I didn't know anything about skateboarding before Tony Hawk. I thought it was a junk sport. My friends forced me to play the original Tony Hawk for PS. At first, I tried it out and I didnt think it was that horrific. I got my own copy and explored deeper into it and boy, it was fun. Ever since then, I'm a skateboarding fan.
THPS3 continues the tradition of the THPS legacy. With the new revert move, the gameplay is much more open. In the last two THPS games, doing tricks was one-dimensional, it was either street or vert. With revert, you can link up street, vert AND lip moves (you can press the R2 button right when you land and manual to prolong your insane combo). This provides endless combinations and the points acquired shatters the roof. With the sheer amount of flip, grab, lip and grind tricks are your disposal (along with the special ones), the different amount of combos is limitless. Of course, once the combo reaches exorbitant numbers, the balance of the skater drastically decreases, making your goal for the million point combo harder to accomplish. The worlds are expansive with a myraid of action going on besides the skateboarding, such as the ice cream truck in Suburbia (in which you can grind) or Los Angeles with the ongoing traffic. The environments are interactive as well; for instance, grinding on the drainage pipe in Cruiseship will wither away the water in the swimming pool, allowing you to do vert tricks in the barren pool. Also, the levels are littered with sociable "citizens". The people around you start chattering as you encounter them and some even give you errands to run; many of them are obtaining items to give to the person, usually unlocking a secret place while others will ask you to grind and reach certain areas. The level design must be acclaimed for the pipes and the vert ramps are cleverly placed to ensure you many high-scoring combos due to the connectivity of the whole area. These additions to the game surely invites and englufs the player in a fully interactive, addictive "worlds".
THPS 3 is obviously graphically upgraded due to its leap from PS to the Next-Gen PS2. The crew from THPS 2 (with the negation of Bob Burnquist, for he moved onto a ESPN Skateboarding contract, Bam Magera substitutes his place) are all "beefed" up visually. They are no longer the rough, outlined 3D characters from the previous PSX incarnations. The believable virtual bodies add new fluidity and balance (while continuing combos) to the game. The shaking and tenseing up while a long grind or combo continues are more plausible. The levels are larger and full with vivacious colors, such as the futuristic, neon-Tokyo. Having a more powerful, graphical capability also sets the "mood" for the certain level. For example, Surburbia has dull, brown like colors, signifying a slow-paced and boring life while places such as Tokyo provides an up-beat feeling.
The sound and music is great for punkers and rockers. Songs such as Ace of Spades and groups such as Alien Ant Farm will get you nodding your head while you create crazy combos. However, they do get boring/annoying after hearing them for the 50th time (as all songs do). You can always mute it and put on your own music too. The sound effects are good, but nothing ground-breaking; bailing conveys the generic grunt and grinding displays streaky noises. However, some of the pedestrian talk is comical and irking some pedestrians (by constantly knocking yourself into them) provides some interesting comments. They can cheer you on while you continue a high-point combo or chide you when you bail or do a lame trick.
The controls are quite intuitive. Jumping requires you to hold the X button and doing tricks vert-style just needs a few pushes of buttons you customize yourself before the level. Grinding is with ease as well; holding the triangle button along with a direction will create different grinds, and certain grinds can have an "after-effect" grind by pressing up on the directional pad. The camera does its job well. It follows the skater all throughout the area, without shielding the view of your surroundings, which allows you to plan before you execute.
The game is long! There are about 12 skaters in the beginning and secret skaters added on after you start beating the game. Characters such as Spider Man and Wolverine have their own special "signature" tricks! Skill points and boards can be found through hidden places around the level. Also, completing all the objectives in each level gives you more slots to store your special moves, which compells the player to finish the game in it's entirety (you can also gain 3 levels from older THPS games in the single run mode once you complete the whole game). However, the game began to sag after beating it with the first "batch" of characters. After finishing all the levels and characters, it'll take a while before this game will profuse excitement to you.
What really excites me about the game is its online capabilities. Playing with 4 players at once is an exciting thought. Two player is already a blast and multiplayer online gaming should be much more fulfilling. I personally have not tried the online mode yet, but it's guaranteed to "stir your pot" if you liked single player.
This game lives up to the Tony Hawk name. The upgrades of the levels, the graphics, the new revert move and the addition of online play are enough for you to go out and buy this game. However, the music gets old quick (possibly due to the monotony of the genre) and the game gets boring after your first handful of skaters. Despite these grips, if you want a skateboarding game, forget the X-games skateboarding games, this is the only game you should even look at!
+ The new Revert move adds new dimension and gameplay possibilities
+ Level designs are commendable and very combo-friendly
+ Graphics breathe new life to the characters and levels
+ Pedestrian talk can be entertaining
+ Controls are second-nature and easy to master
+ Replay value is high with unlockable characters, obtainable boards, stat points and trick slots and "retro" level from older THPS games
+ Online play is intriguing and very enticing
- Music can get annoying quickly, especially if you don't like the genre
- Going through the whole game with all the skaters might seem tedious to many
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