For those of whom who don't follow the skateboarding world (or don't watch Extreme Games that often), Tony Hawk is one of the best skaters on the circuit, his talents are immeasurable, and his famous 900 spin from last year's Extreme Games is one of the many quality clips that are shown in the video intro of THPS. For the most part, the game engine that Neversoft has created for THPS is amazing, as everything in the game is not only rock solid, but is very skatable. Imagine my surprise when I was able to fall onto a moving car (expecting to be knocked off my board) only to bounce off it and get a Car Plant bonus of 500 points. The skaters themselves are realistically modeled to perfection, as every move can be seamlessly linked to the other dozens upon dozens of moves available. I haven't followed skateboarding that much, but I do recognize two of the skaters I've seen on TV; namely Tony Hawk and Buddy Lasek. There are 10 different REAL skaters to choose from, including Chad Muska, Kareem Campbell, Andrew Reynolds, Bob Burnquist, all with their respective strengths and weaknesses, as well as their own signature moves (You KNOW that Tony Hawk has the 900!) >=D

The level design of each of the 8 courses are quite amazing, as everything is perfectly suited for thrashing. My current favorite is the Burnland in Portland, as it reminds me of the X-Games skateboard/bmx course they had in NYC, with so many ramps and rails it will make your head spin. As you navigate your way through the game's career mode, you'll find secret areas leading to even more stuff to execute killer moves on. The best I've seen is in Minnesota, where you can take a skywalk onto a secret bowl on top of a building.

Accompany the amazing graphics is an equally amazing soundtrack, boasting bands such as Primus and the Dead Kennedys. The music doesn't do anything to the gameplay except adding to the excitement that you'll feel. Oh yeah, THPS also churns out quite possible the sickest array of sound effects I've ever heard. Just hearing my skater go "crunch, crunch, crunch" on the pavement, and then get hit by a speeding taxi cab made me even more determined not to fall anywhere during the game.

So just exactly elevates this game to an entirely new level? Amazing gameplay and tight, tight controls. The controls for THPS are simple, yet contain a ton of depth to them. X is to jump, Triangle is to grind or ollie, and the Square and Circle buttons are to perform your moves. If you press Square/Circle in conjunction with a directional (even diagonals) button, you'll perform a totally different move. You can string together moves to perform combos and rack up some real high scores (my highest combo score was in the 18,000 range, a 5 move combo so far). It's this kind of simplicity that allows THPS to be extremely fun to play. Kind of reminds me of Top Skater, without the real skateboard to step on. ^_^

From the outside, Tony Hawk's Pro Skating might seem to be directed only to those hardcore skaters who've alway wanted to emulate their heroes, but in actuality, this game is for everyone, even if you hate skateboarding, you'll probably love this game because it's just that good.

Editor's Note: Reno really likes this game so if he starts babbling about it in future updates via Quote of the Day or such, you'll know why.

· · · Reno