Tony Hawk's Project 8
- November 08, 2006 13:53 PM PST
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When it comes to the Tony Hawk franchise, it was love at first ollie for many of us. Since then, the series has gone through a couple of ups and downs and it had seemingly gotten stuck in a rut, as the games began to feel formulaic and tired.
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Remember the old Tron light-cycle game? That's the premise of Walls. Leave a light trail behind and let your enemy run smack into it.
And though Neversoft doesn't forge any new paths for their next-gen debut, the improvements in Project 8 are so copious and varied that it's easy to overlook how familiar it all is.
High-wire Act
Project 8 is, in a way, a Frankenstein monster, built from the various parts of past titles. But unlike Mary Shelley's famous creation, Project 8 is ridiculously pretty. The overall graphics received a significant upgrade, but we were especially impressed with the character animations. The virtual skaters look and move just like their real-life counterparts!
We also love the new Nail the Trick mode that slows down time Matrix-style and lets you freestyle tricks using both dual-analog sticks. If you've ever seen the popular slo-mo intro from Spike Jonze's skate vid Yeah Right!, Nail the Trick takes this epic montage to amazing new heights.
The sheer number of objectives and missions in the game further enhance the experience. Each area is jam packed with things to do, running the gamut from major tasks that advance the game's plot to hilarious little mini-games like body bowling. At times, it's almost overwhelming trying to decide what to do with your time. Thankfully, almost every task and mission is challenging and entertaining.
Lip tricksalong with flatground tricksare still the fastest way to build up your score. Do one and combo into the variations to boost your multiplier. Just don't mess it up!
Nearly every challenge is broken into Am, Pro, and Sick difficulty levels, making them easy for newcomers yet taxing for crusty Tony Hawk vets at the same time. And if you ever get tired of playing by yourself, you can always jump online with awesome multiplayer modes.
Broken Bones And Bruises
But Project 8 isn't entirely perfect. The create-a-skater mode feels neutered when compared to past installments. There are only five character types and your ability to customize them is rather limited. Also, the world's expansiveness often works against youcompleting a timed objective is hard enough without a bunch of bystanders and obstacles getting in the way. It's nice that the world feels so much more open but the design of the goals could have used a little more tweaking. Speaking of which, goals can also be frustratingly difficult in the early going. Until your skater levels up, you'll find yourself repeatedly attempting the same challenges over and over and over again.
Despite these faults, Project 8 is the best Tony Hawk game since THPS2, and that's saying a lot! Neversoft didn't simply mail-in another yearly update: instead, they brought out the big guns to make sure that the next-gen debut of the perennial skateboarding franchise would live up to the hype. Now, here's hoping they don't just coast on the momentum for the next installment.
One of our favorite mini-games is Human Bowling. Try and aim just a little off-center and hold down Y so your body continues to bounce around after it falls off the board.
Try not to get separated from the cameraman or you'll waste precious time getting teleported around. Also, try and nail tricks in combination to save time.
Doing tricks in front of the locals earns you Stokens (no, that's not a spelling error) that lets you purchase items and videos from the skateshop. Who says you need a day job?
