Worst controls ever. A reason why the Wii is a gimmick and how developers just are not ready for motion controls.
The story, no story. Make your character from a terrible character creation page (previous TH's have been better, and this a totally new generation for god's sake) and then your all of the sudden friends with everyone. Tony Hawk, Bam, some guy with a beard, some hobo looking fellow, allot of hobo looking fellows, and allot of stereo typical punks. Your friends with everyone; before you even meat them they know who you are, and act like your the best skater around before you've even done anything. The story, you just do repetitive tricks for all your friends as they kiss your ass along your skate boarding journey.
The graphics, are Wii trying to pull photo realistic. Everybody is really grainy, look like they have dirt smudges on their face, one guys beard looked good and some guy who looked like the lead singer from the cure had good looking hair graphics. The environments are all the same, streets that are grey, and constant wood ramps popping out of nowhere. The streets make no sense, it's like the world has been designed for skaters not actual daily life for the rest of us who don't want to scrap our knees constantly. After finishing the required "missions" to move on from the first level, I did not hesitate to leave. I thought I was back again after pressing start and selecting a new area then going through a loading screen, because it looked the exact same.
Previous TH games took away loading screens and crappy area moving, by linking areas with long narrow passages for the underground skaters. That at least gave a sense of immersion. This game reminds you constantly "you are playing a video game on the Wii, shake that remote!" In the beginning you start off with not even the basic functions. This by the way is where the review gets nasty. You'll start pressing around the remote and nun-chuck trying to do those good old kick flips, grabs and grinds. Well you can't. Not until you go through what could very well be the absolute worst motion control tutorials I have ever seen.
Need a new paragraph, game play is a long list... There is a new style of skate boarding that lets you flip the skate board around in slow motion until the game feels as though you've had enough air time thus slamming your character into the ground, or you could press B+Z at the right moment. This pretends as though your making up a trick, when in reality its the same as performing different functions in mid air with normal (effective and fun) controls. Then of course, you can not get off of your skate board right away so navigating is a terror. Your trying to line up with the section where you must perform the trick, and you can't because your an idiot.
Many first missions require that you get speed to go over jumps. Your going to get a kick out of this, you need to time wagging the remote downward in a beat to keep pushing and gaining speed. If you so much as screw up by a micro-meter the game will basically laugh at you and make you restart practically getting onto the skate board.
Later there will be a platforming aspect for when the game lets you get off of your board. Of course jumps are not timed properly with the buttons, and a difficulty arises that should not be there because the developers made it physically impossible period with their poor judgment.
After completing some asinine motion based "missions" you can use some buttons to do the good old tricks, but because the levels stink, its no fun.
All the skaters sound like each other, with mannerisms and "punk talk", and the sound track is also virtually no name punk bands. Skating sound FX are recycled.
Oh and there will be people walking around each level waiting to beat you down, one guy kept following me as he pushed me off my skate board and every time I tried to get back on (which takes forever and eternity for the dumb ass skater to get back on his skate board after whipping out) this guy would hit me back down before I could get going. I only managed to escape by luck, it was like the game froze because I could not do a thing.
I'm glad I rented this, I am severely angry with my Wii and can't wait to take this game back. This is by far, one of the worst games I have ever played.