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Xbox 360 | Sports | Tony Hawk's Project 8

Boxart for Tony Hawk's Project 8
Tony Hawk's Project 8 29 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 4.25
  • SOUND: 4.00
  • CONTROL: 4.00
  • FUN FACTOR 4.50
  • AVG USER SCORE 4.7
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 4.2
Winner of the GamePro Editor's Choice Award

First Look: Tony Hawk's Project 8

First Look by Wes Nihei | 07/25/2006 | 18:59:43 PM PST

Tony Hawk's Project 8 takes skateboarding to the next generation.

Just like skaters are always on the lookout for new structure to shred, the Tony Hawk team at Neversoft is always looking for new ways to push video game skateboarding to new heights. This season Tony Hawk's Project 8 will concentrate on the pure fun of skating.

Moreover, Neversoft is focusing all of its attention on next generation Tony's. Project 8 is up first for Xbox 360, and it should skate into the PS3 some time during the launch window, but while PS2 and Xbox Project 8's are also in the pipeline, those versions are receiving the loving care of Shaba Games.

Build Some Sick Skillz
In a sense Tony Hawk's Project 8 goes back to the well. The preview build appeared to focus on skating and be a lot lighter on story than American Wasteland. Basically, Tony's looking for top amateur talent to add to his crew and you're to prove you can measure up.

The game engine has undergone a major overhaul. To begin with there's a new create-a-skater mode where you can build a character from a motley crew of body types including girls and kids, too. Then as you begin to demonstrate some skills the game tracks upgradeable stats that enable you to juice your abilities like an RPG, and you can earn Stokens to purchase better boards and gear. Along the way 12 real-life pro skaters show up to coach you via some cool-looking mo-cap animation.

The City of Angles
But, of course, it's on you to get after it. Project 8 packs a huge open environment set in a "typical" town in middle America. You know, that town where every possible surface and structure is a prime platform for extreme skateboarding? The levels are entirely free-roaming so you can open up areas all around town, and once you open them they stay open. Skate there as long as you like, leave to check out new areas, and then return to master all the playable spots .

This burg is skater's heaven. It's packed with a wicked mean array of skateable areas, from the obvious to the not-so-obvious. The sidewalks and streets are a veritable minefield of icons indicating spots where successfully executing the right stunts can earn you special rewards.

Air Tony
In preview form the environment appeared to set the stage nicely for the core of Project 8, which are the slick new controls. The analog sticks are taking center stage, although old-school Hawkers can still use the directionals. It's a pretty simple setup and intuitive for skaters: left stick, left foot; right stick, right foot. For flips or ollies, jump into the air and you can flip the board by just pressing a stick towards the direction you want to spin it, simulating a kick. Once you're airborne you can even pull more stick tricks like pushing them in opposite directions as your feet leave your board for an awesome airwalk.

The skating should feel much more realistic as well thanks to a new physics engine. Now gravity and momentum come into play, so you'll build up speed on the inclines and slow on the upward slopes.

Some creative use of the slow motion cam places your skating skills on center stage, too. Nail the Trick mode gears down the action and then focuses the view on your feet so you can try to bust some moves. Focus mode slows down time so you can string tricks together.

Skate or Die
Project 8's new control scheme should entice skating pros to take on the challenge, and you'll even find a few classic Tony Hawk goals, too (how about grabbing those discs?), but there's going to be plenty for rookies, too.

The game even embraces the inevitable wipeouts. A new bail mode challenges you to record your most spectacular face plants and butt breakers and rewards you for breaking as many bones as you can. Those pesky, rat fink pedestrians are back, too, and it looks like they picked up some speed. If you bump one too hard, they'll run you down!

Sure there have been plenty of T. Hawk skateboard games...there just hasn't been one like this. Tony Hawk Project 8 already feels like Tony for a new generation.


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