Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3D Hands-On

CTIA, New Orleans--At this point, one or several iterations of Activision's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series exist on just about every device with a screen. Until now, though, Tony's mobile outings (excepting the N-Gage game) have been limited to two dimensions. However, the Hawkman's insouciant attitude, and his lifelong disrespect for law-enforcement personnel, cannot be confined to mere sprites. Jamdat has tapped Ideaworks 3D to port the first five levels of the original THPS to the LG VX8000. We played the first of these, The Warehouse, and were impressed with the game's technical performance.

Surprisingly, the game's visual performance was about on par with that of its N-Gage counterpart. The game's frame rate was superior to those of Superscape's Swerve 3D-based games, which have proliferated across Verizon's V-Cast service like a particularly threatening chain letter.

Tony's controls didn't yet seem perfectly adapted to mobile phones, and required the use of both hands in cramped quarters. Tricks are executed with the numerical pad, while general movement and ollies are controlled with the navigational pad. This layout might benefit from further refinement.

We were unable to get a good sense of THPS 3D's sound, due to the high level of ambient noise on the CTIA show floor. When we get the chance to play the game under more auspicious circumstances, we'll let you know how well its audio stacks up to the high standard set by its console brethren.

Tony Hawks' Pro Skater 3D is already looking like a technically-competent port. While 2D mobile versions of the game have been strong, the prospect of a polygonal Hawk is enticing.