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Despite having a lot going for it, no game is perfect, and this game is has its flaws.

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Tony Hawk's Underground 2

Review by: Kelly Matney

1-2 Player Fighting Game

Company: Activision, Neversoft

Version: US

System: PS2 (Exclusive)

Rated: PG-13 (Blood, Crude Humor, Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence)

EXTERNAL EXAM

The ultimate underground skating competition is about to begin as Team Hawk and Team Bam face off in the "World Destruction Tour". Some of the worlds best skaters go head to head to see who can skate and destroy, are just there along for the ride.

DVD VISION TEST

VIDEO: There's always been a great attention to detail in Tony Hawk games. This year is no exception. Every level looks great, with both a visually appealing, and functional layout to the level design.

They've taken a new direction with the character models. Instead of realistic looking skaters, the designers have given them a more cartoon like appearance. Not quite super deformed, they do look awkward in the realistic looking environments at first. After you spend some time playing, you wont even notice the difference.

AUDIO: Tony Hawk games have always offered a wide range of music for its players to enjoy. This entry offer players a wide range of Rock, Metal, and Rap music to choose from. It even has music by Johnny Cash and Frank Sinatra. With a fully customizable playlist you can skip over any songs you don't like.

The sound effects remain the same from previous Tony Hawk games. Which isn't to say there bad. The sound effects have always sounded realistic. Still, after 6 games you'd think they would be updated a bit.

CONTROLS: The Tony Hawk games have always controlled the same way, with a few slight tweaks here and there over the years. The controls have always been best suited to the Playstation controller, though this years new feature, Focus Mode, is a bit awkward to activate while in the midst of a combo.

EXTRAS: Included in the game are several favorite levels from Tony Hawk 1-3. Also, there are several extra levels for the games "Create a Park" mode. Along with plenty of Secret Skaters, unlockable skater videos, and downloadable content there's plenty of extra stuff to be found.

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

CINEMATIC EXPERIENCE: Most of the games cinemas are rendered in game, so they look a bit awkward. There are some nice videos of actual skaters doing bailing and stuff that's enjoyable to watch, though they don't have much to do with the actual game play.

BEST PLAYER: I’m going to have to go with the Younger Toguro brother. He’s got some insane combos that once you pick up, you’ll have no problem knocking the opposing force flat on their tail. He can attack long distance with his Finger Snip Bullets, for those adversaries that keep their distance. It’s not a very rewarding win though, as there are other characters with awesome move sets that are more fun to use, such as Hiei’s Dragon of the Darkness Flame, or Kurama’s ability to turn into Youko.

CHEAT CODE YOU NEED: Seeing as all character can have the same stats maxed out, making them virtually equal, no one character is better than another. So the best character probably will be the one you make yourself for the games story mode.

CHEAT CODE YOU WANT: To unlock all the secret characters and stuff in the game you must go through it on each difficulty level, rather than going through it on the hardest setting and unlocking everything from the lower difficulty levels as well. A code to unlock all this stuff without having to play through the game 3 times would be nice.

FAN SERVICE: Not much in the way of traditional fan service, aside from some of the clothing options for the female characters. For fans of the previous Tony Hawk games, there's lots to find. Several classic levels return, as well as Classic mode, which lets you progress through the game in the same way as you did in Tony Hawk's 1-3. There's even a Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 character included.

FINAL EXAM

The Tony Hawk Pro Skater series of games have always been top-notch skateboarding games. Every year a new game is released that adds further depth to the skating experience. Last year, however, they took the series in a new direction with the release of Tony Hawk's Underground. This game added a fully fleshed out story mode, complete with characters, cutscenes, and enough bad voice acting to make you think your playing an RPG. While this new direction angered some long time fans, I enjoyed it greatly, so picking up this years sequel wasn't a very tough decision.

Tony Hawk's Underground 2 is about as advanced as skating games get. Built on the success of five previous games, there's a lot of good stuff in there. Despite having a lot going for it, no game is perfect, and this game is has its flaws.

Underground mode is this games equivalent of a story mode. Introduced last year in the first Tony Hawk's Underground, it put's you in the shoes of a young skater who's just turned pro. Your character is chosen to join Team Hawk, led by Tony Hawk, as they face off against Team Bam, led by Bam Margera, in an event they've dubbed the "World Destruction Tour". The goal is to see which team can rack up the most points doing tricks, accomplishing goals, and destroying as much property as you can. I have to say that this year's story mode leave something to be desired. There's little to no plot, and the outcome is the same no matter what you do. Also, there's less focus on your created character, so you don't really care about him as much as you should.

While on the topic of created characters I found this years "Create a Skater" mode to be a bit dull as far as options for customizing the character's go. It seemed pretty much the same as last years game, with nothing really good added to it. Overall I was let down.

A big attention getter this year was Classic Mode. It lets you play through several levels, both new and old, and accomplish goals within a two minute time limit. Its a throwback to Tony Hawk's 1-3, and it was greatly anticipated by fans of those games who didn't enjoy the direction of the last few games. Sadly, it didn't play out as well as most had hoped. The newer levels obviously were not designed to work like the old levels were, so some of the goals were a bit awkward to accomplish. Another nitpick is that all the skaters start out equal, with 3 points each stat. In previous games the skater's all had their own strengths and weaknesses in the beginning, and it added for a bit of variety. Yet overall his mode was a great addition, and I hope to see it improved in next years game.

Multiplayer has always been an important part of Tony Hawk games. Each year has added new variations in addition to the old ones. The game offers both Online, and two player split screen. Some of the new modes include Scavenger Hunt in which each player places coins around the level and the first to collect all of them, or at least have the most at the end wins.

Also, a new mode thats online only is Elimiskate. In this mode, several skaters try to get the highest score they can. At the end of each round, the player with the lowest score is eliminated from the game, until only one skater remains. Of course your favorite modes like Horse, Trick Attack, and many other's are all there.

There is a serious glitch in the programming of this game. One glitch will cause the game to freeze while it saving. This can corrupt your save file, and you'd lose all progress you have made Not everyone will experience this, but it is more frequent then most would like. The easiest way to avoid having trouble is to just make two save files and to save frequently. Then, if one file is damaged, you'll still have another ready to go.

Overall I found this game to be highly enjoyable. Aside from some minor complaints with the story and classic modes, I found this game to be well worth the price. Pick this one up if your a fan of the series, but if your new to Tony Hawk games you may want to rent this one first.

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