A classic with problems

Published 5:00 am Friday, July 27, 2012

I vividly remember how the demo for “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” on PlayStation sucked me in. It was one of those rare times in my video game history where I experienced a gameplay idea that was alien and refreshing, and yet so robust and intuitive at the same time. With the passing of time and the fall of the franchise, that nostalgic moment has passed and is not fully recaptured in this downloadable title encompassing parts of the first two “Tony Hawk” games. I wouldn’t want it to be exactly the same, but “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD” adds some of its own problems to the mix and preserves a few from the original games.

Pulling off insane trick combos and traversing the expansive and varied environments is still surprisingly easy. It may feel like your hands are manipulating the controller like you’re doing a Rubik’s Cube speed run, but the gameplay is solid enough that your hands can keep up with your mind. Tricks can also be executed with the 360’s left analog stick, which I liked — except for tricks where you must tap twice in the same direction. The d-pad, meanwhile, is up to the task, albeit a little stiff.

Robomodo has culled a good selection of levels from the first two games. I particularly like the mall, warehouse, Venice Beach and the Downhill Jam areas from the first game. The level design nicely goes hand-in-hand with the trick system, allowing you to put together all unique runs no matter how many times you play the levels. The injection of manuals and switch stance also creates numerous possibilities.

As strong as the gameplay is, a few hitches take it down a peg. Half-pipe runs are hampered by the fact that your skater tends to drift away from the lip of the pipe while in midair. This means that you sometimes land in the middle of the transition and fail landings you would have otherwise landed in the original games. Moreover, the lack of transition animations robs the skating of fluidity and sometimes makes skaters jarringly jump to new railings.

Adding to these technical problems, one aspect of the original titles that hasn’t aged well is the objectives. Kudos to developer Robomodo for adding new objectives to the levels in the spirit of the original games, but most of these are fetch quests. While I don’t love the crazy objectives in the later “Tony Hawk” games, having to collect X amount of objects in a level wears thin. Moreover, the menu has a map of all the collectibles in the level — including the secret tape and hidden areas. This undercuts the fun of exploration.

“Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD” recreates the gameplay that made the franchise rightfully famous to mixed results. Robomodo’s remake lands the trick, but doesn’t do it cleanly.

‘Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD’

7.5 (out of 10)

Xbox 360

Activism, Robomodo

ESRB rating: T for Teen