Developer: Vicarious Visions
Publisher: Activision
Platform: PC, Xbox One, PS4
Tested on: PS4
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 – Review
Back in 1999, the world was introduced to the phenomenon that was known as Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, that originally only released for the first PlayStation. The game became so popular that the sequel already hit the shelves a year later. The series was soon ported to other consoles as well, thanks to its popularity. It was the first game that put skateboarding on the map, not only by its extremely arcadish gameplay but also because of its exquisite soundtrack and overall content. Sadly, the series went downhill with every installment that followed suit, pushing the legendary skater Tony Hawk somewhat into obscurity. Now, Activision has gone back to the roots of the franchise and presents us with the remaster of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2. Honestly, we have never felt so much like a 12-year-old again.
Story
There is absolutely no story to be found in this collection. You’ll just skate your way through different parks, environments and challenges, earn cash, gain experience and become the best digital skater known to man. If you’re looking to find story value in an old arcade 1999/2000 game, you’ll be very disappointed. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater is all about the gameplay.
Graphics
Graphically the game looks amazing. While you won’t see any highly realistic decors, things look quite crisp, detailed and are so many leagues more advanced than the original games that are twenty years old. It’s amazing to see this old classic being revived in such a fashion. This is a proper remaster, and not just a reskin and it shows.
As these are two games in one, for the price of not even a full AAA title, there was a lot of work and effort put into the remaster of this game. You’ll get to go through many different parks, all with their unique attributes and even the available skaters look like their real selves. We were thoroughly impressed.
Sound
The soundtrack is just so pleasing. The game feels like a proper blast to the past, as it includes so many tracks from the original. It’s quite uncommon for many games to have such an explosive soundtrack anymore, or to even have a proper non-generic soundtrack at all. We enjoyed playing with the accompanying music from start to finish, even with certain songs on a near-repeat. The normal sound effects also do the tricks and still sound very much like the original games.
Gameplay
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 is a bundle of the first two Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games and offers a proper progression system that links both games. It’s basically an arcade sports experience which isn’t really all too realistic. You’ll be plowing through different skate parks that offer different challenges and objectives. The overall offset of the game is really simple as it’s just clearing challenges and beating scores, in order to unlock new stat points for your skater and progress even further through the game.
The game is divided into the segments of the different games, ranging from the stages from the first and second games, and a ranked mode to beat high scores. The first two games will throw you in the stages of the respective original games, and you will be able to clear challenges to progress. You will also be able to collect cash and stat points to change the outfits and apparel of your skater, but also make them faster, give them more balance, or allow them more airtime for their tricks. The game gives you a certain progression over the different games, making it one big proper whole. Your skater’s stats will be usable in every part of the collection. This means you can switch back and forth between the first and second games to actually collect stat points, unlock stages and so on.
The controls of the game still feel quite arcadish and very much in tune with the original PlayStation and Dreamcast release of the game. You’ll have rather tight, but sensitive, controls. Performing tricks is quite easy, but properly mastering how to link them together is a different story altogether. This game is easy to pick up, but it does take a fair amount of practice to actually master things. Also, seeing the park runs are always around two minutes long, you’ll have to prioritize which challenges you’re doing first to progress.
You’ll also have some multiplayer modes to enjoy, and it’s actually quite nice that there is still a local multiplayer mode to enjoy as well. While the addition of online gaming is certainly a nice touch, it’s extremely pleasing to play with a friend, locally, just like in the days the original two games were released.
While the game doesn’t really boast that much new content, and there are still some visible flaws, you’ll get a proper package to enjoy. The loading times are extremely long at times though, even for a game that isn’t really using up a significant amount of power of your console.
Conclusion
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 is an amazing remaster of a nearly-forgotten classic series. While Tony Hawk has still made some appearances over the years, he’s finally back in the spotlight, rather than just opening his coffin now and then to make sure Activision keeps the rights to the franchise. Fans of the original games will enjoy this HD blast from the past, and newcomers will certainly have a proper arcade experience to wade through, even if some of the skaters aren’t really ‘relevant’ anymore. We can advise checking this one out if you like skill-based games that are still casual enough to motivate you to keep going.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 - Review,
Related Items
3 Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
[…] days it seems like all the cool things from the past are coming back! First the Tony Hawk 1+2 game and now a game about mech battling, just like in the Saturday cartoons. Override 2: Super Mech […]
[…] in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, skate games were at the peak of their popularity, with the Tony Hawk titles in particular being considered essential additions to any gamer’s library, whether they […]
[…] isn’t a sports game but an adventure title instead, it’s hard not to think of the myriad of skating or surfing games that exist as you’re zooming across the waves. It’s clear that Wavetale at […]