Review: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD (XBLA)

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater came out while I was still in high school.  I didn't have a lot of interest in it until I played it at a friend's house.  Then I received a demo for THPS 1 & 2 with my Official Dreamcast Magazine and I was hooked.  It was something I played as much as Halo or Doom (Doom 3 is also getting a HD release as well). 

The last several years, SKATE has become the dominant skateboarding game and Tony Hawk Ride sold like 1,000 copies.  The absolutely essential board peripheral didn't help sales, but I'm not sure after the previous two games, it would have sold a lot anyway.  Project 8 and Proving Grounds were more of the same and didn't bring anything really new to the series.  American Wasteland was a really good game, and maybe the height of the Tony Hawk series.

Now instead of focusing on a new game they release a batch of 7 levels with HD graphics from Tony Hawk 1 & 2.  This is a little exciting for someone like me, and the game doesn't disappoint.  It plays like Tony Hawk 2x more or less.  The physics work like the old games and it's fun to pull off lines of sick tricks for major points.  The game is based on a point and multiplies system based on the tricks you pull off.  If you're new to the series the controls will take a bit to get used to.  It may take you a while to unlock all of the levels.  If you are a veteran of TH, then you can unlock all of the levels in one or two play sessions.  The achievements are challenging enough, I'm still working on the non-level unlocking ones. 

My only gripe is the amount of content.  The game is $15 and it only has 7 levels.  I mean the original games were $50 at release in the late 90's and early 2000's and had 9 levels at release, so it may not be a huge gripe for some.  I'm just used to a lot more content for my money.  There's going to DLC for it with some Tony Hawk 3 content, so that's something to look forward to as well.

If you enjoyed the original games, this will be a pipe dream for you.  I'm having fun trying to get some of the more challenging achievements, so the replay value is high.  The graphics are at the level of a modern game. 

4 out of 5 Ollies over the Magic Bum