Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 Review

5 Pages 1249 Words

Several months after its release on the PS2, T Hawk grinds its way onto Xbox with a new level and a new hidden character.

March 06, 2002 - The first Tony Hawk's Pro Skater opened the gaming public's eyes to the possibilities of an extreme sports game. Others have tried but none have been able to match the success of T Hawk. Each subsequent version of the game has only gotten better. Now, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 ollies its way onto Xbox. While essentially the same as the PS2 and GameCube versions, it does feature slightly better graphics, less slow down, and a few extra goodies to reward patient Xbox owners.

Features

Over 20 characters, each with their own special tricks
Supports customized soundtracks
Several multiplayer modes
Massive levels in beautiful detail
Create-a-park mode so you can make your own skate park
Exclusive Xbox level and secret character!

Gameplay
Slip on your Chucks and grab a board. Take control of one of nearly two dozen skaters and grind your way around a plethora of massive levels. THPS3 is packed with modes to provide endless hours of play. This is easily its best feature. This is one of those extremely rare games where you will play it from the day you buy it until the day the next installment is released. It's that good and it's that deep.

The bulk of game time is devoted to Career Mode. Each level has a variety of goals that must be completed to open new levels. These goals include getting sick scores of up to 500,000 points, grinding certain areas, collecting the letters S-K-A-T-E, and performing certain actions (like soaking the foreman). In Hawk 2, your main focus was getting money so you could buy new tricks and raise your stats. The money is gone, replaced by five stat points strewn about each level. This is a good thing. Skating, even professional skating, has never projected the image of being about the Benjamins. Also hidden in each level is a new deck design. There are three com...