Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Old-school"

In Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD, you will feel right at home if you are a long-time fan of the series. Others... maybe not. This HD reboot of the first two installments includes seven familiar levels, and a mixture of old and new pro skaters to use & upgrade. While not having as many levels as fans had hoped for, the ones that did make the cut look polished & brand new, yet keeping the exact features of each level from the original counterparts. Even though the game modes are limited, Robomodo still managed to squeeze in two fresh new ways to play, with the Hawkman and Big Head Survival modes. Another new feature, while not exactly a new mode, is Projectives. In this game type, you complete certain objectives in each level, except harder than the usual objectives for each, and in less time. The returning modes are the classic objectives, Single Session, and Free Skate. For those out there that are interested in the online play, there are bonus modes for you. Big head Survival & Free Skate are still available in multiplayer, along with the old Time Attack & Graffiti modes. The Online isn't AS in-depth as many of us had probably expected, but it offers an easy way to skate around with friends. The soundtrack kept seven originals tracks from the first two games, yet only one of seven from the very first installment. The rest of the soundtrack includes new songs that would still stick in your head for a long time after hearing them, much like the original soundtracks. There is a relatively large amount of skaters to choose from in this game, including familiar names like Rodney Mullen, Andrew Reynolds, and of course, Tony Hawk. The newer pros in the game include skaters such as Nyjah Huston, Chris Cole, and Tony Hawk's son, Riley Hawk, along with several other new faces. The game still has unlockables & cheats like the old titles, and also features the old (and at times, frustrating) gap lists for each level. Overall, the game feels like a very well put together HD remake of the classic games, and with DLC in the future, even more skaters & levels will be added. It will be interesting to see how Robomodo returns the franchise back to its classic roots, but, for now, this game will definitely hold over hardcore Pro Skater fans for quite a while.