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Logo by Max Layne Photography
| Microsoft Xbox 360 |
Tony Hawk helped to bring alternative sports to videogames. Since “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater,” a number of imitators have popped up
throughout the years, though it stood alone as the top franchise. Title after title players started to watch the franchise continue to drop
and after Electronic Arts released “Skate,” Activision decided to take a break and regroup. Inspired by peripheral based games “Tony
Hawk: RIDE” has been released with a $120 price tag and fancy skateboard peripheral.
This Tony Hawk game is much different from the past games in the franchise and that is very apparent from the moment players see it
on store shelves. Players aren’t able to use the traditional controller to play this game, but instead will have to get off of the coach and
use the custom skateboard controller. This board is covered with a variety of sensors that detect which way players are leaning,
whether the nose or tail of the board is raised or even if players a mimicking that they are grabbing the board. It is also very sturdy, so
there is no need to worry about kids breaking it easily.
In theory, playing “Tony Hawk: RIDE” should be fairly intuitive, players brush their leg on the ground past the board and the on screen
character will push off to gain speed. Players raise the nose and the character does an ollie. Raise the nose slowly and the character
goes into a manual. Variations of these movements and more complex tricks can be done by twisting the board or leaning forward or
back while in the air. However, though the controls sound easy, unless the player is a skateboarder it is fairly difficult to control, if
players are even able to stay on the board at all.
The more players play the game, the more they will begin to notice that the physics and collision detection aren’t very good. Players will
watch their skater to through objects and fall through the world. The camera has several issues as well when players take the game off
of the casual rails that the game provides. The game simply lacks the polish that is necessary to match the hardcore controls. All of
these things are problems that would not be allowed in past Tony Hawk titles and they are more than enough to make players want to
walk away.
Most players are going to want to start the game by playing the campaign. It is a single player game, though it is possible to simply hop
into a park that has been unlocked for a stress free exhibition that allows players to skate around the park and practice. The campaign
pulls every available mode and stage into a single package, including roughly a half dozen different cities from around the world and
several different game types. There is a race where speed and grabbing time bonuses is the objective. Trick sessions are all about
scoring as many points as possible under a time limit. Challenges require players to do certain tricks. There is also a game like
horse, but with tricks instead.
When it comes to the career mode, there isn’t much of a progression or any real reward for moving through the game. Occasionally
screens pop up letting players know that they have unlocked new gear, but won’t tell them what gear they received or why they got it.
Before players are even able to play the game the entire experience is ruined. The presentation in the game is about as bad as it can
possibly get. For a game that is supposed to be a player friendly casual game, this doesn’t seem to offer any of that. The load times
are terrible, the videos continually skip and jump, there are many advertisement filled menus and more. The advertising in the game is
so bad that even some of the game’s Achievements are advertisements. In between every time players skate, “Tony Hawk: RIDE”
requires players to select if they are skating goofy or regular footed on the board.
“Tony Hawk: RIDE” even fails on the most basic presentation elements. When players complete a level in the campaign session
points are awarded based on how well the player did. However, the game never tells player how many they won, or even if they did
better or worse than the previous attempts. In order to find out how many session points players received, they have to quit out of the
main game to a different menu and scroll through the campaign progress. Also, players are able to finish the game without completing
everything required in the game to win. For those who simply want a win, that is great, but for those who want a justified win, it is quite
frustrating.
After playing through this game, all players are going to agree that the franchise is in extreme need of a reboot. Although the peripheral
is a great addition to the peripheral craze that has been going on with other games like the Guitar Hero franchise, “Wii Fit” and “DJ
Hero,” the game doesn’t hold up its end of the package. The game is advertised as a casual game, but only hardcore gamers will put
in the time to learn the controls. However, hardcore players will quickly notice the flaws of the game play that make it less enjoyable to
play.
