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A LONG step backwards in the Tony Hawk series

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 18 / 24
Date: October 19, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is absolutely awful, I would actually rather study than play it. It's one of the worst pieces of trash I've played in a long time & I'm an AVID Tony Hawk supporter (until now that is).

First of all, 2/3 of the skaters that have been with the game from the beginning are gone, only the most mainstream skaters made the cut. OG skaters like Rowley, Reynolds, and JT have been replaced by the likes of Steve-O, Jesse James, & even Bigfoot.

Second, the storyline has essentially turned the game into an episode of "Viva La Bam". Half of the goals don't involve skating of any type and simply play on the "skateboarding-is-punk-so-we-destroy-things-'cuz-that's-the-cool-skater-thing-to-do" mantra that seems to be pervading the youth skate culture. If you've skated for any length of time this comes off as a desperate & pathetic attempt to make some money off a crappy game that caters to all the 13 year olds who think Bam Margera is the greatest.

Lastly, as if the pop culture influence that permeates the gameplay isn't insulting enough, there is A video at the end. No, not 1 video per pro, A video featuring all of them. They each throw 3 moves & it's over.

When the Tony Hawk series began the games actually influenced pop culture; now they're doing just the opposite & letting what's trendy dictate the direction of the games. I used to buy all the sequels without question, but after seeing the previews for this game I decided to rent it first (thank goodness I did). You could do a lot better with $50 than buy this game; like buy some real skateboard gear.

I cant even see where I am going!!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 12
Date: October 29, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Ok, Ive had this game for all of twenty minutes and Im about to go nuts. The camera angle seems to never want to go back to the original (read: thps camera). It pissed me off so much that I threw my control and broke it. O well, I guess its back to my coma and waiting for something bold and exciting to come around, because this wasnt worth it.

P.S. If I am ranting and raving about a feature that you can change, let me know somehow...

antisocial behavior is not really that much fun

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 13
Date: December 17, 2004
Author: Amazon User

If I ever acted like this in real life I would be dead. It's not really fun wrecking stuff. My dad had his tires slashed one time by a thug and he coundn't get to work and we lost a lot of money because we couldn't afford to buy new tires because it was just Christmas and we spent all our money. It's not fun to think about that. Why did Tony Hawk make this game? Doesn't he have kids or care about kids thinking this is fun?

Wrong Platform!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: April 11, 2007
Author: Amazon User

We could not play the game because what Amazon sold us labeled as "CD ROM" (i.e. for PC) actually came as a PS2 game. When we complained to GameFunk, they said that they don't sell any PC games and Amazon was at fault. The game has been returned to them. We want our money back!

Worst Game in The World

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 10
Date: December 13, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I wasted my week's allowance on this game and I have to say I'm never going to buy some retard skater game ever again. This game has brought to me the most boring day of my life ever. I spent hours on the first level just going round and round looking at the poor graphics of this game where every single rail and ramp was a square black and white figure. Tony Hawk looks like Mary Poppins and when you ride your board you seem to be flying above the street. I think a Super Nintendo game has better gameplay and graphics than this sad excuse for a PS2 game. Anyone who buys this game should think twice before doing it.

The biggest dissapointment of 04

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 14 / 24
Date: October 15, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Ok heres the news on THUG 2 and a comparison to THUG 1. This game was a severe dissapointment I can't believe how much better THUG 1 was. I have beaten all of the games in the tony hawk series but I just couldn't will myself into playing this for more than a half hour. The primary flaw in this game is the story mode (or lack there of). The story mode starts completely randomly and has very little meaning due to the lack of cut scenes and poor concept. It starts by you getting kidnapped sounds intriging right? Wrong! The next cut scene shows bam and tony standing over you and tell you that for no reason at all they want to go on a world destruction tour. Ok the concepts still got you hooked but not for long. So you head off to a get acquainted level and then to BOSTON. Thats still just fine with me I'm still slightly interested. Now this is where the boat sinks.m Youre skater has a list of goals that have absolutely no meaning at all. Go find this Guy in the level. What kind of mission id that and how does that relate to freakin skating. Other missions are very similar in the fact that they don't relate to skating. These missions are designed to be destructive and punk-like yet their just not entertaing. One of the new features is being able to switch characters on the run but they are often hard to unlock and their id a new set of goals with each character. Even if you liked the idea of switching characters it's impossible to switch and then switch back because you have to find a specific spot where your skaters are stationed and they are completely random.When you complete a level there bassicly is no significance to the following cut scene it just tells you about the next level. All the theatrical elements in the plot of THUG just dissapeer in THUG2 and I can't understand why. There is no reason to be doing what your doing theres no rival because you have to keep switching teams and the levels are horrible compared to THUG. The only reason to by this game would be for classic mode which follows the THPS format and is still fun. I've been playing Tony hawk games since the original in 98 and have loved them all. I absolutely adored THUGS concept and was able to complete that game in under 24 hours while loving every seconed of it.This is just not the way to follow up a game of the year Neversoft as a fan I'm upset with the lack of creativity. The comparison is pathetic but I'll give you my opinion of the score card anyway.

THUG1 Thug2
Controlls 9 9
Stroy mode plot 10 2
sound 8 6
Fun 10 3
Levels 10 5
lasting ability 10 still playin 4 give it a 1/2 hour
Total out of 60 57 29

Some major flaws...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: May 30, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I ranked this game "2 out of 5 Overall" for three main reasons: poor level design, poor controls, and a non-engaging storyline. (Warning: long review ahead - if you want the basic idea, scroll to the last section.)

