Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD is proof positive that sometimes all you really need to kickstart a series is to go back to its roots. While there are still a few glitches and notable absences we'd like to see ironed out, we're already dreaming up which levels, moves, and modes we'll see in future DLC packs. Tony Hawk definitely rewards your $15 with equal parts fun and nostalgia.

When Tony Hawk's Pro Skater first landed on PlayStation in 1999 it was welcomed with open arms and scabby knees by skateboarders, as the first video game to capture what it felt like to skate. Neversoft embraced skate culture so vehemently that a number of their team became skilled at riding a real seven-ply deck and urethane wheels. A session on THPS felt like going for a skate, in that it recreated the mind-set of a skater in a gamer's head, where they would scan their home environment for ramps, ledges and skate lines, in a similar way to how a Tetris player organises tetrominoes, even when...

This is definitely a competent Tony Hawk game at the price tag of 1200 MP. The nostalgia around these first two titles was enough for me to buy it already. For people that don't have strong feelings about the Tony Hawk games though, they may want to pass. 7 Levels with an easily repeatable soundtrack will not keep a new gamer's attention very long. A couple new modes and the addition of Xbox Live multiplayer is just not enough for me to recommend THPSHD to someone that doesn't already have strong feelings for the two games.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD is fun for the most part, but infuriating control issues, crazy bugs and various omissions make you wonder why a game that isn't an untouched HD port wasn't bolstered.

The graphics are nice enough but they’re nothing worth praising. Don’t get me wrong the graphics are amazing compared to the original games, but they definitely could have looked better with HD games like Sly Cooper and Halo. Hell, Proving Ground looks miles ahead of this game so it makes me wonder why they couldn’t just make the game off that engine instead of the dated Unreal Engine 3. The soundtrack is pretty disappointing as well with a dozen tracks and only 3 or 4 of them worthy of being in a THPS soundtrack. I don’t get why Activision couldn’t have made it a soundtrack purely from THPS 1...

In conclusion, this game is a downright disappointment and only fun in short bursts. It’s great that they decided to bring back these games in HD format, but what isn’t great is dissecting it in the nonsensical manner they have. Then on top of that they’ve completely messed the control system up so you don’t know whether you’re coming or going and it’s a constant battle not to hit into objects, those of which you don’t see coming because you cannot control the camera in the way you would like. Clunky, cluttered and clumsy would be the best way to describe it and it’s a bloody great shame if I’...

Besides being a lacking launch of the Summer of Arcade, anyone but the most devoted of fans would be wise to save their money and time, and dig out their PlayStation or Dreamcast if some nostalgia is needed. The developers are open to DLC in the future, so who knows what else might be in the pipeline to make a purchase more worthwhile.

It’s this feeling, the one of crushing disappointment, that riddles this HD update with frustration. Activision killed the series for a reason, and there’s nothing here to suggest that decision was a bad one. Veterans might get some excitement out of this, but nostalgia is soon overpowered by reality. If you feel like reminiscing with the Tony of old, I’d recommend getting your PS1 out instead.