Skate or die with wicked 'Tony Hawk' sequel

By Jeff Dickerson

For the Daily

Until last year, skateboarding games never garnered much attention from video gamers. Sure, everyone loved "Skate or Die" for Nintendo, but that was over a decade ago. In 1999, "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater" was released for Playstation with little advertising. Word of mouth praise for the breakthrough title made the game a surprise hit. The infinite combinations of tricks made for a game that never got old. Neversoft has just released a follow up that die-hard fans will salivate for and newbies will flock to get their hands on.

Don't expect to coast through the game as smoothly as you did in the first. The level objectives are more taxing and have doubled in number. Expanded levels and hidden areas make the new levels more engaging than before. The controls are a carbon copy of the original; if you've mastered the first "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater," you're halfway done with the second.

Little has been done to improve the graphics of the first game, but then who cares? The graphics are not the focal point of the game. After a few hours you'll be so stressed on hitting the right combination of buttons that you won't notice the polygonal skaters. If having breathtaking visuals is what you need, wait until next month's Dreamcast version. If there was one complaint put on the inaugural "Tony Hawk" game, it was the lack of variety on the soundtrack. If the loud punk sounds of artists like Goldfinger and Primus were not your cup of java, you were out of luck. From Rage Against the Machine to Naughty by Nature, the developers have broadened the scope of musical interest in the latest "Tony Hawk." Sadly, even these new tracks become tiresome after a few hours. Turn off the volume on your TV and crank up your favorite Dan Fogelberg cd as you nosegrind the rails of Venice and New York.

Simply put, "Tony Hawk 2" is one of the finest games made for the Playstation. Every minor detail was done correctly in making the sequel true to the game play of the original while adding a copious load of new features. "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2" is the ideal benchmark in Playstation's triumphant life of exceptional titles. If you loved the first game, the sequel will more than satisfy you. For those who haven't, buy it anyway.

Courtesy of Neversoft