know the levels (also because you only have two minutes each to complete a goal) it's focused and you have to work (for some of them to get it in the two minutes) as you get better, you get to know the levels and goals and you complete them faster.

Now with THUG (as with TH4) you have all the time in the world to skate around and you only do every goal once. For me that means I end up trying the same thing over and over and over but I don't learn anything from it. It's fire-and-forget. I complete the challenge without any style and that's that I never do it again. whereas in TH2 I would do it again but tried to make it look better or score more point doing it.
I don't really agree with the way structure ahs changed over the series.

That said, THUG does look nice, the levels are more realistic which can be your bag (or not). I'm not very happy about the control while on foot and sofar still have some trouble working it into combo's etc. the whole driving thing is just a mistake as far as i'm concerned. It's a -skating- game Neversoft... deal. I'm up to the moscow level at the mo, I think theres one more. I guess the fact that i've played it that much means that I like it but in my opinion it still doesn't top TH2.

[sininc]

One of my gripes about it is the "go and find" missions I dont want to skate for a couple of minutes just to find some married couples etc.

It`s quite easy at the mo but im on normal and havnt gone that far yet - Hawai at the mo. Hopefully Sick will be more of a challenge.

[Marvelon]

Given it some thought and I guess Activision is milking the TH franchise. In the current climate though, who can blame them?
On the other hand, I do feel that the TH series does offer something new with each game, whether these are improvements or not is up to the individual (see my earlier post for my opinion on that) The bascis are expanded upon each time and when you've completed one of the games I cna;t help but feel I'd like to do it again, but in different levels. And (imho) Neversofts level design is very, very good.

[revisedgenocide]

Unfortunately my copy got lost in this countrys convoluted mail service. Which means around a weeks delay as i have to fill in a claims form and physically mail it back to gameplay. Not bitter, not at all ft: