IGN: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 Review

The long awaited GameCube Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 has taken the tried-and-true skating formula that stayed the popularity of the franchise and evolved it further. It is, indeed, a sequel that is more balanced, more beautiful and all-around more complete than any of its predecessors, and it's one hell of a great ride. But it's also technically a PlayStation 2 game running on Nintendo's next-generation console.

The Facts

• Earn cash and make a career as a professional skateboarder
• Choose from 13 pro skaters including Tony Hawk and Steve Caballero
• Skate through nine huge 3D levels from spots in Tokyo and Paris to Canada and Skater Island
• Stages are much more interactive than ever before; dodge cars and pedestrians, crash through windows and walls, grind objects, etc.
• Intuitive trick and combo system that now includes newly added reverts
• Extensive create-a-skater feature enables players to build their own custom boarder
• Catchy new soundtrack
• Split-screen multiplayer mode
• GCN optical disc extras include FMV movies of skate scenes and more

Gameplay
The premise at the core of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 couldn't be simpler. Players choose a boarder and skate freestyle in open, interactive 3D environments. The idea, of course, is to pull off the biggest tricks, the most impressive combos, and earn more and more points. What brings this setup together so seamlessly is a perfected control scheme that allows the skaters to do just about anything, from ollie to grind to flip or manual -- and do it anywhere. The levels -- nine in all -- are easily the most interactive of any skateboarding game ever created. Players can grind atop roofs and ceilings, ride walls onto upper levels of structures, ollie across gaps, crash through windows, catch air over pools and into new areas, and much, much more.

Pro Skater 3's Career Mode is the one that most gamers will immediately be drawn to as it's here that new levels are unlocked and new decks uncovered. Career enables players to select from one of 13 skaters or build their own and then challenge them through a series of levels, all equipped with various point goals and objectives. The point goals become steadily more difficult with each advancing stage so that by the time players reach the last level the sic score is up to 500,000 big ones. Not an easy task for beginners, but experienced skaters will be able to snap that out in a few well-strung combinations of grinds, manuals, reverts, grabs and flips. The mode is well balanced, challenging, satisfying and ultimately a lot of fun, but there are others to consider. One is Free Skate, which allows players access to levels they've already unlocked in Career Mode, completely void of time limits. It's an integral addition to learning each area's most point-a-licious spots. There is also a very complete Park Editor mode in which gamers can build their own freestyle-ready stages filled with ramps, grind bars, and objects, which comes wholeheartedly recommended as a replay extender. Finally, Activision has shipped THPS3 with a two-player split-screen mode with various styles of play from Graffiti to point competitions. Stages play identically to their single-player counterpart, which is nice, and fluidity doesn't suffer much more than usual.

GameCube's analog stick and D-Pad manipulate the boarders as they zip through the stages. A ollies, B flips, Y grinds, X grabs, and the two triggers rotate / revert. Tapping down or up twice, meanwhile, results in the ever-important manual. Players used to the bigger D-Pad of the PlayStation controller will probably find the GameCube's miniscule sized one somewhat cumbersome, but if it's a hurdle, it's one that it's easily beaten with a little practice. Otherwise, the setup is entirely friendly and intuitive. It should also be noted that GameCube's analog stick is quite functional though, depending on which editor at IGN ones talks to, the D-Pad is generally preferred as it delivers more precise, immediate responses.

Without doubt Tony Hawk 3 is all about combos. Connecting a manual with a grab and then to a grind, back to a manual and to another grind results in multiplied points and a very rewarding sense of accomplishment. It's this feeling -- and the draw to execute an even better, more insane combo that really keeps gamers coming back for more. And developer NeverSoft Entertainment has introduced a new move, the revert, into the mix to further extend the combo possibilities. This allows skaters to continue their string of connectors after coming off a vert ramp, where they can choose to go into an ollie or a manual and rack up more points. It works quite brilliantly to make what was already a superbly dynamic scheme even better.

