For returning players there will be a huge wave of nostalgia wash over them as we roll down that first ramp in the Warehouse and it only gets more intense from there.
The levels from both games are present and correct – though they look a damn sight better now. Even bailing sees us back on the board quickly, a snappy glitch animation eschewing the need for them to pick themselves up and reset. THPS nails the feeling of watching the experts do their thing in fish-eye lensed videos as they make it look easy, without punishing us too much if we go overboard. Getting air off a vert is easy, while grinding is as simple as a button press while in the air near a rail – the board will stay latched on as long as we can keep the balance meter from tipping all the way over. The skaters will fall off if you push it, but they’ll also bounce off of walls or roll over curbs without hassle. It all comes back to just how good it feels to control. It really does only take a few tries to get to grips with the concept and once you’re there, the possibilities open up. These rack up huge scores, though require more air or balance to pull off. Special moves also feature, and are accessed by filling up the Special bar via completing a succession of tricks without bailing. I’m certainly not as sharp as I once was, but it didn’t take long to slide back into my favourite routes and areas of each stage. The added skill and point potential these bring to the levels I remember so well is huge, and yet not overwhelming.
#Metacritic tony hawk pro skater 5 manuals#
While this is a remake of the first two titles in the series, elements have been brought in from later games as well, such as manuals and reverts. Repeating tricks is discouraged by lowering the point value on each successive use, so it pays to spice things up as much as possible. The beauty is in the simplicity each trick type is assigned to a face button, with D-pad directions modifying the specific trick pulled off. Some players may prefer the more realistic tones of the aforementioned titles, but for me THPS is just incredible fun to play. Leaping up and off a vert ramp pulling off a Coffin, then magically attaching to the top of a billboard for a grind, before jumping 30 feet back to the ground unharmed (while pulling off the fabled 900, no less) is a pretty standard scene here. Momentum and physics still play their part, but the core of the game is racking up ludicrously high scores across minutes-long combos. Unlike more recent titles such as Skater XL or EA’s Skate, THPS is an exaggerated example of the sport, though not to overly ridiculous degrees.
Then along came THPS and I finally got a sense of what it’d be like to be good at the sport! Inline skates were my jam, but boarding was out of my skill set. Like everyone else I tried my hand at Skateboarding, but I was horrendous at it. Tony Hawk became a household name, kids everywhere were learning to skateboard, and the whole extreme sports scene was thrust into the limelight. In the late 90’s – largely thanks to the games – the sport became something of a phenomenon. The THPS games are arcade-style takes on the world of Skateboarding. Of course, not all of you are ancient, so let’s step back a little. Vicarious Visions have done a stellar job of not only capturing the feel of the PS1 and Dreamcast titles, but have somehow made them feel just as fun to play in this new incarnation as they ever were back then.
#Metacritic tony hawk pro skater 5 full#
This is the exact feeling that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1&2 gave to me recently, despite it being a full on remake. Occasionally though, one will still feel as slick and fun as it did back then, and I find myself slipping back in to the groove almost without realising.
I often look back over my collection that has amassed over the years with a great fondness, though too often actually playing them doesn’t quite live up to the memories. What this does allow me though is to be able to whip out the rose-tinted goggles from time to time and remind everyone just how good the old days were. It’s something that I’ve made note of before, and sadly despite willing with all my might, it’s not something that is likely to change anytime soon.
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