Skating is about evolution and adaptation. A trick is built upon and takes new forms. The McTwist becomes the 900. Someone does a 360 flip to a grind, and another skater does the trick down a flight of stairs. It's about community – in spiring others and learning from them. Skateboarding is also a survivor. Its popularity may wane and cities may enact anti-skating ordinances, but it just re-emerges even stronger.
The Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series hasn't been the only game to represent the sport, but the brand has become synonymous with skateboarding video games through its long and eventful career. Skaters have used it for inspiration; transforming the fantastical on TV screens into amazing feats in reality. Now, after 13 years of detours and hibernation, the series is reaffirming its commitment to the gameplay essence that started it all.
This article first appeared in the June issue of Game Informer (#266).
Back In Control
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 isn't a remake or a reboot. It is a full-priced new entry in the series that philosophically pretends Tony Hawk's Underground and the subsequent games never existed. Developer Robomodo (who handled 2012's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD) and Disruptive Games want to pull the series back to a period in its lineage before some fans felt it lost its way; when Jackass-style tomfoolery and a sprawling feature set took over. Pro Skater 5 won't let you get off your board or skitch onto cars, and level objectives aren't story-based. At the same time, this isn't just Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD with new levels. Tweaks to the familiar gameplay, modern online integration, and a full create-a-park playground make THPS 5 both a return to form and a potential step forward for the franchise.
The first Tony Hawk captured gamers' imaginations back in 1999 not because they specifically craved a skateboarding title, but because the gameplay was challenging, flexible, and responsive. THPS 5 does not alter it in any meaningful way, but instead adds a couple of wrinkles that slightly alter how you approach your runs. Tony Hawk says the team never considered using a new control scheme for the game. "No, then it wouldn't be THPS," he says. "If we were really doing a whole new control scheme, then I feel like we'd be doing a disservice to the true fans of the franchise."
The same button still initiates grinds (at this time tricks can't be re-mapped to different buttons), but if you hold it down your skater slams down to initiate the grind. This gives you great control in starting your grind, so instead of floating up and landing in the middle of a rail or even overshooting it, you could start your grind earlier and use the majority of it to complete your moves. It's not a gimme, however, as you've got to master the timing. It doesn't automatically attach you to the rail.
Your special meter, which allows you to pull off some of the crazy, high-scoring tricks (like a darkslide and christ air) still fills up as you perform tricks, but it is initiated by the player hitting the left bumper. This allows you to bank it and use it when the time is right instead of having it kick in automatically when you may be stranded in-between runs.
We played an early build of the game and found the gameplay changes right at home with the familiar trick structure. The grind slam felt natural, like an exclamation point at the end of your control input. Tricks flowed from ramps to rails just like they always have, and already the game feels tighter than Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD, which could feel floaty. Producer Dino Verano admits that Pro Skater HD didn't fully capture the feel of Tony Hawk, saying it was "a little diluted."