  I've yet to see guys skateboarding upside down on rooftops in real life. But that would be so cool if it did happen.
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Tony and I are tight. Over the last five or so years, we've traveled across the world together from San Francisco to Vancouver, Chicago to London, even Moscow. But now, we're taking it back to Los Angeles, the home of skateboarding...
I jest of course. I could only dream about hanging out with Tony Hawk. Heck I could only ever dream about skateboarding. And it's because of far too much Tony Hawk Pro Skater, I do. I'll be commuting to work, daydreaming through the streetcar window, sizing up curbs and railings thinking, "that'll make the sickest line".
So if I am close to Tony Hawk, it's only his pixelly manifestation. Developers Neversoft have made it possible for millions like me over the years to "virtually" grind the world's hottest skate spots, over seven installments. It's hard to believe a game franchise can stretch that far, but as with the previous name change, with Tony Hawk's American Wasteland, the developers have once again tried to reinvent the genre they perfected in the first place.
Instead of the hardcore 'pull as many tricks in two minutes' mantra of the original four Pro Skaters, American Wasteland takes its cue from THUG and throws the individual in the spotlight. You're a random kid, and an average skater at best. You've got dreams (sound familiar?) of making it big, and where better to realize them than in LA? That's until, fresh off the bus from Cowtown, all your gear is stolen by xenophobic locals. Luckily, some punk chick named Mindy takes pity on your sorry state and points you in the direction of the nearest clothes store, and in turn an adventure taking in all the sights of the City of Angels.
The majority of the plot revolves around a junk skate park, hidden away in a corner of Beverly Hills, and the quest to trick out the place with pieces of the downtown environment ripe for skating on. It's not the only goal of course, as you'll also be entering yourself in amateur contests, moving your way through the city, and skating against real life pros. But for those seasoned with previous Tony Hawk titles, the skate park probably provides the biggest reward, because as it fills up its lines and combo potential increases.
Unfortunately, it's those most familiar with the series that might be most disappointed initially. Your repertoire for tricks is pretty slim at first, and whilst completing goals to learn those grabs you've known for years will pose no problem, you'll no doubt be surprised at just how much you're missing. And it all has to be learnt again.
There are new tricks, such as the Bert Slide (a nod and a wink to the days of the Del Mar) and Natas Spin, but it's frustrating not being able to immediately seek out lines with the lack of any kind of manual trick or revert.
In trying to take what worked so well from the original four games, and addressing the shortcomings of taking the player 'off the board' in the THUG pairings, Neversoft have been fairly successful. Running around now feels like something you were actual born able to do, rather than an alien concept. But whereas Pro Skater excelled in absorbing the skater into the environment naturally, player and board in American Wasteland don't seem to gel with the surroundings. The goals to learn tricks set you up right in front of where the trick needs pulling, and rather than paying attention to what particular piece of street furniture you're about to destroy, it's only really necessary to follow the controller button combination the goal provider calls out. At times I didn't care what trick I was pulling and where, just that I was hitting the right buttons at the right time.
Touted as one giant skating La La Land (once all areas are unlocked), the varied locations are linked by tunnels. Which of course completely act as a slight of hand as the new section loads into memory. The No Loading promise on the cover art wouldn't be such a big issue did the Gamecube not stutter half way through each tunnel as data loads.
If familiar players grow tired of the trick reeducation, there's also the now standard Classic Mode, featuring the Pro Skater two minute jams in "classic" levels from past installments, although it's all in the interpretation. With every new Hawk game and accompanying retro mode, there's fewer and fewer levels remaining that can genuinely call themselves classic. However, some of the older levels do serve to provide evidence at how far the title has come visually, with the reflections in the asphalt of Minneapolis never looking better. And it wouldn't be a Tony Hawk title without a soundtrack of who's who in punk rock, with some new guys turning their hand at reworking punk classics.
All the elements are there, and some previous shortcomings have been tweaked; yet American Wasteland is still decidedly lacking. The main draw in Pro Skater was taking your time to tune lines and combos, knowing your repertoire won't hold you back. Now, unless you care to take the time to learn everything again, that option isn't there. If Neversoft are to continue cranking the Tony Hawk franchise, they're going to have to come up with something revolutionary, again.
WHAM! Rating: |
6.8 out of 10 |
ESRB Rating: |
T (Teen) |
Official Web Site: |
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