User Rating: 8.1 | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater NGE
The Tony Hawk series have spread across over quite a few systems and consoles such as the PC, Gamecube, Dreamcast, and Game Boy Advance. The Tony Hawk series has also provided some of the best gameplay to date. Now that the Tony Hawk series has finally hit the N-Gage, does it match up to all the other Tony Hawk games on all the consoles and handhelds? So far, the N-Gage hasn't been such a successful handheld lately. Games like Tomb Raider and Puyo Pop have plagued the N-Gage into what could have been a great handheld, despite the people who don't even like it when they have yet to even play the handheld. Now that Tony Hawk's Pro Skater has been released on the N-Gage, some of that is about to change. THPS for the N-Gage is sort of a direct port from the Playstation version. All of the regular modes are here such as Career Mode, which takes the most time to complete. The Career Mode has also been tweaked a bit and the goals are quite different too. If you played the Playstation version of THPS, the N-Gage version might seem a bit different. A new addition to the THPS series for the N-Gage is it's "N-Gage Arena." THPS is compatible with it, but you don't necessarily "compete" with anybody, which could of been the nicest feature to date for the N-Gage. Instead, you battle with "ghosts" that players have "set up" for you, in a racing game. It does seem kind of awkward, but it's simply put quite fun. It can be quite a challenge at times, which shows that THPS isn't all about a big battle for a high score. THPS can actually survive on it's own merits with different "genres" in the game, even if it feels rather weird. Graphic-wise, THPS for N-Gage looks amazing. It feels and plays like the classic Tony Hawk, which Nokia was destined to do. It brings classic gaming into their new handheld, while trying to mantain it's overall look. One downside to this version is that the frame rate can get a bit slow when you're playing, which brings slowdowns. It does get annoying, but you'll get used to it once you play it enough. Even for the N-Gage version, THPS still brings the classic music and sound back. It isn't as cheesy as Tomb Raider for the N-Gage. In fact, it provides some the best, crisp sound to date for the N-Gage. Not only that, but it actually sounds much better with headphones on. The Career Mode will definitely keep you busy, and battling against other peoples' ghost in the N-Gage Arena will also provide some fun as well. The goals are classic THPS, such as collecting S-K-A-T-E and getting high scores. It all seems fun, and in fact, it is. In conclusion, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater for the N-Gage is probably the best N-Gage game right now. It does have quite a few flaws like the slow frame rate and not "directly" battling against live opponents one-on-one in the N-Gage Arena, but all the good stuff makes up for it. If you think the N-Gage is going to flop, or you simply don't like the handheld, games like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater will make you think different. If N-Gage can release games like these, we might actually see a bright future for the N-Gage.
