Wolverine would so kill Tony and co (Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (PS2))

Member Name: iamasadlittleboy

Product:	Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (PS2)
Date:	17/08/09 (25 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Wolverine, gameplay, fun, music, levels

Disadvantages: It has aged

When people ask me what my favourite games of all time are, I mention Goldeneye, the original Perfect Dark, Streets of Rage II, James Pond 3 and then Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 (THPS3). The game I spent enough time on to totally ace (completed with every character, every stat point, every board and ever goal) and the highlight of the Tony Hawk series before it got a bit silly and seemed to drift about.

The game takes it's name from the most famous of all Skateboarding legends Tony Hawk, the guy who did the first ever 900 in a competitive event and continues the series that started on the previous generation of consoles (THPS 1 and 2 were both on the PS1). Originally the games had relatively simple controls that allowed for a fun but difficult game, as they went on more movies were added which caused the difficulty not to change but the styles of game play to change significantly.
In the second game "manuals" (skateboarding version of the wheelie) was added to allow combinations (or combos) to be much more complex than previous games. With THPS3 they added the revert which allowed yet more complex combinations to be used in the game. A revert is a way of landing in the game and going pretty much into another manual by the way.
In the newer games the player has been able to get off their board and ride cars, and bikes as the games designers almost left the skateboarding to be a secondary idea of the game that just whored out the Tony Hawk name.

Having been a fan since the original game this was one of the 3 games I bought when I first got my console ( along with GTA3 and what ever that years WWF/WWE game was, that turned out to be totally dire sadly). And this quickly became the game to play, especially on multiplayer, though the single player game was still incredibly fun.

Single player saw you taking a skateboarder (including Hawk, the grandfather of flat land board Rodney Mullen and Jackass' very own Bam Margera amongst others) across multiple levels and completing goals to advance to the next level. Goals were based on collecting items (Secret Tape, S-K-A-T-E, level specific items) getting a specified points score, or level specific goals (The earthquake in one level was a memorable one). Each level gave you 2 minutes at a time (as in the previous games) to try and complete as many goals as possible, then if you didn't complete enough you could try again (though the goals you did were still completed). Each level also had stat points on them to allow you to upgrade your character. Also note there were some "competition" levels in which the player wasn't doing normal challenges but were in a skating competition where they had to earn a medal to progress to the next level.

The method behind the game was simple, the controls were logical with the left stick or the D-pad were to control movement, the bottom face button jumped (or Ollied) the top face button did the grinds and the buttons on the left and right did flips and grabs. The shoulder buttons were used to revert and to turn in the air and as a result the game's play ability was the same as it had been (with the added revert) as the other games.

When the player completed all the levels with their character they would unlock that real life skaters video that showed them talking and doing tricks. As well as bail videos (people falling off the boards) being available, which was a nice reward for completing the game, especially Bams which speaks about his CKY videos in a round about way. Other rewards for completion were secret characters (including Darth Maul and Wolverine) and a secret level.

Multiplayer however was a whole new kettle of fish, the multiplayer mode on the previous games was excellent however this was better. Now only was it one of (if not the) first PS2 games to be playable online, it had so many options and such great levels that as a multiplayer game it was addictive, fun and a joy to play. The modes from trick attack (most points wins) to Horse (take it in turns to make a combo, beat the previous score or you get given a letter), Combo Attack and Capture the flag, the game was full of fun. Horse was personally a favourite and a way of calling my sister al sorts of names (she wasn't particularly good at the game).

Additionally the levels were one of the biggest differences between this and the previous games. In the earlier games the levels were quite small and compact on the whole, but with THPS3 some of the levels were sprawling mammoths to explore. Airport for example was a full airport with loads of things to do and find that that made it one of the classic THPS levels, with some perfect lines (routes) to skate from one end of the level to the other tricking on items the whole way. Tokoyo was also a mammoth when the player found the secret area on the level that seemed to double it's size.

The music, which has often been brilliant in Tony Hawk games was stepped up once more with world wide known bands like Red Hot Chilli Peppers (Fight Like a Brave), Motorhead (Ace of spades), The Ramones (Blitzkrieg Bop), Alien Ant Farm (Wish) as well as the lesser known bands like CKY (the excellent "96 Quite Bitter Beings") and Bodyjar (Not the Same). The music suited the game just as well as the levels did.

At the time the game was neigh on perfect, despite the fact it has now aged significantly it's still one of, if not the best Tony Hawk game still it was the series peak and the rest seemed to have been inferior to a game that blessed us with skating perfect. Yes the graphics don't look as good as they could, yes the levels are bigger in the newer games and yes there's more to do in the newer games but they just don't quite feel as good. For those willing to look past the aesthetics and spend a few quid (literally about £4) on a great game, this should be the top of your list if you don't already have it.

Summary: Gaming at it's absolute best