Younger gamers will have fun using the skateboard peripheral and watching the character on the screen basically controls itself in
casual mode. Also, the game features a great soundtrack. For players looking for a realistic skateboarding experience, buy a real
skateboard and try the real thing. This proves to be another step down in the Tony Hawk franchise.
throughout the years, though it stood alone as the top franchise. Title after title players started to watch the franchise continue to drop
and after Electronic Arts released “Skate,” Activision decided to take a break and regroup. Inspired by peripheral based games “Tony
Hawk: RIDE” has been released with a $120 price tag and fancy skateboard peripheral.
This Tony Hawk game is much different from the past games in the franchise and that is very apparent from the moment players see it
on store shelves. Players aren’t able to use the traditional controller to play this game, but instead will have to get off of the coach and
use the custom skateboard controller. This board is covered with a variety of sensors that detect which way players are leaning,
whether the nose or tail of the board is raised or even if players a mimicking that they are grabbing the board. It is also very sturdy, so
there is no need to worry about kids breaking it easily.
In theory, playing “Tony Hawk: RIDE” should be fairly intuitive, players brush their leg on the ground past the board and the on screen
character will push off to gain speed. Players raise the nose and the character does an ollie. Raise the nose slowly and the character
goes into a manual. Variations of these movements and more complex tricks can be done by twisting the board or leaning forward or
back while in the air. However, though the controls sound easy, unless the player is a skateboarder it is fairly difficult to control, if
players are even able to stay on the board at all.
The more players play the game, the more they will begin to notice that the physics and collision detection aren’t very good. Players will
watch their skater to through objects and fall through the world. The camera has several issues as well when players take the game off
of the casual rails that the game provides. The game simply lacks the polish that is necessary to match the hardcore controls. All of
these things are problems that would not be allowed in past Tony Hawk titles and they are more than enough to make players want to
walk away.
Most players are going to want to start the game by playing the campaign. It is a single player game, though it is possible to simply hop
into a park that has been unlocked for a stress free exhibition that allows players to skate around the park and practice. The campaign
pulls every available mode and stage into a single package, including roughly a half dozen different cities from around the world and
several different game types. There is a race where speed and grabbing time bonuses is the objective. Trick sessions are all about
scoring as many points as possible under a time limit. Challenges require players to do certain tricks. There is also a game like
horse, but with tricks instead.
When it comes to the career mode, there isn’t much of a progression or any real reward for moving through the game. Occasionally
screens pop up letting players know that they have unlocked new gear, but won’t tell them what gear they received or why they got it.
Before players are even able to play the game the entire experience is ruined. The presentation in the game is about as bad as it can
possibly get. For a game that is supposed to be a player friendly casual game, this doesn’t seem to offer any of that. The load times
are terrible, the videos continually skip and jump, there are many advertisement filled menus and more. The advertising in the game is
so bad that even some of the game’s Achievements are advertisements. In between every time players skate, “Tony Hawk: RIDE”
requires players to select if they are skating goofy or regular footed on the board.
“Tony Hawk: RIDE” even fails on the most basic presentation elements. When players complete a level in the campaign session
points are awarded based on how well the player did. However, the game never tells player how many they won, or even if they did
better or worse than the previous attempts. In order to find out how many session points players received, they have to quit out of the
main game to a different menu and scroll through the campaign progress. Also, players are able to finish the game without completing
everything required in the game to win. For those who simply want a win, that is great, but for those who want a justified win, it is quite
frustrating.
After playing through this game, all players are going to agree that the franchise is in extreme need of a reboot. Although the peripheral
is a great addition to the peripheral craze that has been going on with other games like the Guitar Hero franchise, “Wii Fit” and “DJ
Hero,” the game doesn’t hold up its end of the package. The game is advertised as a casual game, but only hardcore gamers will put
in the time to learn the controls. However, hardcore players will quickly notice the flaws of the game play that make it less enjoyable to
play.
Younger gamers will have fun using the skateboard peripheral and watching the character on the screen basically controls itself in
casual mode. Also, the game features a great soundtrack. For players looking for a realistic skateboarding experience, buy a real
skateboard and try the real thing. This proves to be another step down in the Tony Hawk franchise.
| Genre: Sport Developer: Robomodo Publisher: Activision |
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