Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5 is not only the latest instalment in this rather cool series of games, but it shows that the old school of the skating world still knows how it’s done and how to hang with the young crowd. There is no doubt that the name of Tony Hawk still has resonance in the skating fraternity with him still having almost God like status, which is understandable when you think of his achievements. The other Pro Skater games that have preceded this one are now seen as being absolute classics in their genre, so on the face of it this latest version has a lot to live up to.
Anyway, this is not about the man himself but rather a review of his latest game and we have to begin by saying that it is an absolute barnstormer. So, let’s get to it with the review.
Who is Behind it?
If we begin by saying that this is actually the tenth instalment of the Tony Hawk skate game series and that in itself is a major achievement. This game was developed by both Robomodo and Disruptive Games with Activision being the publisher. The fact that Pro Skater 5 came out some 13 years after Pro Skater 4 did also mean a change of developer since it was Neversoft that was behind the original versions.
The game itself was first announced as being in production by Hawk himself in 2014 and he then backed up those claims at the start of 2015. The title for the game was then announced in May of 2015 by Game Informer with the first version hitting the shops on September 29 in North America.
The Platforms
The game is available on various platforms. It was launched on both the Playstation 4 and Xbox One and the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 then followed a couple of months later. It should be added that the game also used Unreal Engine 3 for its creation adding a sense of smoothness to the action.
The Game Itself
So, what about the game itself? Well, as is the norm now it contains a number of different professional skaters to choose from alongside the option to completely customize your very own skater. This in itself is cool although it is hardly unique, but perhaps the first thing to discuss with this version is what Robomodo have done with the actual game.
What they have tried to do, and have managed to pull it off, is to strip this game down to the absolute basics of a skating game. Gone are the quite frankly useless additions of other Tony Hawk games where he was able to explore all kinds of bizarre places and instead they have focused on what is important to lovers of this type of game, the ability to first of all master and then perform tricks one after the other of increasing difficulty.
The actual graphics are certainly different to the previous versions, but then technology has come a long way since 2002 so that is hardly a surprise. They are a bit on the chunky side, but the key is in how smooth they are and it is certainly not a let down in this respect. However, there is one moment where it can get a bit difficult, but we will cover that later.
This game is focused on getting you to build up your skill level so that you can eventually pull off a series of seriously cool tricks just one after the other when producing your ultimate ride. The way in which you are just forced into trying to just perfect that trick that is letting you down may be seen by some as being frustrating, but lovers of the original games will appreciate that they are no longer going to be distracted with crazy stuff going on around the edges of the skate park.
What you are looking at trying to achieve is working your way through various levels which are all based on actual locations spread around the world just to add a touch of authenticity to it. Within each level, you are going to encounter a number of obstacles, tricks to master, objectives to achieve, and overall there is more than enough to keep your interest flowing as well as drive you insane until you get on top of everything. Generally speaking, you are looking at roughly a dozen challenges in each setting or level and it does mean that you are not going to just speed through each level as if it doesn’t exist because what would be the fun in that anyway?
To add to the fun of the game, as you complete these challenges it leads to you unlocking new ways to further customize your character and to also add new levels to the game. Now, we are not trying to pass this off as being something brand new in the world of gaming, because that is not the case. However, it is rather cool that you get this bonus where you can add a new head to your character or you get a brand new half pipe to abuse as you see fit with your range of tricks. The fact that the more you customize then the more options available with tricks just shows how they have put so much effort into thinking about every single aspect of the game before releasing it.
This sense of progression through the game is something that they have managed to carry on from earlier versions and that is one major positive that we are glad they have incorporated. In short, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5 is looking to just build on the previous hard work of the other versions.
The Tricks
Of course one of the main things about this game is the tricks and there are certainly more than enough to keep your interest and drive you to the edge of insanity as you attempt to master them. The actual list of tricks is too extensive and boring to comment on here, but it is sufficient to say that they have made sure that you are going to keep you entertained for hours and let’s be honest here that is the main thing.
It has to be said that the tricks you are able to pull off just seem to be able to defy the laws of physics and there is a major sense of achievement when you finally manage to land that 720 for the first time or grind along the rail for longer than ever before. That in itself is the real beauty of this game because with countless tricks it leads to countless combos and, as a result, each level just seems to be completely different no matter how often you play it. We loved this in the original games and when you can then incorporate certain tricks as challenges in order to progress, then it just adds an extra special twist to the game.
With the controls, then we are not talking about anything crazy, but you are going to need to have a reasonable skill level with gaming in general to really get anywhere with this game. At first, the tricks can be quite difficult to master, but we see that as being part of the fun, so it is hardly something to complain about.
Playing Options.
We should also mention the playing options that are available and it is cool to see that Robomodo are following the more current line of making sure that you can share locations and play online as well as offline. This just ramps the fun levels up even higher than ever before with you being able to showcase your skills to people from anywhere in the globe. However, in all honesty playing it offline is just as cool and as much fun as online especially when you are just trying to hone your skills.
The Pros
When it comes to the pros of this game, then there are many to choose from.
First, we need to go back to the point about them stripping the game back to basics because how could this be anything other than a positive? After all, the game itself is what is important and it all flows well from level to level.
Next, the game play is smooth and they have certainly made sure that pulling off those tricks is tough enough to keep you interested, but not too difficult for you to feel that it is impossible and fail repeatedly. In other words, they have got the balance just perfect as you would expect from any game involving Tony Hawk.
Sticking with the pros, the way in which you can customize people, create ramps and parks for your own preferences, and of course you can choose from the top skaters of not just now but also the past. This is seen as being standard stuff with skating games, but we feel that Robomodo have just ramped it up to another level.
Furthermore, the challenges are varied enough without being too over the top which is often a problem with other games. The fact that you can actually choose from a list of challenges is a cool additional feature as it allows you to really personalize the different levels which is something that we do love about this game.
To be honest, the positives of this game should help to make it a future classic just like the previous games in this series.
The Cons
Now, in being fair in this review we have to mention the negatives of this game as nothing is perfect. Perhaps the biggest issue is if you are playing Pro Skater 5 online and you have more than 10 people on the same park. This can slow the frame rate down quite considerably and it can become rather tedious. However, our solution is simple. Never allow that many people to skate at the one time and the problem is solved in an instant and only go online if you are confident in your skating abilities as the chances of being embarrassed are pretty high.
Also, people mentioned a number of glitches when the game first came out in September, but to their credit Robomodo have since made changes and sent out patches in order to resolve them. In other words, we don’t think you should be too concerned about those problems since they are pretty much a thing of the past. Overall, the fact that there are only really a couple of small negatives is pretty good.
Our Overall Conclusion
So, what is our overall conclusion of this game? Well, first of all it is like a real blast from the past and those gamers that fell in love with the earlier games in the series will have fun going back over old times with Pro Skater 5. The fact that they have decided to strip the game back to its absolute roots is something that they should be applauded for as that takes some guts.
The game play is pretty accurate, the difficulty of the levels increases in logical steps as does the tricks and their difficulty. This is not a game that has all of those bells and whistles on it because they prefer to just focus on the main thing which is encouraging you to pick up those tricks and amaze yourself with your combos. With some patience and practice you never know what you might be able to pull off.
There may be some games out there that have better graphics or that include a number of other features, but Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5 does deliver on the main things, which is providing you with the opportunity to become a skating legend. Sound like fun? Well we certainly think so.
This game is full of nostalgia for older gamers and that is one major reason why so many are going to go ahead and purchase it. You will experience the joy of those combos and the movement is also delightful. If you love skating games, then you are not gong to be disappointed and even Tony Hawk should be proud to have his name attached to this version.
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