Tony Hawk must be insane. Over the past week I have been trying to master his tricks using a joypad... a reasonable thing to attempt. Despite my skill, I keep falling. Be it from buildings or from ramps, my virtual skater has been subjected to a barrage of pain and yet he still gets up and skates. Imagine Mr. Hawk trying this in real life. He is either made of tougher stuff than us or he is insane to try these moves. I wonder...

Tony Hawk on Dreamcast is a conversion of the Playstation game released last year to great fan acclaim and critical acclaim. In fact it was even voted game of the year. Somewhere. Like any PSX game that does well, it has been ported and ported until now our mightily Dreamcast consoles get to strut their stuff on the catwalk or should that be halfpipe? Despite being a conversion, it rocks and manages to look pretty good just the way it is without any DC enhancements. Apart from the rock solid frame rate and crisp visuals.

Nine courses or areas are available (after you unlock them) to skateboard in and each of these has plenty of opportunities to offer the average gamer. Ramps and half pipes provide the space to perform aerial moves and walls/tables/curbs/fences provides the space to grind. There are loads of other tricks as well, but most of them resolve around grinds/ollies or ramps and using combos with these.

In singleplayer you earn videotapes which unlock the next area. You get these for beating a score, finding five things in a level and 'interacting' with them or by finding all the letters of the word s-k-a-t-e. In the world of the skateboarder, videotapes re more precious than money. Porno shops do a great trade... There is also a hidden tape on each level although pay attention to the game for some tips on finding them...

Performing tricks is the way to get points. You can perform an incredible range of moves by pressing buttons and moving the analogue stick although to rac
k up the high scores you need to do combos. In the air. Without falling. A grind looks nice but a grind after a Japan Air followed by a Impossible Switch is much better for your score.

The control system is super smooth allowing you to reach all the required buttons easily and quickly in the heat of a session. In fact after a few days of play you can perform moves that blow you away. A friend of mine can do moves that look impossible yet he manages to land every one perfectly. Landing tricks is always an issue and this slightly lets the game down. Most of the time when you land off a ramp you fall (and bleed). Sometimes you land and do not fall, even though in real life you would be a smudge on the pavement. Its a small niggle and doesn't really take away from the enjoyment.

A bigger problem is the fact that your skater can go into a grind at 90 degrees and stop dead goings forwards and then go side ways without any attempt to account for inertia. In a game that penalises you so much for falls and the slightest turn to many... this blatant breach of the laws of physics grates with me.

There are loads of characters to choose from, each brings along their signature moves and boards and everything is smoothly animated and looks in place with the backgrounds. Each one of these characters is a real world skater in their own right and you can see them in the intro video in real life. They all have advantages and disadvantages in speed, jumping and maneuverability and you must offset them with a board or with your playing style to get the best out of it. The depth of the game is immense

A two player mode is included. Well modes would be a better way to put it because you can compete by score over a whole level or score on a specific part or in the best one, Graffiti, where you can tag an object by tricking on it. If player 2 comes along and does a better trick, you lose the tag and they get it. Mad.

This gam
e is brilliant and doesn't suffer at all for being a year old. Despite the depth, you get little incentive to replay the challenge mode with every character because nothing changes. It is still a superb game and will keep you occupied until the sequel comes out.