Tony Hawk Ride - in review ... ouch

[MinionZombie]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_kRXXzjETg The first score seems a bit sycophantic compared to the rest. If they're still refusing to have normal controller function in the game, they can go fuck themselves. Not everybody wants to be pratting around on a bit of plastic in their bedrooms you know. It should provide the ease and casual vibe for folk like me, who just want to have fun, but who also aren't very good at skater games (but enjoy them nonetheless), and hardcore enough for folk like Capn to go all out getting the "sick" level of score on the challenges etc. I will say that the game looks spiffing, the '80s look' does indeed appeal ... but if it's not gonna be fun like Project 8 (which I really dug), then eff orf!

[capncnut]

I will say that the game looks spiffing, the '80s look' does indeed appeal ... but if it's not gonna be fun like Project 8 (which I really dug), then eff orf! Actually, Project 8 was one of the worst. It is zero compared to Tony Hawk Underground or American Wasteland. As for Ride, I stopped caring for it after it was awarded a mighty three out of ten at Gamespot. Not only that but also the fact that Ride 2 was announced last month (before the first one is even out), which is a blatant show of defiance over the shitty reviews. Also, when I learned that it's casual mode 'plays by itself' and is little over two hours in length, I decided theres no way I'm shelling out hundred nicker for it. "Well play it on a higher level," I hear you cry. Nope because even the most diehardest of Hawk fans have reported that Ride is an utter fucking nightmare on any other setting. Besides, I don't want to play a skateboarding game thats all about checkpoints, speed boosters and colourful light effects whenever you bust out a decent trick. I want the fun and immersive experience that Tony Hawk's 1-7 had back into the game, along with Neversoft. I will play it at some point though just to see.

[blind2d]

Broken Record that I am, if they had just figured out a way to incorporate all the best aspects of the fourth and fifth games into one, it would possibly be the best skateboarding game of all time! As it stands, I was apprehensive of this, and my fears have been realized. Oh well, people will still buy it, and that's really the point. After THAW, it's just been downhill for me (insert clever pun incorporating THDJ here). Seriously, the regular controller is already perfect for these games! Why ruin a good thing with gimmickiness? Who does Tony think he is, Jeremy Klein?

[CoinReturn]

It seems the guys behind "Skate" didn't need to lift a finger, Tony Hawk just killed his own franchise.

[MikePizzoff]

It seems the guys behind "Skate" didn't need to lift a finger, Tony Hawk just killed his own franchise. Wooooooo!!!!!! Can't wait for Skate 3!!! Bugger off to everyone that can't muster the [miniscule] skill it takes to play and all that knock it because of the fact that it's realistic... somewhat.

[ProfessorChaos]

man, some of the reviews i've read are pretty brutal. can't say we didn't see this coming, though. funny that it's come to this. i still fondly recall playing the thps demo for hours on end (jerry was a racecar driver) and playing the shit out of thps2 (spidey flips out of the secret area of the school come to mind, as well as the create-a-park feature....what a great game!). thps4 was pretty good, but once saw the alcatraz level (bam's ramp jump and cart races) i had a pretty strong notion that things had peaked and they were just milking the shit out of it. wonder if those greedy fucks at activision are still considering ride 2?

[blind2d]

Why are jump ramps always associated with people "milking"? I don't know... I thought Bam's Pro Specific Challenge was a cool thing to put his personality into the game, and a chance to use a different sort of vehicle. After THUG, though..... THAW had some good stuff, but not as good as THUG (THUG2 bears no mention). When Downhill Jam was released, I just felt, "well, that's that done". And Sheckler's in Ride... so it can't be that great.

[capncnut]

Wooooooo!!!!!! Can't wait for Skate 3!!! Bugger off to everyone that can't muster the [miniscule] skill it takes to play and all that knock it because of the fact that it's realistic... somewhat. Nothing to do with skill, it's just not fun to play and the bail physics are utter shite. The Skate games are nada compared with THPS 3-5, fact.

[MinionZombie]

Hmmm ... I rather enjoyed Project 8 ... oh well. One of the main problems is this - they put out a game EVERY MOTHERFUCKING YEAR. The fact they announced Ride 2 before Ride 1 had even shat all over itself is even more telling than a whole goddamn decade of TH games every damn year. Who knows though, perhaps the slaying of Ride will make them strap their nuts on again and come up with something good? If not, I smell the inside of a coffin. ... I'm not interested in Skate either. Had wanted to try the demo, but it wasn't on a disc as previously advertised (with a magazine), so I never played it. Looks complicated to me anyway, I'm not very skilled at all at Tony Hawk games, so I'd no doubt suck at Skate. What's the bet that Skate will come over all Tony Hawk and just shell out a game every year like a cynical old bastard?

