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I'll be frank – I'm not a fan of the Tony Hawk series. Sure, I understand through review scores and millions of happy gamers that Neversoft's long-running franchise is terrific. However, I've played a few of them over the years and they never "did it" for me (not being interested in the skateboarding culture is likely the main reason). They look good, play well, and please many. That doesn't change the fact that I just don't dig ‘em. Different strokes, different folks.
It wasn't without a bit of trepidation, then, that I opened up a copy of the brand new Wii game Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam. I had visions of skating around aimlessly, trying to string together all sorts of combos with the Wiimote and getting immediately frustrated. Imagine my happy surprise when it became obvious that Jam has virtually no relation to the Pro Skater or Underground games. Instead, it most resembles one of my all-time favorite action sports series, the superbly fun and versatile SSX. Simply put, it's obscenely fast, controls terrifically, and invites gamers of all skills to the table with a style that focuses on arcadey fun. In other words, it's exactly what the Wii is all about.
Jam is an entertaining bit of Wii fare that will generate some laughs all around. It's just too bad it all has to be in one place.
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Naturally, the controller of Nintendo's "new-gen" machine dominates the gameplay - no other console could manage to pull off what the Wii can in Jam. Instead of pointing directly at the screen, the remote is held sideways; turning it left and right steers accordingly while the "1" and "2" buttons control jumps and grinds. When airborne, whipping it up or down quickly will translate into flips and spins. I have no idea how the Wii can read the controller when held this way, but it works, and works well. While it takes a little while to get a good feel for controlling your skater, he or she will always do what you want them to, provided you execute the moves correctly.
The word "downhill" is apt indeed, as all of the events will start you at the top of some steep courses that will vault your skater towards a finish line far below. Most of these events are races that pit you against a host of other characters – all of whom can be kicked and shoved out of the way, along with any hapless pedestrians who get in the way – although there are some other kinds of competitions. These include slaloms, checkpoints, trick counters, and plenty more, although no matter what you're doing, speed is always in full effect. That's what stays with you from front to back – this game is seriously, seriously fast.
Starting off, you get to choose from a host of stereotypical videogame characters or Tony himself. When races are loading up, each of these folks has a brief Q & A session with an off-screen interviewer, and these mini video chats add a nice bit of humor and whimsy to the game. At the beginning, there aren't any boards or other goodies unlocked, but as you advance up the ladder, plenty of helpful stuff will find its way to your arsenal. The races themselves tend to be short and sweet at the beginning (but extend significantly as you advance), and to be honest it was all I could do to finish in the top three and scrape by with a point or two. After some practice, though, I started to get the hang of it. Once I unlocked a couple of decent skateboards, heading back to earlier races to turn those bronzes into golds was a lot easier (and scads more fun, too).
After you've proven your mettle as a rookie, challenges become more intense and difficult. The locales for the exploits of Tony and his touring gang of skatepunks range from the streets of San Fransisco to the waterfront of Hong Kong and the jungles of Hawaii, with some other spots thrown in for good measure. The fact that you're usually hurtling forward at rates bordering on Ludicrous Speed means that taking in the scenery is not on the agenda, so other than some backgrounds and region-specific obstacles (think trolley cars in San Fran, palm trees in the tropics, and castle gates in England) you won't have much time to soak in the graphics. When you've maxed out one character, there's always the opportunity to go replay all of the events as someone else to grab additional unlockables – or just beat on someone you've grown attached to – but, to be fair, it gets to be a little stale after a few runs on the same track.
While the single player mode is diverse and fun, there's a big problem here - the lack of online multiplayer. While you can have as many as four people playing against each other on a single Wii, the days of split-screen multiplayer are over (sorry folks, but it is 2007). My Wii is connected to the internet 24/7, my Miis are mingling with others across the globe going on parades, but I can't race online? Boooooo!
It could be argued with no small amount of merit that Jam is SSX on a skateboard. There is some truth to that, although in this case that should be taken as a compliment. The single player game is undoubtedly full of whimsy and excitement, but unfortunately lacks some long-term "oomph" in variety and depth. It's theoretically possible to spend 14 to 20 hours in the campaign, but much of that would be replaying races already run as different characters. This could be understandable if there was a compelling online mode. The lack of one is what makes Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam a good-but-not-great game instead of a must-have Wii title. There are certainly enough thrills and spills to satisfy you for awhile – and if you can deal with split screen, even playing against your friends will occupy some quality time. At the end of the day, Jam is an entertaining bit of Wii fare that will generate some laughs all around. It's just too bad it all has to be in one place.
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