As you play the first-ever Tony Hawk outing on the DS, you may wonder why it's console sister was ever even made.
Not to say that THUG and it's respective sequels thereafter were anything less than stellar, but it still stands in my heart that with that entry in the popular skateboarding series, the franchise started to slowly fizzle. Don't ask me why: It was just a deep-down feeling that can be evident with the newest console offering, American Wasteland.
There is still hope, however. Look away from your TV and down to your little Nintendo DS, and you'll find what can be easily called the best installment in this dying series since the third entry. Yes, I said it-- Tony Hawk's American Sk8land is the best game in the series since Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3. I came to this conclusion because, for once in my life, I based my opinion on my thoughts toward the game, rather than that of those around me, and came to the conclusion that it is overall more enjoyable than any stupid THUG/THAW abbreviation-benefit-based game that has graced a console.
What makes it so darn good? Presentation? Gameplay? Visual? Well, EVERYTHING makes this offering good-- the presentation is slick and stylish with the addition of (slightly disappointing but still fun) online play, not to mention that this game is sprinkled with little extras like voice recording and a full-fledged character editor. Almost everything outside the set-in-stone levels is customizable, making this something you want to perfect to your preferences.
The visuals are just as styling as the game's features, with a great comic-book (or, how the developers would like to put it, "'80's cartoon")-style. You'd swear that this is the perfect choice to build a skate-culture outing upon, and I would really enjoy seeing this kind of graphical style stick on future entries in the series.
The gameplay, although a little easy (but perfectly fixable through a slight tweak of options) is perfect for the DS-- it goes back to the simplicity that made the Tony Hawk series so frickin' great in the first place, but at the same time doesn't insult the intelligence of the player. The result? A fast, pick-upable game that's great for casuals on the go or hardcore gamers ready for hourly sessions.
Last, the sound is awesome. I wouldn't go as far as to say it's console-quality, but it gets the job done and then some.
Let's just hope that (at least the portable) series follows this mold from now on. If you haven't picked up this game yet, you definitely should. It's the holiday season, right? Put this right the top of your Christmas list. Now.