Regardless of your interest in skateboarding, THPS is very likely to provide you with an enjoyable gaming experience.
User Rating: 9.4 | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (SuperLite 1500 Series) PS
It has been over five years since Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater was released for the Playstation. Although the game could have been considered a sleeper-hit, it’s impact on video games is undeniable. The game has spawned several sequels on at least 10 different gaming consoles during its short five and a half year history. Every year, Activision and Neversoft manage to successfully reinvent the series with a completely new title, nearly all of which have been praised by reviewers and have ranked among the year’s top sellers. The first entry in the series introduced the world to addictive gameplay and superb handling unlike anyone had ever seen in a skateboarding game. It established a solid gaming engine and revolutionized alternative sports games, making it a must-own for Playstation owners. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater featured three basic types of levels; you had your standard free-roaming levels, competition levels, and downhill levels. The free-roaming levels are what all the levels have generally been like in all the other Tony Hawk games, allowing you to go anywhere in the level, so long as you do it before time expires. Competition levels are like the normal levels, but are smaller and your runs are scored by judges. They consist of three runs, where your top two scores are averaged together to determine your overall performance in that particular event. The downhill levels have yet to make a return to the Tony Hawk series. They were a nice change of pace, with the level forcing you downhill in one direction, making it generally a one-run level. It is possible to skate against the slope in these levels, but it causes you to move slowly and the two-minute timer discourages you from doing it. In all, there are about 10 different levels to skate around in. The gameplay in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater is simply genius, and features what is, without a doubt, the best extreme sports gaming engine ever made. It is rather straightforward and easy to learn, but connects together so fluidly, giving you the ability to string together sick combos for high scores. It only takes a short time to get the basics figured out, but the gameplay is so refined that you’ll spend countless hours trying to hone your skills. The controls in the game are excellently tuned, making it possible to use this superb gameplay engine to it’s full potential, and even more so with future installments of the series. The game also has a special meter which can be built up by consecutively pulling off tricks and ranking up points without bailing. Once the special meter is full, you’re able to perform special tricks, and each skater has their own unique set. Bonus point icons are also found floating around the levels, and give you additional points if you touch them. The excellent gameplay is fully responsible for reestablishing the alternative sports genre. Since it’s release, countless clones have been made, yet none have managed to live up to the sheer excellence of the Tony Hawk series. The main career mode of THPS revolves around collecting VHS tapes and also scoring medals in competitions. Each level, excluding competitions, has five tapes for you to collect. Two of these tapes are earned by obtaining a certain amount of points in a single run. One is hidden somewhere within each of the levels, and although they never move to different locations, some of them can be pretty difficult to acquire. There is also a tape you receive when you collect the 5 letters that spell out the word “SKATE”. These letters are spread all across each of the non-competition levels, and are typically placed in order by letter, which makes it easy to tell if you went past one without seeing it. The final tape in each level comes from completing a random 5-part task, such as grinding 5 valves or ollieing over fire hydrants. Collecting these tapes opens up new levels, new decks, and even extra stats to improve whichever character you happen to be using. The game features about a dozen playable skaters in total, which includes some unforgettable secret characters. The cast of skaters includes Tony Hawk, Bob Burnquist, Geoff Rowley, Andrew Reynolds, Rune Glifberg, Chad Muska, Elisa Steamer, Kareem Campbell, Bucky Lasek, and Jamie Thomas. Not only do all these skaters have their own special moves, but they also have their own FMV videos which can be unlocked by collecting all gold medals with that particular skater. Each of these videos is only a couple of minutes long, but manages to flaunt some of the more impressive things these pros can do, including some of their career highlights such as Tony Hawk’s “900” and Jamie Thomas’ “Leap of Faith”. This definitely adds replay value to a ridiculously addicting game, by encouraging you to sweep the competitions in career mode with each skater. For it’s time, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater featured great graphics, although many of the textures looked a bit rough. This isn’t anything that really detracts from the game though, considering it runs smoothly and looks good. The animations are well-captured and the tricks are recognizable. The levels are nicely designed and are varied and detailed. The game features a fairly good soundtrack and impressive sound effects. Many of the games sounds are memorable, such as the sound of grinding a metal rail or the sound that is made when you successfully pull off a special trick. The camera featured in THPS is good at following you through your runs and never really interferes with your skating. If you wanted to take a break from the career mode, you could practice in Free Skate with no time limit, or could polish your two-minute runs in Single Session. There were also multiplayer games where you could test out your skills with a friend. These included Graffiti, Horse, and Trick Attack. Graffiti had two players battling for territory. Players would earn territory by performing a combo or trick on certain parts of the level, which would turn the piece into your color. Anything you could trick off of, with the exception of flat ground, was capable of changing in color. The player with the most parts in their color would win. Horse had players taking turns, giving them 10 seconds to pull off the biggest combos they could. The second player would try to match or beat their opponents score. If they failed to do so, they would acquire a letter. The first to spell out the word Horse would lose. Trick Attack had both players competing in a two-minute run, and the skater with the highest score at the end would be the winner. All in all, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater was an incredible game, especially considering all the bad skateboarding games released before it. Soon after it came out, it’s superb gaming engine could be found in countless other sports games, ranging from BMX to surfing. Regardless of your interest in skateboarding, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater is very likely to provide you with an enjoyable gaming experience. If you own a Playstation and never gave this game a try, do yourself a favor and go pick it up. 
