Yet another version of THPS (Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2 (GBA))

Member Name: Stalin

Product:	Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2 (GBA)
Date:	08/09/01 (58 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Superb, addictive gameplay, Fantastic graphics, Detailed levels

Disadvantages: View point and controls a little strange, No multiplayer, Very similar to other versions

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (henceforth known as THPS 2) is more than just the first playable and enjoyable skateboarding game (and even, possibly, the first skateboarding game ever). It has also popularised the sport in this country, to the point where you can no longer walk down the south bank without coming across countless teenagers breaking their bones in their failed attempts to pop-shove it and 50-50 the stair rail. It is no surprise, then, that a sequel is on its way in a matter of months. But we are not quite done with this version yet, as after having been released on every other platform you may care to mention, we now have a Gameboy Advance version.

I was, to say the least, apprehensive about this release. Having played the PC version to death, I was unsure as to whether I would find anything new here. This fear was worsened when I discovered that the game would be a near-straight conversion of the PC version. I was also concerned that the GBA hardware would not be able to replicate the true THPS experience in all the speed and style that we had seen before. I am pleased to find, however, that I have been proved (at least partially) wrong.

A NEW OUTLOOK

The first thing you will notice when you enter the game is the graphics, which are easily the best I have seen on the GBA. Unlike THPS for the Gameboy Color, this version is played out in full 3D. Well, it is really pseudo-3D, since the action is viewed from a fixed isometric perspective. Even this, however, is impressive, with detailed objects scattered throughout the levels and the skaters themselves being even better, being real polygonal models with a full range of smooth animations on offer, with everything from simple flips to mega-combos being well represented. I nice touch is the way the camera zooms in whenever you do a particularly funky trick.

At first, the new view is highly disorientating, particularly to those who played the PC / console versions and are
used to the behind skater cam. Because the view doesn't rotate, your skater can be moving away, toward or around the camera, making it difficult at first to move in the correct direction. This affect is worsened by the difficultly involved in judging distances between objects, particularly air-borne or aboveground ones. There is no real sense of depth, and although shadows can help you work out where things are, it is not as easy as it should be. When you start, you will be hard pushed to land any vert trick, particularly in a pipe, and getting up to the higher areas of a level is near impossible.

But, like anything, you will get used to it. I have been playing for a couple of weeks now, and I am now fairly comfortable with it. I do feel, however, that no matter how much you play, it will never feel quite like the true 3D view. For one, you simply cannot see enough of the level at once, making it more difficult to plan tricks and combos in advance. It is also still difficult to keep going a perfectly straight line, essential for any short quarter-pipe.

CONTROL FREAKY

The controls are essentially the same as other versions. You have a button to ollie (jump) one to do flips, one to do grabs and one to grind. In order to pull off tricks, you need to ollie, and then hold down one of the trick buttons whilst spinning with the D-pad. Because of the lack of buttons on the GBA, two of these actions have been assigned to the shoulder buttons. This means that you often have to hold down a shoulder button whilst doing complicated button pushes on the D-pad. This feels a bit like rubbing your tummy and patting your head. Again, however, you will get used to it.

A slightly more worrying control aspect is trying to balance in grinds / manuals. Although a bar appears on-screen showing your balance, it is at best tiny. If you play in darker conditions, it would be near invisible. Another annoyance I found was the sensitivity of the D-Pad, mak
ing it very difficult to make fine adjustments to your direction. This may just be me, however, since I am used to playing with a stick, which provides more control.

ALL THE TONYS, MAKIN' MONEY

The core game mode is career, in which you take control of one of the many skaters on offer and complete certain objectives on each level to open up new levels. You also earn money for this, which can then be spent improving your stats or buying new tricks. There are also two competitions, where you compete directly against other skaters to rack up the highest score. Basically, it is the same as we have seen in other versions.

And all the skaters are the same as in other versions. The differences between them are their initial stats (although eventually you will max out their stats anyway, so that's not really important) and their tricks. This is the first of my major gripes. You cannot edit your skater's tricks. You can buy new specials, but you cannot touch anything else. I suppose this was done because of the limited space the cartridge has for saving game data. This has two repercussions. First, you cannot customize your skater as much as you should, and second you cannot even see what tricks you can do, meaning that you have to experiment to find them out.

As if you needed telling, the levels have been ported from other versions as well. Not all, however, are here. This is understandable, given the size of the levels that are present. We have Hanger, School II, Marseille, Warehouse, New York and Plywood Paradise. These levels have received some tweaks to make them work on the handheld, but most of the objectives are the same. Surprisingly, most of the secret areas are included, although some are in slightly different places. On the whole though, you will immediately feel like you know your way around.

I feel that if one area of the game deserved a revamp, it would be the levels. It's not that they are bad - far
from it. It's just that they don't work terribly well when played through the isometric view. Take School II. It has a lot of height to it, with various buildings that you need to jump to and between, not to mention big drops between different parts of the level. As I have already stated, the isometric view makes this tough.

SUNDRIES

In addition to career mode, there is also single session, where you skate a level for 2 minutes to try to get a high score, and free skate, where there is no time limit and you can practise your tricks. Missing is the create a skater feature (which I'm not bothered about, as I feel it is a bit gimmicky) and, obviously, the level editor. Whilst both of these omissions are excusable, the one that isn't is multiplayer. Playing against another player in THPS 2 is simply bliss, because not only do you have the usual satisfaction of pulling off a great move, you also have the satisfaction of beating your mate (and who would pass up an opportunity to laugh in their face?) why this isn't included is a mystery to me, since I wouldn't have thought it would put much extra strain on the system.

My overall impression of this game is a good one. There is no doubt that it has successfully brought the Tony Hawk experience to the handheld. Despite the odd irritation, the core gameplay is just as it should be. I feel that I am a THPS veteran, and I still found this version fun, even though I have played other versions a lot, so you shouldn't let past experience put you off. And if you have never played any THPS before, well? just kiss your social life goodbye.

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