Insert Coin - Not Just Another Sprite Comic

Modern Nostalgia

10:23 AM

November 28, 2002

Posted By The Maestro

Um...sorry for the long-term disappointments and lack of updates...I've been procrastinating for a while (although it was partly writer's block), but I've finally done the small revisions that I had to do to the new comic and I'm pleased with the results. Well, now you have something to be thankful for (heh). Because this is Thanksgiving weekend and I've got 4 days to do nothing but play videogames and eat turkey, I should be able to find some time to write the next comic and start working on it. Hell, I might even finish and throw it on the site by Sunday! But I won't promise anything, because you know what happens when I do that...
Well, now that I've got the mandatory apology out of the way, I'd like to tell you about Demockracy, an American history-influenced web comic by a good friend of mine (he made a couple of comics for the now deceased "1337 L@D & QUEN71N" (I might put those here some time in the future...). Anywho, I would highly recommend that you check it out, even if you don't know anything about American history. I'd also like to warn you; the site is currently pretty bare bones (I slapped it together) and it may not even be up until late tonight or tomorrow, depending on how much free time I have today. So look forward to that.

Now, I'd like to talk to you about the latest incarnation in the series that has strongly influenced my life, despite my lack of adequate coordination to attempt any of its content in real life...the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4. Ever since I first heard about the series waay back when, I didn't really think much of it, until one day there was a Tony Hawk's Pro Skater demo on the new Official Dreamcast Magazine demo disc (ah yes, that was a good era). I fired it up and I swear I played that demo for 3 hours straight, just retrying and retrying after each little 2-minute session. Then I would sit in awe at the replays of my runs, impressed at how real they looked. It seemed that I could be a pro skater myself, if only from my couch.

Finally I got a chance to borrow the N64 version of the game (yeah, laugh all you want, it was still fun!) for an entire summer and ended up beating the game with a number of skaters, always constantly impressed by this faux skateboarding experience.

Then came along the mecca known as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 for the Dreamcast. Utilizing a neato new cash system where you have to buy all of your tricks, I played for many many many more hours, in attempts to master the game. And of course, the game introduced the Create-A-Skater and Park Editor tools, which sucked up more hours of my life. And let's not forget Ollie the Magic Bum, who was introduced and now plays a relatively important role in the series.

Then a year ago, an even bigger mecca known as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 came along and sped up the gameplay, sharpened the graphics, added bigger levels, deeper park and skater design modes and most importantly, online support, despite Sony's constant delaying of the network adaptor. Basically, Neversoft gave us everything that we could possibly want.

Or so we thought.

Now, 2 full years into the PS2's system life, Neversoft had blessed us with what is undoubtably the best game in the series yet. THPS4 has taken the tried-and-true formula of THPS3 and bumped it up the next level of gaming, providing, at a times, a real challenge for even veterans of the series. Just last night, I was shocked to see a sick score challenge of 1,500,000 points (in 2 minutes). However, some perseverence and some mad skillz on my part allowed me to beat it, which I did attain rather easily ^_^. In addition to these inflated pro/sick scores there are now C-O-M-B-O goals in which you must collect all 5 letters of the word "combo" in one combo. And if you're any sort of fan of the series, you should already know about the non-linear approach that the game utilizes, allowing you to free skate around any given level and get your goals from various people, indicated by a large arrow over their head, a-la Crazy Taxi. I've found this ability to free skate whenever I want to be a godsend, as just skating around can help you to familiarize yourself with the surroundings, which of course helps you within the goals. Back are the cash icons from THPS2, although now they're only used to buy 2 additional levels at the end (Carnival and Chicago), 3 other hidden skaters, various clothing items for create-a-skater, 4 movies, some decks and some other little knick-knacks that I can't really remember at the moment. However, the cash still plays an important role in the game and it's still necessary to collect the cash (especially if you're trying to 100% the game).

My only real disappointment is that the game appears to be too short, as now if you beat the entire game with one skater (as I'm doing with Rodney Mullen) nearly all of the rest of the game is beaten. Basically all you have to do is do the Pro Challenge for each skater and do a couple of other little goals that were'nt available to the skater you were using. However, the inclusion of online support (in the PS2 version) and the fact that it's just so damn fun, will boost its replay value tenfold.

Like I said above, if you're a fan of the series in the slightest, you're not doing justice to your inner skateboarder by not picking this game up. It's just hours and hours of gaming bliss, with constant little clever details in the Neversoft style. And for all of you hardcore veterans, you may even find yourselves challenged a bit here and there...

Well, all I really have left to say now is to VOTE FOR ME at the TWC! I'd really love to get into the prestigious Top 150...check ya' later!

