Here is a review by The IB. This time, it’s on my most favorite Tony Hawk game in history, which happens to be Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2.Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 was released in the United States on September 20th, 2000, which is only one year since the first game was released. This game right here happens to be my most favorite Tony Hawk game in history (although Tony Hawk Underground 1 isn’t that far off), and also this game (THUG 1, and THAW) made this series to become my 4th most favorite series in history that I like, and that is saying a whole lot. This game has brought a whole lot of changes that wasn’t seen in the past game, although I have started playing this game in 2001, I still play this game 14 years later because I like this game.

Ok, enough with the intro, let’s start with the review.

 

Graphics..

I got to say, with the graphics, although this was just only a year since Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 was released, but seeing these graphics worked on within a year’s time and for it’s time, I got to say, it is one fantastic work, although not really a whole lot of dramatic changes has happened since the last game, but there are a few great upgrades that Activision / Neversoft has done to this game which makes this game a whole lot better than before, I think with the graphics, I think they made the character sprites a whole lot more sharper than before rather than looking blurry like they were a year ago, plus I think with a lot more sharper stuff and a little bit more frames per second added into this game has also showed some improvement. I think with each of the levels, (and yes, this even includes the short Chopper Drop location), they all show a whole lot more textural detail with them, Although with its time, a lot of 2D usage was used in this game like mostly all the trees in this game, but I think with its time, it’s not really a problem at all, but note, this is a time where game companies are testing out the whole 3D concept so yeah, they might be some flaws, but it’s really a no big deal for the players, especially people that played this game in the early 2000’s.

 

For the graphics, I have to give this game a perfect 10 out of 10. The reason why, I think with 1 year to make this game to where it is after they completed THPS 1, making this game and with its fantastic graphic is quite a job well done. I think with a little bit sharper texture and sharper sprites to make it a little bit more realistic than before rather than a little blurry from the previous game, I got to say, with its time, it’s really hard to overcome to this success. That’s why I got to thank on them to really make this game really unique in its own way, that’s why this game gets a “10”.

 

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Sound/Music..

For the sound effects, I think they have made a little bit of an improvement with the sound effects from the past Tony Hawk game, and some of them I think to my personal view, I think it’s a little humors to the player like the cab driver in New York, to the crowds in the Bull Ring, (and another thing, I’m not sure if it’s appropriate to put on this site, buy you know what I mean). With the addition noises you have if you do manage to turn off the music, you get some background music like the Airport in the hanger, the city noises in New York and Philly, the Ocean in Venice Beach and the Chopper Drop, and the suburban noises in Skatestreet, and a whole lot more. So, I think the sound effects are a little bit of an improvement over the last game, and this is what I like about it.

As for the music, this is where I in fact got some of my songs from, most of the songs that was in this game because this game here really got me interested into the music genre I currently like today, which is punk, rock, and hip-hop songs and I think with the music playlist they have is a huge improvement from the last game, like this, you can skip over any song if you don’t feel like listening to that song, or ever turn the music off if you want to hear the environment more. It is totally up to the player’s taste on what they really want to listen to, for me, I like to have the music on with the game, it’s something with the music that gains interest for the player, especially if it’s your favorite tunes like me.

 

So, for the music, I got to give this game a perfect 10 out of 10, the reason why I give this game a 10, I think with the improvements with the sound effects and a much better way the music playlist can be changed depending on your interest or if you want to say screw the music and listen to the background noises, then no matter on your liking, you will like this game with its sound and music, that’s why this gets a ”10”

 

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Addiction Level..

With the addiction, let’s see, this being my most favorite Tony Hawk game in the whole series, I do got to say, it is highly addicting, with the matter of fact that all of the locations in here are really huge (well, with the exception of Chopper Drop where it’s just basically a halfpipe), so, huge, you can spend a whole lot of time skating around if you happen to have selected “Free Skate” (which is a mode where you can skate around with no limit), and you have 10 different locations to explore around in as well. I think on a personal standpoint, I think this and the Depth of this game is the reason on why I just like this game so much, and maybe this game (and Tony Hawk Underground) has made this series to become my 4th most favorite game series of all times. I have played this game quite often than not, and I think with the amount of things to do, I don’t think you’ll give this game up.

