Tony Hawk's Proving Grounds

[Craig]

I thought Skate was the most refreshing skateboarding game since Thrasher Skate and Destroy. I enjoyed THPS2 and 3 when I was a lot younger but always preferred THUG of all the most recent ones. Most other sports games have always tried to be as realistic as possible and improve on it with each sequel, whereas extreme sports, dominated by games like Tony Hawk's and SSX, when someone actually makes it original and realistic in some people's eyes that's a big no-no. Of course this doesn't apply to all gamers. It's sort of the same with some FPS players as well, they say they want realism but still end up playing CS:S and CoD. And I didn't have a problem with Skates controls, I thought they were a very good way of doing tricks.

[capncnut]

Tony Hawk Adrenaline (THPS 10) has been finally announced, scheduled for release Q4 2009. Speaking as someone who hated both Skate and Proving Grounds, I'm pretty excited at the fact that it's going to be a reboot of the franchise whilst retaining the key elements from THPS3 and THUG. In Tony Hawk's Adrenaline a new motion sensing board controller takes your game off the couch and launches you into the ultimate skateboarding experience. Thanks to an intuitive board based control scheme it's never been easier to pull off amazing tricks and feel the sensation of skateboarding. Shift your weight to turn and balance grinds, kick back on the tail of the board to ollie and lean into airs to pull off huge spins. Feel the sensation of dropping into a 60ft mega ramp, bombing down the worlds steepest streets, and watching the earth disappear beneath your board as you launch out of a halfpipe. Next gen graphics amplify the fun as you ride through thrilling situations like these. Put down the controller, step on the board and feel the sensation of going big.

[MinionZombie]

I really liked Project 8, I think it worked well, and I preferred the layout and all the areas where you could skate. The problem with Proving Grounds, for me, is that they've taken a good game, then fiddled with it too much and just made it not as good. Plus, there are some really annoying bits in PG - such as that Bam rigger episode chunk where you're on a boat and have to get 60,000 points at least in 60-lame-seconds-of-lameness - it takes TWENTY of the f*ckers just to climb up the bloody ladder to get up on the crane! What moron thought of that?! There's another bit - where you're doing a team skate video - yet again, about 15 seconds to pull something off ... not very realistic is it, considering they have no time limit in real life and do it until they get it right. I've still enjoyed playing it, but there have been more "oh for f*ck sake!!!" moments in Proving Ground than Project 8. I never played American Wasteland, it wasn't next-gen and I couldn't be arsed with it, lol. They also need to get rid of silly little bugs, or times when you want your skater to go somewhere or do something and it just farts around getting you stuck or whatever.

[MikePizzoff]

After playing SKATE, I don't think I'll ever touch a THPS game again.

[capncnut]

I never played American Wasteland, it wasn't next-gen and I couldn't be arsed with it, lol. American Wasteland is the BEST of the three next-gen Hawk games. If anyone has watched Lords Of Dogtown then you will know what I mean. But no skating game (including Skate or the even worse Proving Grounds) even touches THPS3, THUG or THUG2. Simple as that really.

[bassman]

American Wasteland is the BEST of the three next-gen Hawk games. If anyone has watched Lords Of Dogtown then you will know what I mean. But no skating game (including Skate or the even worse Proving Grounds) even touches THPS3, THUG or THUG2. Simple as that really. I haven't played any of the newer games, but damn did I love THPS3. It sucks that it won't work on my 360, though. Seeing as how my regular Xbox is only used for music now and won't play games.... I really loved 3, though.

[capncnut]

I haven't played any of the newer games, but damn did I love THPS3. It sucks that it won't work on my 360, though. Seeing as how my regular Xbox is only used for music now and won't play games.... I really loved 3, though. I adored all those levels. Canada was my favourite my miles...

[bassman]

I adored all those levels. Canada was my favourite my miles... It's been awhile since I played. Canada is the snowy level with all those hidden things in the trees/mountains, right? If so....yeah, that was a good en.

[capncnut]

It's been awhile since I played. Canada is the snowy level with all those hidden things in the trees/mountains, right? If so....yeah, that was a good en. Yup, that's the one. And yeah, nice you mentioned all the hidden thingys, that was when Tony Hawk games were a pleasure to explore. Even the gaps!

[Danny]

Yup, that's the one. And yeah, nice you mentioned all the hidden thingys, that was when Tony Hawk games were a pleasure to explore. Even the gaps! damn straight, 2 ,3 and 4 were great for that, i was almost a semi platformer though thug 2 rocked as well, levels like new orleans and skateopia were the ****.

[capncnut]

damn straight, 2 ,3 and 4 were great for that, i was almost a semi platformer though thug 2 rocked as well, levels like new orleans and skateopia were the ****. I am utterly of the belief that THPS2-THAW are the only Hawk games to play (THPS1 is a bit slow to play nowadays). Project 8 was okay but riddled with nigh-on impossible to obtain sick level missions. The one where you had to come off your board and crash through various gates - utterly stupid. Proving Grounds was just plain baffling, handles like an entirely different game. Talk about 'it ain't broken but we'll fix it anyway'. But yes, THUG2 had some awesome levels: Barcelona, Berlin, Nawlins (zombieeez!), Skatetopia and The Triangle were the bomb. The best one in my opinion though was that Pro Skater level. The one with three adjoining levels - Spaceship, Aztec temple and Hell - now that was a pleasure to explore.

[MikePizzoff]

But no skating game (including Skate or the even worse Proving Grounds) even touches THPS3, THUG or THUG2. Simple as that really. I strongly disagree with you. Skate is FAR better than any THPS game, EVER. No matter how great they are, even if just for nostalgic factor. Skate is the game every person that ever really skated always dreamed of since the early days of THPS. Although, at the same time I kind of feel that the two shouldn't even be compared: Skate = extremely realistic skatboarding sim THPS = over the top, unrealistic, arcade skater

[capncnut]

THPS = over the top, unrealistic, arcade skater But waaay more fun! I suppose it's down to taste, really. People will naturally compare games like, say, Gran Turismo and Project Gotham Racing, but I have always been a Sega GT man myself. And Sega GT was never really noted for it's realism. A couple of things I absolutely HATED about Skate was the awkward camera angle and the sheer difficulty to pull off a simple kickflip that can be achieved in any THPS game in two seconds.

[Danny]

if i want to skate realistically ill get off my fat ass and go to the skatepark outside my house, tony hawks has always been an escapism game, letting you do things you never could.

[capncnut]

if i want to skate realistically ill get off my fat ass and go to the skatepark outside my house And I'll bet you that half of the teenagers in that skatepark are there because of the THPS games.