Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 Review
Four years already? That’s insane! Okay, actually it was three years…but still…don’t you remember popping Tony Hawk 1 into your N64 for the first time and playing that warehouse level until you got tired of easily hitting that secret area? Geez, those levels where small back then. But, let’s stop remembering the ol’ days, and get onto the fresh, young, new installment to the cherished THPS series.
It is quite discouraging to see that the PS2 got THPS4’s online play exclusively, just like with 3. It would’ve been nice to have at least two games with which to go online on the GameCube…but developers/publishers always, and will always, favor the PS2 for its massive user base.
Tony Hawk 4 chose to copy its copier and make the levels time-limitless. Once you load a level up in Career mode you are no longer bound to the tedious two-minute limit but are free to skate around and explore the staggeringly huge levels.
Now, whenever you want to take up a challenge, you can just find someone in the level (may it be one of your fellow pro skaters, or the friendly and drunk Ollie the Magic Bum) press X and listen. They’ll explain your challenge that you must complete in the time set for you. If you fail you can always press Start and hit “Retry Last Goal” to play the goal over again. Once you do succeed, however, you’ll get 1 Goal Point, some money and maybe even a stat point to make your pro even proier…yes, proier.
With the return of money, you are allowed to buy cheats, decks, movies, and clothes. This means that there is money AND goal points in this game, its almost like the reward system of THPS3 and 2 where combined…sort of.
Controlling THPS4 is almost identical to 3. When the A button is held down your pro crouches for an ollie. Releasing the A button will allow your character to ollie, or jump, and perform tricks in mid-ollie. The Y button is for grinding and performing lip tricks. X performs grabs (with the combination of a direction on the D-Pad or Control Stick) and B launches flip tricks. R and L let your skater do reverts when you land a trick on a ramp; they also spin your character around in the air. Holding L and R together can also make for Spine Transfers and Recoveries, the two new abilities in THPS4.
The graphics for THPS4 are slightly improved over 3, and the frame rate is a little more cooperative. Now, the bystanders look way less blocky, but still do not have the same polygon count as the character you play as. Level graphics, however, are greatly improved, giving the game a much more real feeling.
Sound effects and music of Tony Hawk 4 is one of the highest points of the game, with thirty-five great rock and hip-hop tracks, and the new, strangely humorous, screams of pain when your skater bails. Listening to Tony Hawk yell “OOOOOOOOOOWWW!” when he slams against the pavement after landing a Melon sideways is always funny to listen to, and adds a cartoony feel to the game.
The highest point of Pro Skater 4, in my opinion, is the massive amount of replay value. In this game every skater from the Pro Skater series returns (yes, Bob Burquist is back, after the poor sales of X Games Skateboarding, hehe) which means more than a dozen pros with slightly different goals in each level. While you might get a little bored of the game after the fifth or sixth pro career you beat, there is still much to do. You can build your own skate parks, make your own skaters, and sit back and watch some pro videos. The fun won’t end for a long time if you’re a hardcore or casual THPS fan.
As far as originality goes, THPS4 falls short. With it being the fourth (fifth if you count THPS2X for the Xbox) title in the Pro Skater series, and now that it copies Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX’s career mode scheme, there is little original points to it. But, the game is very fun, and that’s all that matters really.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 is a superb game overall. And don’t be shunned away by it being the 4th title. Even if you have never played a THPS game before, 4 will come easy to you. As for us who have played all four, we will notice that this is the best game of all. Now, all we have to do is play this, and wait for 5…if there is a #5.
Visuals: 9
Sound: 9.5
Originality: 6.5
Replay: 10
Overall: 9.5
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