Did the initial run of Tony Hawk games ever really get bad, or just stale?

By that I mean everything up to Proving Ground. Ride, Shred, and 5 are almost universally panned. I never played much past Pro Skater 4 as reviews seemed to get steadily worse. What do you all think? Did the quality ever really drop, or were people just getting tired of it?

They got stale and then when sales dropped, the quality did too. The game suffered from a refusal to innovate. Even the latest one refused to break the tradition.

@judaspete:

As a longtime fan, I followed the series up to Project 8 and I didn't see any problems. The fantasy physics were still there so I guess people might've been disappointed by that, given the gen gap from ps2 to ps3. It definitely updated the graphics and maintained the semi-realistic art style.

What I liked about the Tony Hawk games moving forward was that they always tried to retain what people liked about it. If you play any of the games past 4, you'd see that they're not very different from before. They added new tricks and maneuverable surfaces but the core gameplay is still there. Well, that was BEFORE they gave the game to those talentless fucks who did Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD and 5. Project 8 was the last GOOD Tony Hawk game I played. I guess people just got sick of the same ol' same old.

@killered3: Thanks. Perhaps I'll check out Project 8. I've been kind of nostalgic for a game like these recently.

I loved the first 2 TH games, I liked one of the PS2 versions, cant remember which one but ultimately, I didnt play any after that and when I was about to get back into it, the reviews were horrendous.

They ran stale, they kept the quality and gameplay, but kids move on and the 90´s when Skating was hot came and went.

the first game that dropped in quality was the one released last year which seems to be old discarded content from earlier versions.

@judaspete:

In a lot of ways, it feels like a reinvented Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1. You start in a tiny level and work your way unlocking the rest of the world. I had a blast! The world is riddled with goals to do and records to break so you're always out and about doing something.

It goes like this in flow...

Neighborhood

Midtown

Downtown

School

Skatepark

Slums

Factory

Carnival

And they all cleverly connect once you unlock it all. It also has this really boss slow motion-custom-flip-trick thing that they call Nail It or some shit like that. Basically it's doing as many crazy combos in the air by flicking the thumbsticks and make sure you land back on the board. Easier said than done! lol

They should give us a new Underground. It had more feeling then all the others

I'd say it was a little bit of both