Xbox 360 Games : Tony Hawk's Proving Ground Review

Before Tony Hawk Pro Skater came about, the skate boarding (and extreme sports) genre was pretty bad. Most games tried to come off as having the “underground/hardcore/extreme” look but came off as very stale. Once Tony Hawk Pro Skater was released all of that changed, and each year the game keeps improving upon itself by adding more story, multiplayer, and controls. The ninth game in the series is entitled Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground.

One of the first differences players will notice when they launch the single-player game is how open ended and how customizable the game will be. At the very beginning of the game you can start doing tricks and combos off anything within the city you have access to, and the more that you do certain types of trick the more stat increases that you will receive. When you actually start playing the game you will notice that there are three distinct skating styles that you can choose from and they are: Career, Hardcore, and Rigger; or you can choose to be a combination of the three. Depending on which one you start to lean towards, different goals will open up to you, and give you a unique experience each time you play through it.

Again there are three skate styles and each are different from one another. First off the Rigger Skaters are creative skaters who take everyday objects and use them as part of various skate lines. There is a new Rig-A-Kit menu, and from there you can create anything that you have access to, in order to make some sick skate lines. Hardcore stakes are the underground skaters, doing over-the-top challenge that often make them end up in the Emergency Room; with them you will become more aggressive and even gain access to some secret areas. Career skaters are the “attention-getters.” Their main goal is to get commercial sponsorships and deals. With them you can get new photo and film-editing goals. As you can see each type is very different, and that gives you some very interesting gameplay prospects.

Last year, Neversoft introduced the Nail-the-Trick feature, but it

was not executed as graciously as it could have been, and this was in part due to clumsy camera, which made it difficult to do anything. This year the camera has been redone and it makes a world of difference, as the Nail-the-Grab and Nail-the-Manual were really easy to make really great looking combos. In order to enter in the “Nail-the” mode you have to click both thumb sticks together at the same time which puts the game in a “slow motion,” and you perform tricks by moving the left stick (controls left foot) and right stick (controls right foot) to perform various combination, and trying to land the trick.

Another new feature in the game is the Aggro Kick. All gamers have to do is tap the RB button (right bumper) while you are skating, and follow the rhythm in order to continue to do this. This increases your speed that allows you to clear bigger gaps while performing some really cool tricks. On the other hand, if you are off in your timing of the Aggro Kick you will lose all momentum and you will have to start over again.

One of the biggest additions to this game is a Video Editor that allows you to edit your replays. These editing tools are very professional and allow you to add various visual effects, music, and even make cuts to your video to make everything flow more seamlessly. What makes this even better is that while you are playing the game you can purchase some upgrades for this editor that includes new screen effects and overlays.

If you are looking to take a break from skating around for a bit you can always fool around with your own personal Skate Lounge. You can purchase various themes to give your place your own look and feel to it. You can decorate your room with items found in your Rig-A-Kit menu, as well as various objects found within the game world (once you have unlocked/purchase them). It is nice to have little features like this included in the game, because it make players want to customize everything about it, which means you get a lot more replay out of your game purchase.

Each year the developers do a good job of increasing the graphics for each game, and this year is no exception. What I really liked is the detail of all of the character models, from the customization options when you are creating your own skater, the facial and recognizable features of the pro skaters, and even the pedestrians all look different which makes this game more fun to play. The levels that you play in are also nice and varied. In this game you will travel to Philadelphia, Baltimore, and even to Washington, D.C. Each of these locations has their own unique look and feel to them, as well as their secrets to uncover.

The soundtracks for Tony Hawk games are always really important since there a lot of bands/groups center around extreme sports, or the message it puts out. Just like all games in the series this year’s soundtrack was really great and had a lot of popular songs as well as more “underground ones” that are getting the air play they deserve. The sound effects and voiceovers are also really well done, especially if you have a nice stereo system hooked up, you will be able to hear all of the bone-crashing action sound as realistic as you extent it to sound. The voices in this game are really great and add that much more to the overall atmosphere that this game has.

Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground is rated Teen.