Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam
- December 11, 2006 12:13 PM PST
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If you own a Wii, you should be rubbing the side of your cheek right about now: you've just been slapped the face. While Xbox360 and PS3 owners get to play the amazing Project 8, you're stuck with Downhill Jam. It's like waking up on Christmas morning to discover that your brothers both got the coolest new toys while you got an ugly sweater and socks.
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Granted, they're two completely different games, but it's hard not to be a little offended that this is the only Tony Hawk game available to Wii owners. Surely, Nintendo's little white box deserves better than this, right? Right?
To The Extreme!
Press the minus buttons to skip the annoying and unnecessary pre-start commentary.
To be fair, Downhill Jam isn't a terrible game, but I expected better considering its pedigree. At least the game controls well; you hold the Wii-mote sideways and tilt it to turn, while the buttons and D-pad control tricks, combat and more. Tony Hawk vets will pick it up quickly. In fact, I prefer the way balance is handled in this game as compared with Project 8. Instead of using an analog stick to keep the arrow positioned in the center of a meter, you have to tilt the Wii-mote in the appropriate direction, which makes it feel more natural.
Road Rash
Aside from the interesting control scheme, Downhill Jam has very little going for it. It's a generic downhill racer with middling graphics and a handful of mildly interesting modes. As you complete levels in the straight race, trick mode, slalom and pedestrian assault modes, you'll move up the ranks and unlock new skaters and boards.
There's little strategy outside of maneuvering for occasional shortcuts or discovering an unexplored path. The trick system is shallow and somewhat pointless; it's better to just concentrate on getting to the finish line than waste time. Skater customization is likewise shallow with little to change about your character. We're also obligated to mention that you can play Downhill Jam with 4 players, but splitting the screen just makes the game more difficult by robbing you of valuable visual real estate.
Downhill Jam is just okay. While that's not an unforgivable sin, it won't make me look the other way either. Playing Downhill Jam is like watching an infomercial at three in the morning: it's sort of amusing and it passes the time but you're not enthralled by what's going on, either.
PROTIP: You don't necessarily have to finish first all the time to advance but try and keep it close.
