Reviews

Posted by: jkdmedia

We have all done it for years now. You know – you are trying to lean into a corner or something similar and so you move the controller, as if tilting the thing will have some effect on the game. It didn’t before, but it most certainly does now.

Welcome to the world of the PlayStation 3 with the sixaxis controller. Controller feedback vibration is a thing of the past with this controller, but it won’t be missed – especially when the tilt axis controls feel so right in a game like Tony Hawk Project 8.

Ok, the last Tony Hawk title from Neversoft and Activision – Wasteland – was not the best of the Tony Hawk titles, but Project 8 picks up the dropped ball, or ollie, and restores the franchise with more high-flying fun takes full advantage of the graphical capabilities of the next-gen console system.

The graphics are much crisper, the action more intense and the gameplay is superb. The game does have a few flaws, but this is a player-friendly experience that caters to players of different abilities.

The game has several ways to play – career, 2 player, free skate, create, and pro tricks. Career follows a story thread, 2 player puts you head-to-head with another skater, create is the create-a-skater menu, and pro tricks allows gamers to view the video playback of tricks unlocked (complete with a rewind feature).

Tony Hawk sums up the whole aspect of the career mode rather nicely: He came to town to find the eight sickest skaters who can outdo all others to make his team in his latest venture – Project 8. To get that attention you have to perform tricks and skill up. But don’t worry, there is a lot to do in this game, even if you are not the best of skaters or all that intent in becoming a member of Project 8. There are NPCs scattered throughout all the levels that have quests for you to do, and all of them involve skating (d’uh!). You may find ‘Dad’ in the starter level asking you to shag golf balls for him. This involves doing a spine transfer over golf flags at the top of the ramps, and in the second time through, you are asked to add to the spine transfer with grabs and then perform flips. As you complete quests you climb the rankings and Tony may eventually consider you for Project 8. But it is a long haul, considering that you start ranked 200.

There are other mini games as well that tickle the funny bone with the inventiveness. The game sports 10 zones in all spread throughout this seamless (no loading times) city. There are also 10 pro challenges and other tags that will spark a challenge.

The big addition this time around is the Nail the Trick – in which you can slow time (pull down on both analog sticks when you get big air) and it puts you into a Bullet Time-esque mode in which time slows and you can really work on the nuances of the trick. In slow motion, the camera focuses on your feet and you can use the analog sticks for each of your feet to manipulate the board any way you wish.

Miscues are often hilarious and recorded not in negative numbers as in the past, but rather in dollar amounts that are hospital bills.

You also get a room you can return to and edit your skater.

The graphical elements are well done, from the slow-mo experience to the environments and animations. The city does have a certain familiarity but not so much as though you are feeling like you’ve been here seven times before. Rather, it feels like it is your hometown and you know the streets. There are some minor clipping problems but the game is generally lush and well rendered. Some of the environment elements are interactive, but not overly so.

The skater creation is fine but don’t expect a wealth of options in this mode.

The musical score for this game is varied and cross from hip-hop to rock to tech. There are three difficulty levels and you can perform the tricks starting at amateur, moving up to pro and finally the very challenging sick level.

Other new elements include photo shoot opportunities, picture-in-picture views of the game and filmed action. Ramps can be moved to create more challenging lines, as well. In career mode you can earn “stokens” by impressing the locals, which leads to the ability to buy new items (decks and so on).

While essentially the same game as the 360 platform, Project 8 on the PS3 uses the sixaxis controller very well, almost giving the game a brand new feel from its 360 competition. If you ever lamented the vagaries of the thumbstick when trying to hold that grind, then the PS3 controller goes a long way to making the trick more accessible to those who may be thumbstick challenged.

Project 8 is a lot of fun, whether you can pull off sick tricks or struggle through the amateur material. Multiplayer offers up split-screen offline modes and online games (six in all) for up to eight players. Most of the multiplayer games will be familiar to players, but a new one – Walls – has been added in which you try to trap or seal off your rivals with a wall that you leave in your wake.

Gameplay: 8.9
Tony Hawk titles are back on track. The controls are top notch and if you have played a title in this franchise before, you should get the fundamentals down fast. If you haven’t, there is a tutorial to walk you through the game’s control scheme.

Graphics: 9.0
The graphics are top drawer; and when it comes to the animations, Project 8 sets new standards for the title. The graphics for the Nail the Trick feature are rather amazing.

Sound: 8.2
Not bad stuff here and generally what one expects. There is some narrative repetition, but this is a solid adjunct to the graphics.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
Pull off tricks is still a dicey proposition, but the slow-motion animations can give you time to land that combo for the big points.

Concept: 8.3
There are new features, but few, and the graphics are what one would expect from a next-gen title. The character creation seems a little light.

Multiplayer: 8.5
Solid fun with other gamers trying to outdo each other.

Overall: 8.8
This is Tony Hawk and that means pulling off sick tricks and working your way up the rankings to show you are a top boarder. There is a lot of challenge here and some new features that should please fans of the series. Hats off to Neversoft for the way it integrated the PS3 controller functionality into the game.