Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 (Multi)
By: Activision
IN 1999 Activision turned to the richest man on plywood to create some of the finest sports games for the PlayStation generation. And though the first Tony Hawk efforts proved heaven was a halfpipe, returns were diminishing for a series that's amassed nearly 20 titles under its Carhartt belt.
The most recent – 2015’s Pro Skater 5 – was buggy, bland and ugly, shuttering its developer soon after release. Such a brutal face-plant would finish off lesser series, but the latest sticks the landing.
With skateboarding set to debut at the Tokyo Olympics (though it could be hoverboarding by the time they actually happen), there’s no better time to show today’s wee ‘uns how the greatest generation shredded from our sofas. Stripping back the '99 original and its superior sequel to their essentials, both have been reworked in glorious 4K– though with identical blueprints for pure, uncut nostalgia that proves Tony (who’s in his 50s these days) still has the sweet skills.
Everything that was good about the original blockbusters – from skater and stage rosters to moves and modes – returns along with new tricks, secrets, challenges and online multiplayer. Though with an entire series’ worth of refined moves subsumed into its bones, purists can limit their antics to only those available at the turn of the century – and if their long-term memory isn’t shot, fans will delight at uncovering all the Easter eggs that kept them firing up the PlayStation in between Beavis and Butthead marathons.
If its 700+ challenges aren’t enough, the returning Create-A-Skater and surprisingly in-depth park builder modes will keep you going till rapture, splashing your hard earned in-game cash on threads for your avatar and park assets.
For back-in-the-day thrills, couch-bound multiplayer is still the only way to enjoy a game like Tony Hawk’s, but the march of progress means you can now take your dude or dudette online and fight for leaderboard supremacy.
Even rose-tinted specs can’t hide how dated the original games now look, but with stunning lighting, meticulous detail on the threads and lavish animation, the retooled HD visuals make each filthy alley and grimy garage pop on your flatscreen.
The soundtrack is suitably groaning – much larger than the original two games’ worth – with auditory anger from the likes of Primus, Papa Roach and Rage Against the Machine.
Even though what was once a rebellious pseudo-sport is now a carefully controlled afternoon for middle-class teens, Pro Skater 1+2 musters up the grungy swagger of the PlayStation originals. So fire up the Blink 182 and reawaken your inner skater boi – even if that once baggy Vans hoodie now fits like a surgical glove.