Poor level design - The original 3 THPS games had open, flowing levels that were modeled after real places. They were designed to allow for large combos, but still mimicked places such as a school or a warehouse. Underground 1 expanded on this by creating basically larger versions of the old levels, but with a more realistic, less set-up feel to them. Part of why Underground 1 was such a success was because it allowed much more freedom (by adding features such as walking, more ways to increase your combo, etc.) but kept the open, flowing design of the old THPS games. With Underground 2, however, this successful level design is lost, making way for new maps that focus more on looking like an actual place than allowing for flow. The second level of the game, set in Spain, is a perfect example. Ridden with tight alleyways, scrunched together ramps, and grind rails literally only a few feet long, the ease of movement that graced older games in the series is nowhere to be found. There quite literally is not enough room to skate! This means you can pretty much forget about long combos. In fact, the most extensive combos I've seen anybody make involve blindly punching buttons in midair, hoping to land somewhere good. Gone are the glory days of planning out crazy map-long combos. Instead, I found myself having to get off my board and position myself for where I felt I would have the best chance of randomly landing a combo. Of course, once I get in the right position, things get worse - I've got to worry about the controls as well, which leads me to my next complaint.

Controls - First of all, I have to say that I am in no way complaining about the basic idea behind the controls in the game. Their simplicity is what brought success to the series in the first place. However, I do have some issues with controls that were added with the Underground series:
- Walking: When you're off your board, the controls should be just as smooth as when you're on it. With jumps that happen at least a second after you press the button, awkward collision (the contact made between your character and the environment), and movement that resembles walking on ice, you're left with controls worse than Tomb Raider.
- Speed: This relates back to level design, as your speed wouldn't be an issue if the levels were designed properly, but it is still a control issue. As I said earlier, even when you get off your board and set yourself up correctly, it is difficult to control yourself. This is because the second you get on, you have to mash the down arrow, or you'll start moving forward. Also, let's hope you haven't set yourself up to where you need to ollie right away, because the instant you push the ollie button, you launch forward like a rocket. There is no gradual increase of speed - you GO. Add this to the tight level design and you've got some serious control issues.
- Alternate Vehicles: One new feature of the Underground series is the ability to drive vehicles. In Underground 2, for example, you have to drive a souped up scooter in one level and a mechanical bull on wheels in another. The controls while driving these vehicles are completely ridiculous. With one tap of the right or left arrow, you turn nearly ninety degrees, which wouldn't be a huge issue, except that you're traveling impossibly fast. Add this to extremely poor collision, and you've got an extremely frustrating time. The real downfall of the game, however, lies in the plot itself.

Storyline - For me, the fun in Underground 1 was that the storyline had you, a skater in the - you guessed it - underground skate scene, progress from being a lowly newbie to the entering the ranks of skating pros. By the end of the game I actually felt like I had accomplished a great deal. With Underground 2, however, the premise is quite different. You and several other skaters are kidnapped by Tony Hawks and Bam Margera, split into two teams, and sent on a twisted scavenger hunt. This scavenger hunt is the basic idea behind the game. At the beginning of each level, Tony Hawk gives you a list of the crazy things that need doing to get the team points. You also need to assume control of friends of the team to help complete some goals. While this is mildly entertaining for a while, it isn't ENGAGING. A truly good game needs to grab your attention and keep it - this game doesn't. Now, I'll admit that I had some fun while playing this game. Even with the poor controls and level design, there is definitely a decent game here. It just isn't captivating enough. Because it was so engaging, I completed Underground 1 in only a sitting or two. With this game, however, I simply couldn't stay focused. It is most definitely amusing for a while, but in the end it feels more like a jumble of minigames than an actual game. You can sit and complete a few goals, but beyond that it just gets boring. (Note: I bet many of you are thinking, "The old games didn't have a storyline at all, and they were fun!" That is correct, but if you're going to try to have a storyline, you had better make it captivating - this game doesn't.)

Ok, I know that was long (or not if you just skipped it all...) but here's...
**THE BOTTOM LINE**: The main flaws with this game are poor level design, poor controls, and a non-engaging storyline. With level design, this game mainly lacks the flow and freedom of the old games. With tight spaces and scrunched together ramps/rails, there just isn't enough room to skate. The controls in this game also lacked. The basic, simplistic THPS controls we all know and love are still here, but some of the features that were added to the series have such laughable controls that they are almost unplayable. Finally, the storyline (or lack thereof) just isn't captivating enough. Underground 1's story was simply brilliant, and the older game's complete lack of storyline made it hopelessly addicting. Tony Hawks Underground 2 falls flat on its face somewhere in between.

Really Fun... For a Really short period of time

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: January 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

this is a great and fun game which i rented at the local blockbuster. i had a great time playing the game however i easily beat the game on sick difficulty in a period of two days and the game has very poor replay value so i strongly suggest that no one buys this game however it is a really good game to rent if you are ever bored.

Fun game, but not great game

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: January 06, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The THUG series is a pretty innovative spinoff of the THPS series. However, this is essentially the same game over and over. All of the Tony Hawk games have been literally the same thing from THPS to THUG2. On the bright side, the game's hilarious (Bam's Grind and Barf special) and the create-a-player mode has been modified for more choices, and creating a trick is easier than most would think. If you like the THPS series, go for this game. If you're just looking for a good game, you can find better, but I'm not saying this isn't a good game.

Short and simple

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: October 31, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Pros
-Build your own skate park, graphic, skater or trick
-Classic mode, just like the original with better graphics
-Story mode, they have some pretty cool cut scenes, ea letting a bull into a hotel room
-Nice moves, air and tricks, doing the impossible is always fun

Cons
-Levels can be repetitive, so you are doing the same thing over and over again
-Some of the objectives aren't that clear and difficult find

Overall this game is worth checking out, the story mode is entertaining and the free skate is cool. Also making your own trick and having your character do a 1040 flip in .4 seconds is pretty funny looking.

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