Tony Hawk’s American Sk8land (Second Opinion) Review

Classic mode is instantly brought into the limelight as you sign on Wi-Fi, and find that you can download new goals that Vicarious Visions promises to add occasionally. THAS in some places even out-classes Nintendo’s premiere Wi-Fi games-in terms of simplicity, access, and menu layout. The online play isn’t shabby either. It’s too bad that only two skaters can compete at once. You only see the other guy a couple times, or not at all, when playing any of the online variations (where’s H-O-R-S-E?). The levels are so big, and made with so many places to go that it truly is impossible to keep an active skater in your sight for more than a couple seconds. Besides, the competition is pretty tough, and you should be preoccupied with beating your opponent’s score anyway.

The art direction taken here is something never before seen in the Tony Hawk world. The cel shading lends itself as well to skateboarding as it did to Jet Grind Radio’s futuristic aggressive inline formula. So the game certainly is visually competent, and it’s not too “kiddy” looking either. The style itself still very closely resembles that of American Wasteland, which allows for Sk8land to copy that game in a lot of ways in the process, losing only a few levels, and the annoying sequences where you had to get off your skateboard. However, your skateboard seems suspiciously disproportionate, looking a little larger than it should.

Surprisingly, THAS’ atmosphere shows a level of sarcasm. Sarcasm in that the dialogue is often witty at all the right times, and the developers know they’ve over exaggerated everything. For example, the billboard at the gas station informs the gamer that gas in LA costs “an arm, and a leg”. One of your missions will be to fly up a quarter-pipe onto a rail that’s connected to a building which harvests six pigeons (you’re supposed to knock all six pigeons off). But of course, that’s not enough for Neversoft. You have to knock all six off in a combo, or it won’t work. Things like this are everywhere in the game, and up until the last level, you’re still learning tricks and mechanics that will prove helpful in Classic mode, later on.

What will keep you coming back to THAS? The online play should be an indicator that this game has a lot of replay-value. The DS’s capabilities are finally being shown in spades, there are a couple other things you can do on THAS, that you’ve never been able to do in any THPS or THUG game. You can record your voice for both gaps, and bails. This makes the game call out your two seconds or so recording every time you gap something, or fall off of your board. The touch screen also allows for more customization, than you’d think possible. You can now design your board with your stylus. It’s pretty neat to go online and check out the variety of things people have created.

If you’ve played every Tony Hawk game before Sk8land, you may just find it to be more of the same. It does follow the series well, while at the same time innovating in ways that other companies (like EA) wouldn’t dream of. If you still haven’t found a game that effectively uses your touch screen, then THAS might be your best bet. If you’re looking for a skateboarding game on a handheld though, Tony Hawk is an obvious purchase, as it is your only option.