Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 Hands-On

I recently got the chance to get some more action in on Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, and I'm happy to say the Tony Hawk formula is now better than ever. Instead of trying to re-invent the gameplay style of the Tony Hawk series, Neversoft simply refined the experience while delivering the same feel as the first game.

The biggest new feature in Tony Hawk 2 has got to be the level editor. I got to see an early version of this feature when Activision brought the game by a few months before E3, but it wasn't half as complete as it is now. The level editor now features tons of backgrounds and layouts, and several new pipes and pieces, letting you create limitless tracks. It does all of this in a 3D grid environment, letting you actually set all the proportions of the pieces you place. This is very cool, as most track editors simply let you place pre-proportioned pieces into the editor, somewhat restricting what you can do.

The other new feature I really liked was the Create a Skater mode. If you thought wrestling games had comprehensive Create a Wrestler modes, you should see what Neversoft is pulling out with Tony Hawk 2. You'll be able to tweak every aspect of your skater - from hairstyle to clothing to shoes to facial hair, it's all up to you.

The gameplay is about as on as ever. It's still fast and furious arcade-like skating, except now you've got lip tricks, new special tricks, new grinds, the whole manual system, new grinds, and of course - a new look to the skaters. Also mentioned was a new system that allows you to unlock certain areas of a track. In one case you grind on a certain part of a level to open up an escalator that takes you to a whole new level.

With all the new additions Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 is going to blow away fans of the Tony Hawk series. I just can't wait until this game comes out.