
<MAP NAME="boxmap-p6"><AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="1, 140, 83, 150" HREF="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm/privacy-policy.html?o=1" ><AREA COORDS="0,0,10000,10000" HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/thearmchairem-20" ></MAP><img src="http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/rcm/120x150.gif" width="120" height="150" border="0" usemap="#boxmap-p6" alt="Shop at Amazon.com">	Platform Xbox Genre Extreme Sports Publisher Activision Developer Neversoft ESRB T (Teen) Released November 2001

- More Tony Hawk goodness - All the levels from THPS 1 and 2 - Five all-new levels - Solid graphics and sound - Easy to get into

- Buttons on X-Box controller are too close together for proper control - If you’ve played the other renditions there’s not much new

Review: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (N64) Review: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (Playstation 2)
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Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2X

Score: 9.0 / 10

What more can possibly be said about a game series that has appeared on every major console and on the PC to rave reviews? If this review seems on the short side, it’s because I’m grappling with this question. (If you want to fill in the blanks, read these reviews first: THPS2 (N64), THPS2 (GBA), and THPS3 (PS2))

If you’ve played a game in the last seven months, chances are it was a Tony Hawk Pro Skater game. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2X (THPS2X) appeared as an X-Box launch title and fans will probably gobble it up. Of course, the fans won’t find a whole lot of “new” stuff. There are five new areas to complete besides the levels from THPS1 and THPS2. That’s about as new as things get. The new skate parks are fairly creative – my favorite being the disco – but getting to them requires you grind through the regular levels first. This is not necessarily a bad thing because there’s a lot of fun and challenge imbued in just about every aspect of the game.

Anyone can pick up the control and start playing and even unlock higher levels by performing some of the objectives of each area, but the expert player is also rewarded with unlocked characters and video clips. This is the magic of THPS as a series, and it extends to THPS2X. Initially I had some problems with the buttons on the X-Box controller – I found them to be too close together to execute some moves properly. (And you can’t reconfigure them.) Once the button configuration has been learned, performing the outlandish and insane combos becomes second nature. Each area is full of obstacles to jump on, kick flip over, grind across, or catch massive air off of. After a while you become aware of the possibilities by the way areas are laid out: grind here, kick flip there, grind again, hit ramp, Japan Air, nollie, etc. Stringing tricks together is the name of the game.

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Graphically, THPS2X is very slick. Everything always moves at a good rate (even load times are good). There is a “blurring” effect that is on by default, which makes your character look like they’re moving slower than they actually are. It got annoying fast and I was glad to be able to turn it off. The sound and music are equal to Tony’s appearances on other systems. While the “T” rating suggests mild lyrics, I couldn’t hear what they were saying most times due to excessive instrument accompaniment.

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The park editor is included as well and considering the storage capacity of the HD, you can really go nuts with it. Character creation is also included. Other holdovers include buying stats, tricks, and new decks. Multiplayer is here as well. Basically everything found in THPS1 and 2 are here.

There could be an argument made to wait for THPS3, because THPS2X is just a redux. Well, I’m going to go the other way on this. THPSX is worth owning and I’m glad it’s in my game library. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2X is a two-in-one package and has some extra levels that are worth a look. Sure, if you own all the console and PC versions of Tony Hawk, you can probably give it a miss – you rich spoiled brats and/or materialistic capitalists! But for those that are looking for a solid X-Box title that’s both rewarding for neophyte and expert gamers, it should be on your “to buy” list.

- Omni

(December 17, 2001)