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GBA | Action | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3

Boxart for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 9 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 4.5
  • SOUND: 3.5
  • CONTROL: 3.5
  • FUN FACTOR 4.0
  • AVG USER SCORE 4.4
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 4.4

Review: Tony Hawk?s Pro Skater 3

Review by DANELEKTRO | 03/05/2002 | 16:51:38 PM PST

The novelty of seeing polygons on the GBA has worn off. Can THPS3?s gameplay hold up?

Like its console big brothers, the Game Boy Advance version of Tony Hawk?s Pro Skater 3 features true 3D skating action with full polygonal models?but the portable version makes players pay for its innovation.

The same thing that makes Tony 3 so impressive makes it difficult to play. The complex environments from the console games are here, but the small size kills the visual detail, and the 3/4-overhead perspective makes those levels much harder to navigate. It?s frustratingly easy to misjudge a jump or the placement of a ?SKATE? letter, but practice, as always, will make perfect. The soundtrack is very similar to that of THPS2, so if it annoyed you then, it will annoy you now. It?s tough to pack complex movements into a few buttons and a small cross-key directional pad, but the controls respond well, right down to the new revert move. THPS3 also features a head-to-head mode with a link cable?very cool.

Ultimately, THPS3 on GBA is fun, but the small scale and leaps of faith really make you work for it. Then again, there?s a price to pay for pushing the envelope, and this is one of the few GBA series really doing that.