 

With the Addiction Level, I got to give this a perfect 10 out of 10, the reason why. It’s just that addicting. With all the big giant locations (well, 9 of them), I think it gives the players to explore the interesting features that the levels have, with all the stuff you can do and also the customizations (which I will mention below in the Depths), this game will be a long-playing game and that is why I gave this game a score of “10”.

 

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The Storyline..

Just like in THPS 1, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 is without yet, another storyline. I think even without the storyline, there isn’t really need of a storyline. The only thing I can say that remotely close to some kind of “storyline” is the Career Mode and just like in THPS 1, you got to complete a certain amount of goals to unlock the next location and unlike the last game where it has a certain amount of goals to complete, you have to get a certain amount of cash on you to be able to unlock the next locations, but like the last game, two of them (New York and Philadelphia), you need to complete a completion in order to unlock (there is a total of 3 competition locations). Also in this game, this game has like 3 times as many goals to complete (like 3 scores to complete instead of 2 from last time and also, it’s got the SKATE letters and the Secret Tape back in this game, plus a lot of local goals, and the 100% completion of the location). You can also use that money you gain in each of the levels to buy yourself some more stats, boards, and tricks, but not to worry, it won’t have any effect of saving your money to unlock the next level (because it will have a total amount made and current amount now). So, all and all, this game does lack of a storyline just like in the last Tony Hawk game, but like what’s said, to make a lot more gameplay, you need to sacrifice the storyline to have a whole lot of gameplay for it’s time.

 

For the storyline, sadly, I still have to give it a 3 out of 10, the low score is mostly because the game really doesn’t have a storyline (we don’t really start seeing a storyline in the Tony Hawk series until the Underground games later on in the series). But I still don’t care a whole lot of games having a storyline, I think what all matters in a game, is on how well the game plays, that’s all that matters to me. But still, this game gets a “3”

 

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Depth..

The Depth is amazing. This is the first Tony Hawk game that has feature customization where you can customize your own Skater and your own skate park, which is both features I love, because there are a lot of people that loves customizing things, and I am one of them, especially with the park creator and you can even pick some pre-made parks that Activision / Neversoft has created and you can change them around (as long the park isn’t out of room which 85% of those pre-made parts are). Step aside from the customizations and move onto the locations. The game has 8 regular locations and 2 bonus locations which comes to a total of 10 locations (Well, really 9 1/2 because the Chopper Drop is really a halfpipe in the middle of an ocean, but still) With those locations 9 of them (the other one is what I mentioned) all have a whole lot more detail in them and I think the levels are slightly bigger in THPS 2 than in THPS 1, and I think with the size difference, this makes the game a whole lot better to my view. But like in THPS 1, the Depth in this game also makes up with the lack of story as well.

 

For the Depth, I have to give this game a perfect 10 out of 10, that is enough said. Well, really, this game has a whole lot and with the new customizing your skater and your park, this just makes matters even better for the player. So, that’s why this game deserves a “10”

 

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Difficulty / Gameplay..

For the Difficulty, although I have started this game like a year after I started playing Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1, I was still a little fresh with the whole series, but after all the skill I pulled in with THPS 1, I had the knowledge on what I’m doing in the game, and in Career Mode, when you start, I was able to complete all the goals and get 100% in there, but then after the 1st competition, it just really started to get hard on me, and it takes me a whole lot of time to be able to get it 100% completed, especially the scores, because they are insanely high, and being able to combo everything within 2 minutes (if you don’t use cheats), and that can be quite hard to do. But hey, that’s what a video game is for, challenging the player to complete the game, and as long it isn’t impossible, then it makes it a fun game nonetheless.

As for the Gameplay, what I really liked in this game which made THPS 1 a big flaw was the ability to manual, yes, they have added manuals in this game, so you can be able to connect some of your combos without having them broken because you landed on the ground, so that is a big plus right there. But other than that, I really like the controls in THPS 2, they feel really smooth and really have no problem doing tricks. Even for a game made in 2000, and Activision / Neversoft started working on this game just after releasing Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1, and after a few flaws they seen in that game like the manual flaw, I think it’s really great that they patch those up and make the game the best they have made which I like.