Featured pro skaters:

• Tony Hawk
• Steve Caballero
• Rune Glifberg
• Eric Koston
• Bucky Lasek
• Rodney Mullen
• Chad Muska
• Andrew Reynolds
• Geoff Rowley
• Elissa Steamer
• Jamie Thomas
• Bam Margera
• Kareem Campbell

The selection of levels is varied and each is commendably unique. The first stage, the Foundry, quite realistically mimics that of a real factory complete with construction workers, shafts, bars, and stairways, not to mention a whole lot of cold steel -- all of which is interactive and totally ready for the pursuit of the skaters. The second stage, Canada, is set to the backdrop of the snowy country and is filled with natural environments -- trees, rivers, dirt pathways and the like, and again everything is beautifully constructed to fit the needs of players. Other spots include Rio, Suburbia -- a neighborhood not unlike many in the US, the Airport, Skater Island, Los Angeles, Tokyo and even a Cruise Ship. What we can't stress enough is that each environment is so wonderfully interactive to the point that whatever gamers can imagine they can probably do with their skateboard.

Buyers should bear in mind that the GameCube port of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 does not support online play, as the version for Sony's console does. That, and the widely accepted opinion that the game handles decidedly better with a PlayStation 2 pad, should be considered by those who own both systems and are undecided about which version to get.

Graphics
Pro Skater 3 is a PlayStation 2 port. This doesn't show on the interior, but it's certainly noticeable on the exterior. The game features an acceptable draw distance for competently sized 3D levels that overflow with different objects and architecture to take in. The 3D models are modestly detailed and well animated to be sure. When a skater grinds across a wire with his board, one can see his arms waving for balance and it looks loose and realistic. Moves and combos for the most part blend seamlessly together, which is a notable barrier that NeverSoft has managed to overcome that some other developers haven't. Also, skaters feature some decent shadows and there is the occasional particle effect that catches one's eye.

Above: GCN screenshot of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3

But on the other hand, much of the textures in the game -- bland and lacking detail -- aren't anything more than what we got with Tony Hawk 2 for Dreamcast. It's a look that can probably be categorized nowadays as PS2-esque. The texture detail in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2X for Xbox is, by comparison, much more defined and clear. Further, the draw distance of environments -- acceptable, but not exceptional, often shows signs of pop-up, which is disappointing. Areas are constructed using a scarce amount of polygons and as a result objects are edgy, blocky and void of roundness. And the fluidity of the game is anything but constant. It drops between 60 and 30 regularly, and many times below. Levels like Tokyo, Suburbia, Skater's Island and the Cruise Ship are particularly choppy at specific points. Finally, the title doesn't run in progressive scan mode for those with HDTV sets.

Sound
Hawk 3 sports one of the best soundtracks to ever grace a videogame, and this is not hampered or censored or worsened with the GameCube version of the title. Indeed, with tracks from every band from The Ramones to Motorhead, Redman and Reverend Horton Heat, there is little room for complaints. As soon as "Ace of Spades" kicks into action one knows it's time to start a serious thrash session. The tunes fit the game quite nicely, and are complemented most brilliantly by a careful selection of realistic grinds, board lands, wheel skids, grunts and various background noises including birds and ice cream trucks. All in all, we couldn't possibly be more satisfied with the audio experience to be had.

Rating	Description
out of 10	click here for ratings guide
8.0	Presentation The full skating experience realized as a game. All the pros, great soundtracks and more. Underwhelming menu interface.
7.0	Graphics Modest sized 3D levels, tons of variety between areas, decent draw distance and top animation mix with sometimes-blurry textures and unpredictable framerates.
9.0	Sound Brilliant. Splendid soundtrack and realistic samples. Nicely done.
9.0	Gameplay Awesome. The evolution of the Hawk franchise. Refined. Complete. Nearly flawless.
9.0	Lasting Appeal Excellent Career Mode, nine levels of play, tons to unlock, a fun two-player mode and the draw to keep coming back -- again, and again and again.
9.1 Outstanding	OVERALL (out of 10 / not an average)
8.6	Reader Average	Rate It Now Write a Review