The first Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games had such a cultural impact that you don’t see too often in video games.
People of a certain age probably know at least one person who started skateboarding in the late 90’s and early 2000’s because of THPS games. And thereby have developed a lifelong appreciation for Goldfinger’s “Superman” thanks to the soundtrack of the first game.
Sadly, a few bad sequels brought the series to rock bottom with 2015’s nightmarish Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 in a mess of failed innovations.
At the same time, we know: THPS will never die. Tony Hawk himself will not allow it. Developer Vicarious Visions (of the excellent recent Crash Bandicoot remakes) has shaken up ‘the skatebeast’ and ultimately proved that this franchise is as timeless as its namesake with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 on PS4, Xbox One and PC.
The soundtrack: an extensive mix of old and new
To give you an idea of how badly Activision has handled the series in recent years, this is not the first remake of the first two games in the series. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD appeared full of good intentions in 2012, but bad physics and a lot of missing features made the remake a failure.
The new remake has been rebuilt from scratch with all the original levels and most of the original skateboarders present, all in beautiful 4K. A majority of the old soundtrack is back, Goldfinger, Rage Against the Machine, Naughty by Nature and other artists are of course with their decades old songs. In addition, Vicarious Visions has made some necessary additions to bridge the 20-year gap between then and now. A refreshingly varied set of younger skateboarders such as Nyjah Huston, Aori Nishimura and Leo Baker adorn the game with their similarities. In addition, nearly 40 additional songs from both old and new artists add the necessary flair to the game.
Rock-solid gameplay is intact
An important theme of this remake is that, despite the age of the source material, the game (s) never feel old. Vicarious Visions could have clung to a vision of late ’90s skater culture, but times have changed. There are new faces, new sounds, and even renamed tricks, but the mind is still completely intact. Fortunately, so is the gameplay.
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If you are not familiar with the traditional setup of a single-player THPS, let me explain it for you: you choose a skater, a level and try to reach all the goals in a series of two minutes. Each of the game’s 19 levels has numerous goals to be completed over the course of the campaign. These can range from achieving a high score to collecting graffiti spray cans and wrecking police cars.
You don’t have to complete every goal in two minutes, that’s the point. It’s one of the most genius design choices in video game history, and thankfully unchanged. You never feel like you have enough time, which keeps you coming back for more. One of the most important aspects of the classic THPS design, which is that there are almost no loading times if you want to try something again, has also remained. Just like in real skateboarding, you just have to get up again.
Complete enough goals and you will unlock the next level in the campaign. This remake cleverly adds some new goals that weren’t present in the original games, giving players more to do and more ways to progress as progress is tied to the number of goals you complete. For example, if you find two or three goals difficult to do, you don’t necessarily have to do them to progress anyway.
Sick combos in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2
And it all feels great. The controls are exactly the same as in the games of old, and things like speed, jump height, and trick landing all work the same as in my 20-year memories. For a veteran like me, it was like riding a bicycle. I haven’t played a THPS game for the past ten years and I made sick combos like it was 2001.
I am happy that younger players can finally experience the unique THPS flow that the fans are so familiar with. Once you get to the point where you can effortlessly perform combos that include grinds, manuals, and air tricks … there’s nothing better in gaming. It’s a pure rush.
The remake features some key moves from the more recent THPS games. For example, THPS3’s ‘critical revert move’ (activated by pressing the correct trigger when you land) is present giving players a way to expand combos after a half pipe jump. Newbies can also toggle some assists in the options menu such as perfect grinding and no bails. There is also a pretty in-depth tutorial if you feel completely lost.
Beeld: Activision / Vicarious visions
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Vicarious Visions has added an extensive leveling system to this old game. You earn XP and money for completing more than 700 achievement-style challenges. These are as simple as buying a deck from a store and as complex as landing high-scoring combos using specific tricks with specific skateboarders. All of that is processed in a new skate shop where you can unlock and purchase cosmetic items to customize your decks, skaters and parks. Fortunately, there is no way to put real money into the game.
Own creations and those of others
For skaters, you get a good number of preset faces that you can then customize with options like skin tone, eye color, tattoos and makeup. Even without a deep system of sliders to mess around with, it’s a solid character creator. The game is also packed with designer clothes and decks. The new park creator (a feature noticeably absent from the 2012 remake) could well be the show’s secret star.
It’s similar to the old offering, with pre-made parts in blocks that you can arrange however you want, with controls that let you adjust the rotation and height. The addition of “smart” parts that you can edit on the fly, such as rails that you can bend however you want, is amazing. Best of all, you can check out the parks other people have created and you can even share them. Without exaggeration, this is a dream come true for longtime fans.
That said, it is a bit of a shame that some of the parts for the park creator are ‘locked’ in the skate shop. Unlocking everything will take hours of play and challenges to level up and buy parts. I have no problem with locking costumes or secret characters within the level system, but placing parts for the park creator behind that wall could stun the creativity of those who like to build rather than skate.
There is also a full suite of local and online multiplayer modes available, all taken from older THPS games. You can compete against other players in casual or ranked playlists with score challenges, the classic graffiti match where parts of the level are painted in your color, and a handful of other modes.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2: a great feel-good story
For myself and anyone who had the pleasure of playing the games of the past, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater is more than just a fun video game. It was a cultural moment in his own time, one that introduced countless players to the likes of Bob Burnquist and too many great songs to list. Bringing this series out of hibernation and bringing it back for people like you and me must have been an incredible job. With that context, what Vicarious Visions has done here is one of the great feel-good gaming stories of 2020.
The most impressive achievement of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2, however, isn’t just bringing it back to its former glory. It would have been easy to polish up the skateboarding game of yesteryear and then release it for 45 euros, relying purely on nostalgia. All the new improvements, from many young skaters to completely fitting new music, give the franchise a youthful injection of Got You There. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 were already famous but now, so many years later, are making name and fame again!
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