[capncnut]

i still fondly recall playing the thps demo for hours on end (jerry was a racecar driver) and playing the shit out of thps2 (spidey flips out of the secret area of the school come to mind, as well as the create-a-park feature....what a great game!). thps4 was pretty good, but once saw the alcatraz level (bam's ramp jump and cart races) i had a pretty strong notion that things had peaked and they were just milking the shit out of it. Jerry Was A Racecar Driver was the ye olde days of great vibes but meaningless skating and only five goals per level. THPS1 is really quite unplayable now due to it's snail pace framerate and jagged graphics. THPS2 was more of the same but with better levels. THPS3 is where things kicked off royally. It's still an amazing game and none of us could forget the times when you rail-kissed the control box in Canada or started the earthquake in Los Angeles. THPS4 was the beginning of a new era for THPS games because the two minute time limit was removed and you could play the game on your own terms. Alcatraz remains one of the best levels to this day and Bam's shopping cart mission on sick setting is nothing more than nasty. I mean 'tear your hair out' nasty. THUG is the pinnacle of skating games full stop and even a future Skate or THPS game from 2050 will not better it. (THUG2 had neat level design but the story element was busted). It's just so immersive and I still play the game on a weekly basis. Along with the most vastly underrated of the series, THAW. In fact, I think THAW would be the perfect entry for you MZ because it's on the 360 for like five quid, has the best story mode hands down (very Lords Of Dogtown and I loved the Fight Club homage), has the most responsive controls and it's sick setting is really rather easy, which is probably the only complaint a diehard Hawkster could gripe with the game. All the rest after it - Project 8, Proving Ground and Ride are, in simple terms, dog shit. Oops! Just realised I was rambling.

[MinionZombie]

THAW eh? I had thought of getting it at one stage, but went for Project 8 because it wasn't some half-in-half-out entry in terms of platform (i.e. Xbox and Xbox360). I really enjoyed Project 8, but I hadn't played any TH since THUG2, which was a game I enjoyed - but never played the story mode on. I'd just skate around and occasionally do a bit of this and that - but I was playing that on PC with a cheap controller, so it wasn't the best way to go about it. Before THUG2, the last one I played was THPS2 I believe, so yeah ... I've certainly not kept up with the franchise like you chaps have. Proving Ground was a disappointment to me, it wasn't as fun as Project 8 for me, and was a lot harder and more frustrating. Plus all that board pushing for faster movement was just annoying. It didn't have the fun vibe that Project 8 had for me - the story mode of which, while not amazing or all that interesting, was workmanlike enough to pass my mustard ... or is it "muster"?

[capncnut]

Oh, don't worry about the half-in-half-out element. THAW is fairly decent graphics-wise and the only entry on current gen consoles that's worth a wank. It does have it's knockers (mostly diehards who can score 1,000,000 in a single Kickflip ) but trust me, it's the perfect pick up and play Hawk game with a top storyline (top conclusion), top soundtrack and a piss easy learning curve across all settings. THP8 will never enter your 360's disc tray again. And if this don't make you wanna shell out a fiver then nothing will.

[MikePizzoff]

The Skate games are nada compared with THPS 3-5, fact. Opinion. I was a die-hard THPS fan. Until Skate came along; then I realized what a true skating game is. I now can't stand that "hold X so you stay crouched, ready for an ollie, yet somehow still maintain speed forever and your grinds can go for 10,000,000 feet before you launch yourself over a 2-story building" stuff. I prefer feeling like I'm doing some real-life skate stuff that's actually VERY satisfying to complete, and I don't have to worry about the real-life trouble of breaking bones. For instance - in Tony Hawk if you see a set of 20 you can clear it first shot without having to figure out the best route to get a run up to it. Or if you wanna do a kickflip to a bluntslide, you just push two buttons. In Skate it can take a half hour to pull off either of these things so it's a true sense of accomplishment.

[capncnut]

Yeah but if I want realism, I'll dust off my board and go outside. Videogames are supposed to be fun.

[MinionZombie]

Yeah but if I want realism, I'll dust off my board and go outside. Videogames are supposed to be fun. *fun five*