Hawk… This is the skating game that truly flies!
So with noticeable glee we fire up THPS2. When you arrive at the menu you will be presented with a range of the usual suspects, but this time wittily arranged around a skateboard wheel. ‘Career’ and ‘Free Skate’ will probably be your mainstays, but the game also offer support for two-player co-operative and competitive matches.
The game has eight central levels as well as some additional unlockable ones (‘Skate Heaven’ mean anything to you?). There’s also a good choice of characters to choose from including the steel plated Tony himself. Career mode has you playing through each of the cities try to score 1st place on the leaderboard. To do this you are set a number of tricks and specific task to complete in a limited time (about 2 minutes). Success in each level moves you on to the next stage and gives you more cash to spend in the ‘Skatestore’. Free skate is pretty self explanatory. You choose your skater, your board and the level you want to play before being unleashed! This no guide and no time limit, you are left to explore the world and pull off as many tricks as you like. Not only does this serve as a good training mode for trying out your skills before running with the hardballers in Career mode, but you can also enter some special events (like ‘S-K-A-T-E’) to unlock new items/stats. Characters come in a variety of different models which you unlock by scoring highly in career mode. A new feature here is the ‘Create-a-Skater’ mode, which lets you make your own baggy-shorts skater and their board. Stats options and new board designs are all acquired by playing through the career as well as completing all of the levels special missions.
Control in the game is as refined as ever. You move your skater with the D-pad or right analog stick. The symbol buttons are used to pull off tricks. While the shoulder button do functions like ‘switching’ and ‘spin’ toggling. By combining different combinations of buttons you execute more extreme tricks. For example the simple tap of the cross button will make you do a basic ‘Ollie’, while some more complex like up, down, cross will do an ‘Ollie north’. Some new to THPS2 is the ‘manual’, a trick where the skater balances on his back two wheels (using the D-pad to steady himself).
Once again, the stars of alternative metal and skate punk are back to lay down more rhymes on society’s raw behind. The soundtrack to THPS2 is, in a word: Brilliant. It boasts over 12 tracks that fit the vision of the game perfectly. Papa Roach, the Dub Pistols and Public Enemy are just some of the highlights.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 is rare masterpiece. A game that features lengthy modes and flexible character management. A Consistently realised visual style, with graffiti and its punk soundtrack. Don’t wait for it to past you by, this game is essential.