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Tony
Hawk's Underground 2
What’s
old is new in the next installment in the greatest skateboarding game of
all time, the Tony Hawk Pro Skater (THPS) series. Although it will be
the seventh game in the top-selling franchise, it’s the second in the
Tony Hawk’s Underground (THUG) lineup. In an attempt to provide fans
something new, the first THUG gave gamers an actual story mode
to follow and also tried to provide an
open-ended “thug life” gaming world where the streets were
oftentimes mean similar to Grand Theft Auto (GTA).
It succeeded in providing a great storyline that was a fresh
change-of-pace from the usual goal-oriented skating action of all
previous THPS games, but the open-ended world wasn’t really that open
and the mean streets typically found in GTA were tamed significantly in
THUG to appeal to the under-18 crowd that forms a big portion of the
THPS gaming population.
In THUG2, you continue the story of the first one, where you were a
street skater trying to turn pro. Now, you have reached pro skater
status, and you get to set off on a global road trip. But in a big nod
to the original THPS fanatics, the “classic” (meaning non-story
oriented) mode that had been around from the beginning returns, so if you want to forgo the story and play a
Tony Hawk game old-school style, you can again.
Here’s the official THUG2 game info, straight from the skate rats in
the Activision P.R. department:
You paid your dues in THUG, now prove yourself in THUG2. It’s time to
go globetrotting on a sick international road trip with Tony Hawk and
Bam Margera. The latest evolution in the #1 action sports franchise,
THUG2 delivers a hilarious story mode, an unprecedented level of
customization, and more moves than the Skate Gods could dream of. Grab
your board, an arsenal of spray paint and prepare to wreak havoc around
the world.
Features:
All New Team Play – Team Hawk versus Team Bam: Play as yourself or
switch to play as a pro teammate or special guest skater, such as Ben
Franklin – over 20 unique skaters in all.
Unparalleled customization – Create your own logo for use in graffiti
tags and skate stickers with the all new Create-a-Graphic feature in
addition to creating your own skaters, skate parks, decks, tricks, goals
and levels of difficulty.
New player controls – Get huge air by performing a sticker slap off
any wall or surface, go into slow-motion focus control and watch and
learn how to perfect a certain trick or throw a hilarious tantrum
mid-combo and get massive points.
Go beyond the board – Maneuver a variety of drivable objects such as
Segway scooters, hot dog stands and hospital gurneys, pelt bystanders
with tomatoes and other objects and tag the turf with signature
graffiti.
Two games in one – Wreak havoc in Story Mode or switch to play all the
new THUG 2 levels and a bunch of THPS levels in Classic Mode and go up
against a two-minute timer to complete all-time favorite goals like
S-K-A-T-E, “secret tape,” and “high score.”
There’s more than just the return of the “classic” THPS gameplay
in THUG2. The game features a ton of new customization options, a slew
of new characters (Ben Franklin didn’t invent the skateboard, but
THUG2 will have you believing he did after playing it for a while), more
drivable objects and vehicles, and enhanced controls. Additionally, it
pushes the sometimes-illegal nature of skateboarding by borrowing from
another game, Jet Grind Radio, by allowing your riders to graffiti
“tags” in the THUG2 universe you’ll skate. Even considering this
is the seventh time around for the series (behind THPS 1, 2, 3, 4, 2x,
and THUG), needless to say, THUG2 is still anxiously awaited by gamers
for every platform and will definitely be one of 2004’s biggest
sellers.
