Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

The Good
Controlling the character is a breeze (especially if you have a controller, I recommend any of the Microsoft products). There are so many things you can do here, especially when you have such an easy “Build a park” system to muck around with. And although there are all those tricks to perform, it’s getting all those hidden tapes that make this title such a great challenge.

The Bad
Beginners will find it hard to perform some of the bigger tricks, but practice always makes perfect.

The Bottom Line
Finally a great skateboard title for fans of the sport (and all those people that have always wanted to take it up, but didn’t want to get hurt trying). One of the best translations from console to PC that I have seen for some time.

The Good
This is the only skateboarding game I have, but it is one of the best games I have ever played . First off, this is the Nintendo version of the game, so some content was cut out, but I'll talk about that later. The gameplay consist of various modes, like free skate, career, single session, park editor, and multiplayer. I never played multiplayer, but all the other modes are solid in design. Career plays out that you have to collect certain items,or scores in two minutes to unlock new levels and characters. Park editor lets you make your own park to tear up as you preform kick flips before eating it as you fall flat on your..well...trying to land that ever elusive trick that lets you unlock that last character or board you want. Free skate lets you roam free in the levels unlocked in career mode with no time limit. I can't remember much about single session except that it was like free skate. The level design is well thought out and sometimes very challenging. Now on to the graphics. Good,but I've seen better. The levels have more than enough draw distance to see where you are going, even in the outdoors levels. That is quite a feat considering this was originally a playstation game, and that the Nintendo 64 has a bad habit of a short draw distance. The sound is a little lacking. The music sounds quite good considering this a cartridge. It sounds almost as clear as a cd ! The sounds of things like the skateboard wheels, the level noise, and the wipe outs are very satisfying. The con-trolls are tight with the analog stick, but more precise with the directional pad. This game also lets you create your own skater , with tattoos, different clothes , shoes , and various other things . Plus Spider man is an unlockable character ! If that doesn't make you want this game something is wrong with you ! And on a final note, there are tons of unlockable stuff ,ensuring that you'll come back for more !

The Bad
The songs in this version have been mixed shorter than the other platforms because of the media limitations. The create a skater mode while good, should have had better looking skaters. They are very blocky in the face and particularly ugly. And this game requires the expansion pack AND the memory pack ! And my memory pack erased all of my save data and now I have to start all over again ! And the create a park mode is a little cumbersome.

The Bottom Line
If you love EXTREME sports games, this a definite buy ! If you don't, get this and your mind will be changed. If you want the Playstation version, well , go ahead ! It has more songs anyway.

The Good
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 is an extremely fun game. Although it was made too much like a game, hardly realistic at all. Which if you don't mind moving 60 m.p.h. on a skateboard is fine. For it's lack of realism it gives you many many tricks, a custom skater editor, and a level editor.

The game is really at it's peak when played with a friend with one of the built in multiplayer games, my favorite is graffiti. In graffiti you ride around, doing tricks on elements in the level, and you claim it. If someone can beat the score you got when you claimed it, then they take control. Whoever has the most stuff claimed at the end of a certain time period, they win. There are a few other modes as well, such as tag, and horse.

The Bad
There is really a lack of realism as mentioned above, your skater moves too fast and does not have to propel himself in anyway... he just kind of moves.

There are some bugs in the game that make you press reset, for example with my custom skater I fell in a pool, and my character got into a "superman pose" and moved around the pool and could not get up.

The career mode starts when you're already pro, skating in parks instead of on the street like mostly all pro skaters started. The soundtrack features several sold out rap, and pop rock groups, and gets annoying after about 3 or 4 sessions of the game.

The Bottom Line
If you want a skateboarding game try Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, if you want a skating simulation that makes your skater seem human buy Thrasher: Skate and Destroy. The only thing I found replayable about this game are the multiplayer games, and even those get old.

Despite all of the hype it's gotten from the press, and maybe some of your friends, I do not recommend buying this game. Borrow it from someone, rent it, steal it... Just do not buy it.