A shade over four years ago, I reviewed Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 for a different publication when the package arrived on PlayStation 5. I ended my exhaustive analysis with the following: “Questions [need] to be asked about how we perceive of remasters and remakes: Do we want them exactly as they were, but with a fresh coat of paint? Or do we want improved versions that reflect present technology and gaming trends?“
It was with those thoughts fresh (almost as if they’d been committed to print quite recently) in my mind that I set about giving Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 a whirl. My memories of the first package (THPS 1+2) began flooding back, and I recall being very impressed by the graphic fidelity, the way the PS5’s DualSense controller responded to grinding, ollying and manualing, and how rejuvenated a lot of familiar levels looked.
The way THPS 1+2 was laid out was logical and did justice to the original games. It also made use of a slightly streamlined menu to allow players to access the first or the second game in the series at ease. THPS 3+4 does something similar, which should theoretically be fine, but it’s a whole lot more egregious if you remember playing the original version of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4.
For the uninitiated, the first three THPS titles played pretty much the same way. It was with the fourth title that massively open levels were introduced, along with minigames and NPCs who would hand you little challenges. This evolution would lay the foundation for the first true open-world (or open zone, at least) title in the series, and my personal favourite, Tony Hawk’s Underground. And all the little innovations and new tricks (pardon the pun) and improvements from THPS4 were very visible in THUG — just that they were expanded upon greatly.
But enough about THUG and back to the new THPS 3+4 that released just under a week ago. Not only does the package do away entirely with what made THPS 4 such a revelation back when it first dropped in 2002, but it reduces the game to a levels DLC pack for THPS 3. In other words, rather than it being a bundle of two separate games, THPS 3+4 is one game that features the levels of two games. Makes sense? Let’s proceed.
But surely the game is still fun despite that exclusion, I hear you wonder. Well, it is and it isn’t. The appeal of the Tony Hawk’s… series and indeed most extreme sports games is the ability to pull off strings of almost-superhuman tricks to the beats of the era’s musical zeitgeist. And in fulfilling this need, THPS 1+2 do a very good job. So too does THPS 3, in my opinion. However, it’s the sight of levels like Alcatraz, London and Zoo lying so devoid of life that is frankly quite depressing, and makes me feel like developer Iron Galaxy missed a trick. And in so doing, stopped short of making this a must-play title.
There is the addition of a snazzy new photo mode, which is fun, I guess.