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		Modern Nostalgia `10:23 AM` `November 28, 2002` `Posted By The Maestro`
	Um...sorry for the long-term disappointments and lack of updates...I've been procrastinating for a while (although it was partly writer's block), but I've finally done the small revisions that I had to do to the new comic and I'm pleased with the results. Well, now you have something to be thankful for (heh). Because this is Thanksgiving weekend and I've got 4 days to do nothing but play videogames and eat turkey, I should be able to find some time to write the next comic and start working on it. Hell, I might even finish and throw it on the site by Sunday! But I won't promise anything, because you know what happens when I do that... Well, now that I've got the mandatory apology out of the way, I'd like to tell you about Demockracy, an American history-influenced web comic by a good friend of mine (he made a couple of comics for the now deceased "1337 L@D & QUEN71N" (I might put those here some time in the future...). Anywho, I would highly recommend that you check it out, even if you don't know anything about American history. I'd also like to warn you; the site is currently pretty bare bones (I slapped it together) and it may not even be up until late tonight or tomorrow, depending on how much free time I have today. So look forward to that. Now, I'd like to talk to you about the latest incarnation in the series that has strongly influenced my life, despite my lack of adequate coordination to attempt any of its content in real life...the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4. Ever since I first heard about the series waay back when, I didn't really think much of it, until one day there was a Tony Hawk's Pro Skater demo on the new Official Dreamcast Magazine demo disc (ah yes, that was a good era). I fired it up and I swear I played that demo for 3 hours straight, just retrying and retrying after each little 2-minute session. Then I would sit in awe at the replays of my runs, impressed at how real they looked. It seemed that I could be a pro skater myself, if only from my couch. Finally I got a chance to borrow the N64 version of the game (yeah, laugh all you want, it was still fun!) for an entire summer and ended up beating the game with a number of skaters, always constantly impressed by this faux skateboarding experience. Then came along the mecca known as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 for the Dreamcast. Utilizing a neato new cash system where you have to buy all of your tricks, I played for many many many more hours, in attempts to master the game. And of course, the game introduced the Create-A-Skater and Park Editor tools, which sucked up more hours of my life. And let's not forget Ollie the Magic Bum, who was introduced and now plays a relatively important role in the series. Then a year ago, an even bigger mecca known as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 came along and sped up the gameplay, sharpened the graphics, added bigger levels, deeper park and skater design modes and most importantly, online support, despite Sony's constant delaying of the network adaptor. Basically, Neversoft gave us everything that we could possibly want. Or so we thought. Now, 2 full years into the PS2's system life, Neversoft had blessed us with what is undoubtably the best game in the series yet. THPS4 has taken the tried-and-true formula of THPS3 and bumped it up the next level of gaming, providing, at a times, a real challenge for even veterans of the series. Just last night, I was shocked to see a sick score challenge of 1,500,000 points (in 2 minutes). However, some perseverence and some mad skillz on my part allowed me to beat it, which I did attain rather easily ^_^. In addition to these inflated pro/sick scores there are now C-O-M-B-O goals in which you must collect all 5 letters of the word "combo" in one combo. And if you're any sort of fan of the series, you should already know about the non-linear approach that the game utilizes, allowing you to free skate around any given level and get your goals from various people, indicated by a large arrow over their head, a-la Crazy Taxi. I've found this ability to free skate whenever I want to be a godsend, as just skating around can help you to familiarize yourself with the surroundings, which of course helps you within the goals. Back are the cash icons from THPS2, although now they're only used to buy 2 additional levels at the end (Carnival and Chicago), 3 other hidden skaters, various clothing items for create-a-skater, 4 movies, some decks and some other little knick-knacks that I can't really remember at the moment. However, the cash still plays an important role in the game and it's still necessary to collect the cash (especially if you're trying to 100% the game). My only real disappointment is that the game appears to be too short, as now if you beat the entire game with one skater (as I'm doing with Rodney Mullen) nearly all of the rest of the game is beaten. Basically all you have to do is do the Pro Challenge for each skater and do a couple of other little goals that were'nt available to the skater you were using. However, the inclusion of online support (in the PS2 version) and the fact that it's just so damn fun, will boost its replay value tenfold. Like I said above, if you're a fan of the series in the slightest, you're not doing justice to your inner skateboarder by not picking this game up. It's just hours and hours of gaming bliss, with constant little clever details in the Neversoft style. And for all of you hardcore veterans, you may even find yourselves challenged a bit here and there... Well, all I really have left to say now is to VOTE FOR ME at the TWC! I'd really love to get into the prestigious Top 150...check ya' later!