If you ask any skateboarding fan who Tony Hawk is, you might get a look like you asked the most stupid question ever. After all, the “Birdman” has turned his pro career into a video game series that has struck gold for Activision. He has also set and broken records and now has a successful tour combining skateboarding, motocross and BMX bikes into one awesome show. It sells out every night and continues to woo crowds. Not bad for a guy who is in his late 30’s.

The first few games were great. While there was still no online play for owners of the Xbox, Activision and NeverSoft tried to offer a few special levels or high resolution graphics for the Xbox version. The formula stayed the same up until the last Underground game when some new life was added into the series. Now Tony and Bam Margera have teamed up once again in an all out world destruction tour and you’re going along as a member of team Hawk! The real question that remains is – is the game worth it? Read on while I take you through the destruction and mayhem that is Tony Hawk’s Underground 2.

Gameplay

While the game is still like the last one as far as the main mechanics go, some new things and challenges were added to the game. You can play the “Old School” game trying to spell out Skater and grabbing the tapes etc. While this is certainly fun, it can get old. After all, anyone who has played the series has seen almost every insane trick out there. So this time they added a new world destruction tour. Team Hawk and Team Bam go out and create as much chaos as possible, the catch? The losing team pays for the whole trip. You will get to do things like spray paint walls and throw items at the rival team members. They even let you team up with a pro skater since you are the newbie and may need someone with higher states. Along the way Bam’s dad, Jesse James, and even Wee Man join in the antics.

You will get a list of goals from Tony. Once you complete enough tasks, he contacts you via a text message telling you about your new goals. The game sounds simple: do the hardest parts and score the big points. However, they threw in some insane challenges that have nothing to do with skateboarding. For example, you can control Jesse James on his wild two-wheeled turbo machine. Basically everything you ever wished you could pull off in real life is somewhere in the game. The challenges range from very easy to very hard, but with some time and hints from special characters in the game you will find away to pull everything off.

They vamped up the create-a-skater, tricks and parks modes. They also added a split-screen mode to go head to head with a friend. The story and the way it unfolds really keeps you interested to see what or who will show up next in the game. The overall game plays very well and some of the new stunts and wild vehicles add new life to the series.

Control / Playability

The controls are the same as the last game with a few new features and are really laid out well. If you spell out special and hit the white button, you go into “Focus Mode”, which is a slow-motion type effect to pull off some of the higher tricks easier. It looks sharp and doesn’t resemble a rip off of the Matrix effect. The triggers still control the direction you spin in the air. If you have played any of the series before, the learning curve is about 15 minutes. For those new to the game perhaps about 30-45 minutes to get the hang of everything.

There is a chance to go through a tutorial mode and I would suggest even those who have played every game in the series check this out. It not only helps learn the controls but its also an easy way to build up your stats. The buttons responds well and there is no delay at all. Overall, the controls are great, responsive, and pretty easy to learn… but hard to master.

Graphics / Presentation

Graphically, the game looks good. There are a few areas that look dark and sort of make it harder to get through to the goal. Generally though, the graphics look bright and the characters look like a cartoon counterpart of their real selves. The look works and just helps the gags and zany stunts to look wilder. When you create a skater, you will notice more options and the looks you can achieve are very impressive. I noticed some areas looked really sharp then a new area would look less detailed. It is nothing major but if I noticed then others will too. I have to say they did a good job overall in the graphics department.

Tony Hawk Underground 2 Xbox Screenshot Tony Hawk Underground 2 Xbox Screenshot Tony Hawk Underground 2 Xbox Screenshot

Tony Hawk Underground 2 Xbox Screenshot

View all THUG 2 Screenshots in the XBS Gallery

Audio

Tony, Bam and the rest of the real characters also do their own voices, and well I might add. It helps to get you in the game faster and makes this wild game more believable. A few special quests show up and the cast is impressive. The soundtrack is once again a mix of rap and hard metal tracks although you can use the custom soundtrack feature if you prefer. As far as the other sound effects like tires burning and glass breaking, it all sounds very realistic. It really helps while playing to hear the realistic sound effects and shows that time was spent in this area.

Replay Value

THUG 2 offers plenty of replay value. The game in the tour mode will take a long time to complete on its own. Then there is a new “Old School Mode”, which consists of the best levels of the whole series and a few brand new ones made just for this game. The split-screen mode offers a new twist but an online mode would have really made this one rock. If you are into the skateboarding scene, this one will have something for you. They added enough surprises to make you want to play through the entire game. The cameos are a nice feature and add to the replay value as well. You could play the game several times and find someone new each time.

Overall Score

Overall Score: 8.2/10 [not an average]

Additional Comments

Playing the game is fun and loaded with bad jokes and some sexual innuendos but nothing that you would not hear in any song on the top 40 radio right now. The sight gags are funny and at times are very over the top. Of course this game is going to appeal to skateboarding or extreme sports fans. If you have never played any of the other games in the Tony Hawk series, you may want to rent it, and may find it to be a blast. Overall it is a fun game. Fans of the series won’t go wrong by picking this one up, and we will finally be able to hop on Live

with Tony Hawk’s American Wastelandâ„¢ when Xbox 360 is released later this year, and that is definitely one I am looking forward to playing on Live.

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