 

For the Difficulty and the Gameplay, I do have to give it an 8 out of 10, I think it’s the difficulty that got the cake with this one, although it is slightly easier than in THPS 1, but with a lot more goals added into this game, this game provide an more of a challenge to the player than ever before, and that is what I really like in a game, a good challenge, and for the gameplay, I really got no problem with the gameplay at all, I think for it’s time, Activision / Neversoft has made the controls a lot more better than before. This is why I give this game an “8”.

 

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Overall..

Overall, I got to say, this is really the reason on why this is in fact my most favorite game in the whole Tony Hawk series (with THUG 1 and THAW not far behind), it’s got a whole lot inside the game like the graphics, the sound tracks, and especially the Depth in the game. With the graphics, with a big improvement we seen in only a year’s time to make it look like what this game is, like making it a lot more sharper and making the sprites look a whole lot better and realistic looking (in the past game, it was a little blurry), and this is only a PlayStation 1 game (well, it was at a time the PS2 was coming out, so yeah, you expect the graphics to be a lot more updated). As for the sound effects, it is a slight improvement from the last game and makes it a lot more clear for the player, and the music to my mind, it’s got a wider selection of music to pick, depending on the player’s taste in music (unless they hate the music and rather listen to the environment. This game also a little bit easier and a little bit more challenging, it depends on how you look at it, if you do Career Mode, with more goals, yeah, the game is a little bit more challenging for you, but if you just want to skate around in Free Skate, then it’s more easier for you. But the only negative thing about this game is the lack of the storyline, but that isn’t saying much because I’m not really a storyline kind of guy, so this doesn’t really matter. The biggest thing in this game is the Addiction and the Depth, I feel like with all the interesting in each of these 10 locations the player can experience with, and also adding the fact that the player can now customize their own skaters and their own parks, which is a win for this game.

For my final thoughts on this game, this game is my most favorite in the entire series because it does offer a whole lot of interesting things like exploring all the fully detailed locations and all the customizing, I think if you’re one of those guys like me, I think this is the one game I see you playing, and if you want a good skateboarding game, this is the game right here to plat.

 

For the final score, I got to give this game a 9.2 out of 10. Why the 9.2? The reason why is the storyline killed it from being any higher, but like I said, I’m not a storyline kind of guy, if I was, this score would be much lower, but it isn’t, I look at the other factors that this game has, like the depth of this game, if the game doesn’t have a whole lot of interesting things, then that will make for one bad game, this game is the opposite of that, this game a whole lot of things, so that makes this game really good, but you also need to have a good gameplay as well, and it has a good gameplay, and everything else is great, so, that is why this game has a “9.2”, it’s still a great score nonetheless.

Anyways, that’s all it for this review.

IgorBird122 : WOW! I hate to ask this but I feel like it is my obligation: Did you actually work on this review or did you just slam this all together for the TdV?

The reason why I ask this:
There are MANY commas, run-on sentences, and grammar errors in this review. I feel exhausted while I am reading the material because you fail to use periods, which add the necessary pause in between sentences. Some of the sentences don't even make any sense because they are either missing essential words or using the wrong words, which puts strain on the readers who are trying to understand. You also use the "I" pronoun way too much and it almost feels like I'm just reading your opinion of the game rather than an actual review. Although you make some good points in your post, the overall sense of the review is somewhat childish and unprofessional because there is a lack of effort in your analysis.

Eirinn :
megamanmaniac :
Is this review really acceptable or does proper grammar not matter when making a review?

Kruzer : Look, I understand you really want a "Good quality" review, but look, I not just doing this for TdV, because I still got a lot of reviews even planned for February and March such as more PlayStation 1, 2, & 3 reviews, NES reviews, GameBoy (Original, Color, and Advance), still Nintendo DS reviews still planned.

IgorBird122 : Okay then, maybe you should double check your work for spelling and grammar issues before you post your reviews. It doesn't take long to check and using the Spell Check will not correct any grammar errors. If you typed it up in something like Microsoft Word or Wordpad first, then you could get a better sense as to how good your grammar looks. Also, you could ask someone else to look through it first before you post it and see if they think it will be good enough to post. Now, it does not have to be absolutely perfect but you could take some time to make it look good.  

Kruzer : Alright, well, the recent reviews I made was mostly because I wasn't really in a happy mood due to real life situations, so, because of these issues, I did rush some of these reviews. But I do type them in Word mostly because of the disappearing glitch on the site and Word didn't pick up anything.