Tony Hawk's Underground 2

Written by Matt Swider  on May 31, 2005

Review: I began writing УTony Hawk's Pro UndergroundЕФ I realized my mistake, but didn't want to cross it out, so I decided to go with it.

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Tony Hawk's Underground 2 is the sixth game in Activision's pro skating series and, of course, the sequel to the first Underground game that revamped the franchise. There are enough fresh elements for this sequel to avoid being considered a total rehash, but don't expect a second retooled title, at the same time. The gameplay doesn't change from game to game, as always, but that's because the foundation is both solid and satisfying. More or less, if you're looking to continue skating with the likes of Tony Hawk and Bam Margera, but want to kick things up a single step, THUG2 takes exactly that approach.

THUG2 contains modes of story, classic, online, 2-player, high score/free skate, and create-a-mode. The story mode from the first Underground was an inspiring tale in which you were cast as a no name skater attempting to make a name for yourself. This year's story centers on the World Destruction Tour. Two teams, one led by Hawk and the other by Margera, make their way around the world and skate on everything in sight, amassing points in the process. You become part of Team Hawk since you're the УnoobФ who got picked last and Team Bam sought a boy in a body cast named Paulie over you. But instead of proving your worth alone, you'll have the help of pro and special guests that come with their own list of goals. In effect, you get an interesting mix of playable characters from Jesse James to Ben Franklin, which is most entertaining.

Besides playing as characters in addition to the one made to be in your own likeness, another big gameplay change comes from the fact that you no longer have to approach non-playable characters to trigger objectives. THUG2 acts like previous Pro Skater titles in that it gives you the list of objectives upfront, in the beginning of a level and each time you switch characters. Although the return of the list means that goals can be completed in any order, it takes away the option of quickly restarting them through the menu, as in the first Underground game. Also, the new approach doesn't mean that the goals are any different. You'll be required to destroy a set of objects in the environment, grind on certain key structures, perform specific stunts, race rivals, graffiti parts of the level, complete team challenges, and so on. Most remain the same, only creatively repackaged along with a few new ones.

Neversoft has also brought back the original gameplay style from earlier Pro Skater games and inserted it into THUG2's aptly named classic mode. Now, I wouldn't go as far as calling it Уold schoolФ gameplay since it dates back just three years, but it can definitely be considered classic for more reasons than being Уolder.Ф You'll skate down memory lane while a two-minute timer counts down as you collect letters to form S-K-A-T-E and C-O-M-B-O, search for the secret tape and breaking set scores. I don't see the series ditching the story mode in favor of this one, but I did have more fun in classic mode and can only hope it appears in future Hawk titles from now on.

It seems as if ever year, Neversoft includes a few new tricks that it has up its sleeve, just when you thought there was little else left to add to the Tony Hawk games. In THUG2, players have the chance to focus, freak out, sticker slap and spin for a long, long time. Focus acts as your Matrix-style, slow-motion effect triggered by the R3 button. The basic advantage to this is supplying you with more time to properly land tricks. It looks cool, yet it's not a huge a benefit for anyone other than beginners, really. The ability to freak out isn't all that useful either, but it's definitely funny to see included. It comes into play when falling off of your board during a high-scoring combo. A meter will pop up on the screen instructing you to repeatedly press triangle to throw your board and throw a tantrum, too. It'll allow you to recover some lost points, but, in the end, the time it takes isn't really worth the effort.

One of the more productive new tricks is the sticker slap. This move is performed by jumping straight into a wall and hitting the X button to push off and head in the opposite direction. At the same time, it also plants your team's sticker on the wall, as the name suggests. The other useful new trick is the natas spin move. Approach an object such as a trash can while holding R1, jump at it by hitting X and then tap the triangle button. This formula will launch your skater onto the trash can where he'll rotate in place for as long as you can keep balance.

Whether or not these new tricks suit your skating style, you always can create additional moves in Create-A-Mode along with custom skaters, parks, goals and graphics. Further expanding the game's replay, THUG2 also keeps the 2-player and online modes intact, which share multiplayer games of trick attack, score challenge, mambo combo, slap!, king of the hill, firefight, and scavenger hunt. There are three games exclusive to online mode, elimiskate, goal attack and capture the flag, and one found only in the 2-player mode, H.O.R.S.E.

There are several differences among the versions of THUG2, starting with the fact that only the PS2 and PC versions are online-enabled. PS2 owners also have the advantage of EyeToy support for face-mapping their image on a custom skater. Granted, it's possible to use a digital camera, but the EyeToy is a nice perk due to its ease of use. Xbox, on the other hand, looks slightly better and supports custom soundtracks. For anyone that has both consoles, my advice is that if you can access online play via PS2, it's wise to go with features that extend the game's replay value rather than prettier sights and sounds.

The Tony Hawk games have looked more and more impressive not just because the visuals have improved, but because the levels have been built up more and more. There are so many people, cars and buildings that interact with the gameplay that it makes the cities seem alive. However, you'll still have the feeling of dщjр vu in some cases, like when two vehicles of the same color and model almost hit you at the same time. I know a lot of people in Europe own those small, Tonka-type cars, but does literally everyone own the same red one?

The number of musical tracks Tony Hawk games provide has always been a high note for the skateboarding series and THUG2 is no different. It contains everything from Johnny Cash's Johnny Cash's УRing of FireФ to Jimmy Eat World's УPain,Ф from Sinatra's УThat's LifeФ to The Sugarhill Gang's УRapper's Delight.Ф Although I can imagine some people asking why Cash and Sinatra were included in a skateboarding game, I think it was an interesting choice that spices up the usual genres of punk, hip-hop and rock. Plus, anyone that doesn't appreciate that type of music can turn it off, as is the case with any song you can't stand.