Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
- November 29, 2000 18:20 PM PST
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The Birdman returns to the virtual world and he's brought friends, new tricks, bigger levels, better music
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Go Back To The Valley
It hasn't been all that long since Tony Hawk's Pro Skater took the videogame world by storm and you might be wondering, "What could NeverSoft and Activision possibly do to improve Tony Hawk's Pro Skater?" While it didn't seem like there was any room for improvement, the development team on the sequel have somehow managed to outdo the original, delivering an innovative and feature-packed sequel that's way more fun than its predecessor.
"What's been added?" you ask? For starters, three new skaters have been added to the roster. All the originals are still playable, but now you can play as the street skater Eric Koston, vert legend Steve Caballero, or freestyle master and street pioneer Rodney Mullen. Every character has alternate outfits, cool secret moves, and individualized abilities such as speed, balance, and ollie-ability.
Well, with more skaters you need more things to skate, right? Right! The levels in THPS2 are enormous and packed with obstacles and challenges all designed to earn points and cash. And the more money you make, the better equipment and tricks you can buy. Once again, levels loosely resemble real-world skate spots and there are so many unique lines, transfers, hidden treats, and air-options that it's hard to get tired of any of the levels. And if, for some reason, you do tire of them, THPS2 gives you the ability to design your own parks. The Skatepark Editor enables you to create a course to your personal skate tastes.
Several modes of gameplay are included to keep you coming back for more. Of course, each level has challenges such as grinding a certain number of rails, or reaching a target high score. There's also the Career Mode, Single Session, Free Skate, 2 Players, Create-A-Skater, and the excellent Park Editor, giving THPS2 enormous replay value.
Two Wheeled Monster
One of the easier (but still impressive) tricks in real-world skateboarding is the manual. It's a wheelie - you ride balancing on the front or back two wheels across a curb, picnic table, or just down the street. It's a trick that can be incorporated into just about any other trick. You can do a kickflip manual, a manual to 360 flip, or a kickflip to manual to 360 flip. The possibilities are endless, and the more tricks you add, the harder it is to pull off. It's an element of real skating that was missing from the first, but THPS2 brings the manual into your trick arsenal. The new ability to do manuals adds a great new element to the game that broadens your options, increases the difficulty and offers huge potential for big score rewards. Point values are multiplied when done into or out of a manual, so master the two-wheeled trick; it is your key to THPS2 glory.
In addition to the manual, there's an entire new world of tricks in the game. Most notably are the slide tricks. You can still pull boardslides, grinds, feebles, and smiths, but now you can also throw down blunt slides and nose and tail slides. The animations for these tricks are brilliant and the skaters look cooler than Michael J. Fox did in Back To The Future. The slam animations are also ripping. No longer will you have to watch the same fall every time you come up short. Skaters now land on their heads and fold in half, slide out and grab an aching tail bone, and launch forward in the super man position. There are no pads so you'll see the blood and feel the thud.
Any Challengers?
Fans of the first Tony Hawk Pro Skater need to buy this game. It takes all the great elements of the original title and incorporates great additions. The hip-hop and punk soundtrack, the huge levels, the variety of skaters, the options, and the new animations make Tony Hawks' Pro Skater 2 a must buy.
It's a BLOWOUT!!! Check it:
Feature Interview | Strategy Guide: High Score Tactics Part1
