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Tony Hawk's Underground
2
Score: 8.7 / 10
Pros:
-
Old-schoolers can skip the story mode and enjoy classic THPS gameplay
-
Another great soundtrack with plenty of hard rock and hip-hop cuts;
eclectic choices include Johnny Cash and the Doors
-
Still the penultimate skating game with awesomely fluid controls
Cons:
-
No Xbox Live support
-
New craptacular storyline isn’t nowhere near as good as the first THUG
- Difficulty level trying to complete some level goals in the story mode
is hellacious
- Graphics haven’t advanced in quality from THPS 4 (and that’s two
games ago)
"A
lack of online support and, more prominently, the cheesy-bad story mode
are negatives in THUG2, and represent a stumble for the franchise."
Already
in its seventh incarnation, the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater franchise took
an ollie in another direction last year with Tony Hawk’s Underground
(THUG), which introduced a story mode to the game in the same mold of
the Grand Theft Auto series, with a similar open-ended gameplay element.
Heck, you could even drive vehicles. Surprisingly the story was actually
good and coupled together with the typical stellar skating action that
the franchise has always had to breathe some fresh air into the
franchise.
The series attempted to follow suit again with THUG2, and while the
skating still is still at a high level, the story mode features a weak
story that can be attributed to the juvenile nonsense that Bam Margera
of “Jackass” and “Viva La Bam” fame brings with his starring
role in the story mode. Fortunately, if you’re an old-school THPS
player, you can skip the story and shred and skate the original THPS
gameplay without the craptacular storyline.
Let’s deal with the story first. You’re on a World Destruction Tour
as part of Tony Hawk’s team versus Bam Margera’ s team. Your goal?
Travel the world, creating skating-related mayhem. I honestly don’ t
see the point in creating a story that uses many of the negative
stereotypes often associated with skaters (you know, skaters are
slackers that graffiti everywhere and have no respect for the law).
This could be called “Viva La Tony,” because the goals include
plenty of pranks that would be right at home on Margera’s TV show. A
subplot has the teams being followed and filmed by an unscrupulous
filmmaker, but the story has too many holes and dopey moments to be
enjoyed. And the many attempts at humorous story mode-related moments
more often than not fall flat. I enjoyed the story mode in the first
THUG, but this is a major step backward here. But again, fans of THPS
since its inception can fortunately concentrate instead on classic mode
and avoid THUG2’ s story.
The skating in THUG2, no matter what mode you play, still remains the
franchise’s strongest selling point. Fluid controls make playing the
game free of frustration, and a huge trick list gives gamers who think
they’ve mastered all of the THPS moves plenty more to learn. The high
difficulty level trying to accomplish some of these goals is a bit
maddening and will take a lot of over-and-over practice, especially
since many require near-perfect precision to do.
Although you won’t be able to drive cars, there are a few
non-skateboard rides (admittedly bizarre choices) to drive such as
Segway scooters, hot dog stands and hospital gurneys. The game also has
customization opportunities that not only allows you to create your own
skaters, skate parks, tricks, goals, levels, and decks, but for those
sophomoric to actually enjoy the story mode, design your own logo for
use on graffiti tags and skate stickers.
Don’t expect quite as many skater characters in THUG2, but in addition
to the usual pro roster, Margera sidekick Wee Man and even one of the
long-dead founders of freedom, Ben Franklin, make an appearance.
THUG2’s visuals play the middle road. While you won’t be exclaiming
the virtues of the relatively weak character models (which haven’t
shown improvement since THPS4, and that’s two games ago), the huge
levels with plenty of hidden areas are again a graphical highlight. Just
like in every other game in the THPS series, you’ll be skating in real
locales such as New Orleans and Australia along with a few fantasy
levels. Plenty of well-designed features give practically every inch of
the locations you visit skatability of some sort, whether you’re
grinding or pulling air tricks, lip tricks or flips.
As usual, another THPS game brings another great soundtrack. Tracks
featured cover the whole spectrum of musical tastes, with a reliance on
hard underground rock. But peppered throughout are hip-hop tunes and
eclectic choices including Johnny Cash and even the Doors.
The biggest disappointment once again is a lack of Xbox Live support for
THUG2. I mean, come on, even Electronic Arts has finally relented and
included Xbox Live play in their games, and they were stubborn on that
front until Microsoft loosened the control they usually assert over game
publishers placing Xbox Live support in their games. Don’t tell me
Activision can’t figure out a viable solution to placing Xbox Live
gameplay into one of their top-shelf titles for Xbox gamers. There are
1.5 million players on Xbox Live (and growing), so it is a big segment
of Xbox owners. Let’s get on the bandwagon, Activision. Plenty of Xbox
THUG2 owners (including myself) would love to take the skate action
online.
A lack of online support and, more prominently, the cheesy-bad story
mode are negatives in THUG2, and represent a stumble for the franchise.
But with the usual excellent controls and still-fun classic mode, fans
can forgive THUG2’s transgressions and enjoy another virtual skating
session.
