Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 for the PS2 minus great graphics, sound, replay and a soul.
Well, I'm assuming the main reason is to get as much money as possible but I don't see why anyone would actually by this game granted they probably own one of the 3 major consoles during this time period, or at least a decent computer. It really seems like it would be a loss of money for Activision but they are a major company so I guess they took the small risk.
Tony Hawk 4 for the other consoles was a blast. The graphics were enhanced, the levels were massive and full of stuff, the soundtrack was great, the new gameplay style was fantastic, and it was full of unlockables. The game was everything a sequel should be. That can't be said about the PS1 game however because it just doesn't feel like a big change. All the levels have been reduced, the soundtrack is less than half of what it should be, the levels feel barren and empty, the goals are not much fun and the game look pretty much the same as the first Tony Hawk's Pro Skater did.
The new thing THPS4 brought is that the career sessions are no longer timed. Now you are free to do whatever instead of having a limited time to do so when you aren't in Free Skate. How this works in this game is that you go up to circles throughout the level that assign you to various goals like a high score, a high combo, collecting the skate letters, etc. The goals in the major console versions of THPS4 were really good and enjoyable but in this version they just feel boring and half-assed. Occasionally you will find that fun goal but it just doesn't capture the fun that the other games in this series had.
THPS4 has some really neat levels but if you've played the PS2, Gamecube or Xbox versions of this game than you will be disappointed because you can easily tell how limited they are. Parts of the levels are missing and there's just nothing there. In the other versions you see people and stuff in the levels but in this version none of that is there. The level structure and the textures don't really do the justice of expressing the levels greatly. Still, some of the levels remain neat and faithful representations of the major counterpart.
The new big ability present in this version of THPS4 is spine transferring which allows you to transfer from one side of a quarter pipe to another without losing your combo. Reverting is also here which I know was in the major versions of Pro Skater 3 but I'm not certain if it was in the N64 or PS1 versions of that game. Both of these make combos much easier.
The graphics are about the same as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3. It's a decent look on the Playstation and Tony Hawk 2 really pulled it off but now that same look isn't as great as it once was. The textures are pretty grainy and there is also some slowdown present so don't expect a fully smooth ride. The detail is good enough but better looking games have appeared on the Playstation four years prior to this one (ex. Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy VIII).
The soundtrack in the major versions is fantastic but in this one expect to only see about half of the songs. You can unlock songs by finding them in levels but that was just put there in with all the rest of the lame unlockables and serves no purpose because in every other Pro Skater game that feature is not present and you have all the songs from the start. Anyways, the soundtrack is mainly punk rock, hip hop and rock ranging from the ever so famous AC/DC to the somewhat big pop-punk band Goldfinger. There is about 15 songs in this game including the unlockable songs. Unfortunately, the N.W.A. song from the major version is not in this. That really pissed me off. The sound effects are aging and don't actually sound like riding a skateboard at all.
This game has almost no replay. Once you've completed this there is almost nothing to do. The only unlockable level is terrible and the unlockable characters are even more so. This was a massive disappointment because Tony Hawk games have always had awesome unlockables. The goals aren't fun so don't expect to go back and play them and the extras like Create-A-Skater and Park Editor leave you with a "been there, done that" feeling.
Seriously, go with any other version of this game but this one. The PS2/Gamecube/Xbox versions of Pro Skater 4 are so much better and bigger. They don't disappoint at all. Don't let this version judge what you think about this series.
I know I've bashed this game the whole review so let me tell you a few good things about this game. The graphics, while dated, aren't unbearable. There are much worse looking games on the system. The soundtrack is actually pretty good especially if you don't know there are twice as many songs on the other versions, and the gameplay is still somewhat fun. Just take my word and get any other version of this game.