Tony Hawk's Proving Ground

After skating with Tony Hawk for almost a dozen titles, the Birdman's brand of virtual skateboarding is starting to feel a little stale. However, Proving Ground manages to breathe some new life into the franchise and it should please virtual thrashers who haven't yet tired of the franchise's formula.

Old Dog, Old Tricks

First things first: be aware that this game, although improved from previous versions, is not all that much different. You still start off as a no-name skater who completes objectives to earn cash, build a reputation and eventually become a recognized skateboarder.

That said, the game looks fantastic. The character models in the cinematics have a strangely robotic look to them but the cityscapes are huge and full of intricate details. You can grind and jump off of just about anything and it's possible to just ignore the objectives altogether and have fun skating around the city. It definitely has that open-ended Grand Theft Auto feel that so many developers strive for but of course, the objective based missions are where the action truly lies.

S-K-A-T-E

Much like its predecessors, Proving Ground has a ton of objectives to complete. You can take your skater on three career tracks: Career skaters focus on winning competitions and creating new moves. Hardcore skaters thrash around and skate wherever they want while the Rigger path lets you customize the city or your own skating lounge with ramps, rails and other gear on the fly.

There are also plenty of extra challenges like races, photo and film ops that are littered around the city. As I said, there are ton of things to do and you'd have to play Proving Ground for a long time before you accomplish every single thing there is to do.

There are also some cool moves thrown in like the Aggro-kick, which lets you build up a serious head of steam, and the ability to enter Nail The Trick mode in mid-jump, which lets you gain some serious air.

Bails And Fails

But as fun and feature rich as the game is, I did have a few gripes. The controls can be a little tough, especially if you aren't a franchise master. Also, after spending some time with EA's competitor skate., the button mashing nature of Proving Ground felt a little tired, as did its focus on unrealistic 30-trick combos.

Still, there's no denying that the Tony Hawk franchise has some life left in it and Proving Ground is yet another satisfying entry in the dominant skateboarding franchise. But here's hoping they start to innovate again next year, because if they don't, their competition might just leave them in the dust.

PROS: Wide expansive levels, tons of options and variety.
CONS: Some basic moves can be too difficult to learn. Formula is starting to feel a little old.

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