The third chapter in Activison's hit series, "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater", proves to be a bit of a dissapointment. With less goals, hidden areas, gameplay, and the removal of the cash system, THPS3 just isn't as good as it's past counterpart, THPS2. Sure the graphics and size of the levels are huge, but when it comes down to gameplay, it's just too easy to beat. Absolutely no challenge for the veteran THPS fan. Now I can't state whether or not the online play will be any good, but it seems to be one of the best features of THPS3. The other new features include the ability to create a girl skater, a new version of the skatepark editor, which in my opinion still needs to be impoved, and a wider variety of skaters, boards, and appearances. But, THPS3 just doesn't seem to make the tryouts in the race to be the best THPS ever.
The PS2 quality graphics are a whole lot better than the PSX ones. They will even do more to immerse you in the world of street and vert skating. All the movement is nicely configured, and there arn't as many glitches in the shading and texturing. The appearance over all is pretty good.
With the lack of any voice acting, THPS's sound is decent but doesn't live up to it's full potential. The soundtrack is not quite as good as the last one, but it works.
The gameplay takes on many of the same elements as the first Tony Hawk; not too many goals, and doesn't take too long to beat. Now this my be a good thing, but for those of us out there who want a good long game, THPS is just not for us.
I will have to say that I did thouroughly enjoy the game. It was a very entertaining game that kept me occupied for a while. But it just wasn't as good. |
