Motion cap and next gen lifts game.
The story, which is my favorite part of the series the past few years, is very weak. There are pretty much no original characters other than yourself and no interaction with other people most of the time. Jason Lee has no point in being is the game and doesn't really talk to you much. The story was much of a disappointment.
Online multiplayer is great but for long time tony hawk fans there are no new game types really. However, playing with several other people instead of just your friend or your brother is fun. There is also a great multiplayer experience. You enter the level with your friends and you can roam around the map (or level if it is set to a specific part of the map) until a game is started. Then you compete and go back to free skate when it is over.
Another good part of the game is the grind, manual, wallride etc. challenges. You don't have to enter a goal, just skate into it. There was a great sense of freedom in the game. The map was larger than American Wasteland and had great progression in the game. Every few goals you move up a rank and you unlock a level or pro challenge every now and then. The game keeps you occupied until you reach rank 8. After rank 8 it takes forever to move up and you have to go back and reach the highest rank in every goal. There is not much use trying to get to rank 1 but it is a good challenge for serious gamers. However, for most rank 8 is considered when the game is beaten.
The difficulty is just right but pretty hard if you try to reach rank 1. The game is really fun as you progress but the story is not much of a story which was a let down for me. I recommend to buy this game as of now it is very cheap but well worth it no matter what price.