Tony Hawk American Sk8land Review
Tony Hawks American Sk8land
Tony Hawks American Sk8land is the portable equivalent to the groundbreaking skate series on the consoles, is this the end of the 3rd party game curse the ds seems to have?
Let us start with the basics. It is another skating instalment from the amazing Tony Hawks series, DS’s 2nd online game, full 3D cell shaded graphics and fully customizable characters & boards.
From the moment you start, you can tell that the producers of this game crammed as much as they could on the tiny ds card. Fully 3D models throughout, cut scenes and even real voice acting from all the pros. Not only did they stretch what you can fit onto a ds card they stretched the small budget 3rd party companies seem to get for the ds.
A great thing about this game is the simple fact that it is portable because Tony hawks games are perfect for a portable console, whenever you feel the urge to have a quick 2-minute run you can just pick up and play. The game also brings back the feel of the original pro skater games because the game is purely skating they did not try any stupid gimmicks which just never felt right on the console.
The game plays like a dream with the same simple control system of the console versions and added simplicity with the great touch screen. In which it can be used to access difficult combos, it is used to switch the game into slow-mo when you have nailed a set of tricks and if that was not enough it’s a map of the course. Another ds feature is the microphone that you can record a voice clip for bails and special tricks. You can record anything.
There is a character design feature which to be honest is way too basic. That takes nothing away from the awesome story mode which will take your skater and attempt to renovate an old skate park. Which just so happens to be Tony hawks old favourite place to skate. At the start of each level you will be put in one of the many task filled skating areas placed around Los Angeles. On completion of the tasks, you earn money which you can spend on cool ramps, rails etc for your skate park.
In single-player, you can also take on the appropriately named classic mode. This is like story mode but instead of having to ask for tasks to do you just get given a list and have to complete as many as you can in 2 minutes Pickupandplayability at its best. Alternatively, you can use the two minutes too rack up the highest score you can and post it on the net, which brings me to my next section.
Wi-Fi connection easily beats Mario Karts simple attempts (though still a good attempt). With loads, more features that go beyond simple vs. mode by bringing you downloadable missions that get updated regularly so there is always a new task to do. An online scoreboard that lets you show your best scores to the world (includes replays). Download and upload artwork that you can put on your deck and put on the website. This is a sign for things to come, and I cannot wait!
Now, with every game, there are some bad points and this game is no exception. They are as follows, the games easily finished 1-player mode and if you do not have a wifi hot spot, you will get bored quickly. This game used almost every feature on the ds except the download play that is a huge miss. The online score challenge has been devalued by the ability to just repeat the same set of moves over and over again. You know who you are!!!!!! If you have a score of more than 500,000,000 the chances are it was achieved this way. I managed over 900,000,000 in 5 minutes with this method and it meant nothing to me.
Conclusion
Graphics: 90% A 3D that works on the ds is cell shading and this game is the proof
Sound: 90% The sound on this is a big winner with a great soundtrack in my opinion but it is all rock so people with different tastes may dislike it. All the pros have lent their voices to the game a great addition.
Controls: 90% amazing the d-pad gives you a more responsive feel to the game and the DS’s button layout is perfect.
Lasting appeal: 90% if you have Wi-Fi this game could last forever .
Overall: 93%
A must have for fans or newbie’s to the series.
Tony Hawks American Sk8land is the portable equivalent to the groundbreaking skate series on the consoles, is this the end of the 3rd party game curse the ds seems to have?
Let us start with the basics. It is another skating instalment from the amazing Tony Hawks series, DS’s 2nd online game, full 3D cell shaded graphics and fully customizable characters & boards.
From the moment you start, you can tell that the producers of this game crammed as much as they could on the tiny ds card. Fully 3D models throughout, cut scenes and even real voice acting from all the pros. Not only did they stretch what you can fit onto a ds card they stretched the small budget 3rd party companies seem to get for the ds.
A great thing about this game is the simple fact that it is portable because Tony hawks games are perfect for a portable console, whenever you feel the urge to have a quick 2-minute run you can just pick up and play. The game also brings back the feel of the original pro skater games because the game is purely skating they did not try any stupid gimmicks which just never felt right on the console.
The game plays like a dream with the same simple control system of the console versions and added simplicity with the great touch screen. In which it can be used to access difficult combos, it is used to switch the game into slow-mo when you have nailed a set of tricks and if that was not enough it’s a map of the course. Another ds feature is the microphone that you can record a voice clip for bails and special tricks. You can record anything.
There is a character design feature which to be honest is way too basic. That takes nothing away from the awesome story mode which will take your skater and attempt to renovate an old skate park. Which just so happens to be Tony hawks old favourite place to skate. At the start of each level you will be put in one of the many task filled skating areas placed around Los Angeles. On completion of the tasks, you earn money which you can spend on cool ramps, rails etc for your skate park.
In single-player, you can also take on the appropriately named classic mode. This is like story mode but instead of having to ask for tasks to do you just get given a list and have to complete as many as you can in 2 minutes Pickupandplayability at its best. Alternatively, you can use the two minutes too rack up the highest score you can and post it on the net, which brings me to my next section.
Wi-Fi connection easily beats Mario Karts simple attempts (though still a good attempt). With loads, more features that go beyond simple vs. mode by bringing you downloadable missions that get updated regularly so there is always a new task to do. An online scoreboard that lets you show your best scores to the world (includes replays). Download and upload artwork that you can put on your deck and put on the website. This is a sign for things to come, and I cannot wait!
Now, with every game, there are some bad points and this game is no exception. They are as follows, the games easily finished 1-player mode and if you do not have a wifi hot spot, you will get bored quickly. This game used almost every feature on the ds except the download play that is a huge miss. The online score challenge has been devalued by the ability to just repeat the same set of moves over and over again. You know who you are!!!!!! If you have a score of more than 500,000,000 the chances are it was achieved this way. I managed over 900,000,000 in 5 minutes with this method and it meant nothing to me.
Conclusion
Graphics: 90% A 3D that works on the ds is cell shading and this game is the proof
Sound: 90% The sound on this is a big winner with a great soundtrack in my opinion but it is all rock so people with different tastes may dislike it. All the pros have lent their voices to the game a great addition.
Controls: 90% amazing the d-pad gives you a more responsive feel to the game and the DS’s button layout is perfect.
Lasting appeal: 90% if you have Wi-Fi this game could last forever .
Overall: 93%
A must have for fans or newbie’s to the series.
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