Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 Platinum

In Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, players were introduced to the manual--a move that greatly revolutionisd the series' gameplay. This instalment introduces the revert, and while it isn't as significant an addition as the manual, it does add another layer to the already deep trick system. The game features solid graphics but a level of detail was sacrificed in order to make the game's levels so large. There are a few moments of frame skipping and polygon clipping, but these instances are rare and don't overshadow the stellar gameplay.

Career mode is as deep as ever, with eight objective-filled levels. In this single-player mode players traverse their way through some" find hidden videotapes and interact with level-specific objects. Two players can participate in the five multiplayer mini-games, which include "king of the hill", "horse" and "trick attack". In a PS2 first, up to four players can join Internet or LAN games through the use of the PS2 Network Adapter (to be released in the UK after the game) or a USB Ethernet adapter or USB modem; the connection is made through your own Internet service provider ("a wide range" of ISPs are supported, though at time of writing AOL isn't one of them) so calls are charged at your usual rate.

On its own, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 is a top-shelf title, but with its Internet capabilities there's no reason for fans of sports, action and platform games not to have this title. This game will satisfy them all. --Raymond M Padilla

FEATURES

--First PS2 Tony Hawk Game
--13 Big Name Skaters (Plus several to unlock)
--9 Expansive Stages (Plus several to unlock)
--Brand New Moves Unique to THPS3
--All New ''Revert'' Move To Increase Combos
--Brand New ''Point'' System to Increase Stats
--Create-A-Skater Mode
--Advanced Skate Park Editor
--2-Player Split Screen Mode
--Online Play
--Replay Save Feature

HOW TO PLAY

Just in case you haven't played either of the past Tony Hawk games on the PSone (AKA Living under a rock), here's what you do. In each stage, you are given two minutes to score as many points as you possibly can. To do this, you'll need to perform lots of tricks, and to link them into combos. There are ''Vert'' tricks (fly off the ramp and perform grab/kick maneuvers), ''Grind'' tricks (ollie onto a rail or an edge and grind it with your skateboard), ''Lip'' tricks (grab onto the lip of a ramp and perform a trick), and ''Manuals'' (balance on your skateboard with one set of wheels). To link all these together, you'll need to perform them one after the other. The Manual can be used to link street tricks, and the all new ''Revert'' move to try and link vert tricks. It's really hard to describe, but a step-by-step tutorial in the game is included that takes you through all the basics.

In the Career Mode, you have to complete several level-related goals in order to advance to the next level. Some of these goals include grinding on a giant bucket suspended high in the air, getting someone's tongue ''unstuck'' from a frozen pole, and restoring power to a satellite dish. These goals are simply fun to pull off, which only adds to the greatness of the interactive levels.

REVIEW

To start with, the levels are HUMUNGOUS! They are absolutely HUGE! Not to mention BIG! There is so much that you can do in each level, and many places where you can pull off some incredible combos. Plus, each of these levels have insane levels of interactivity. Unlike the past games, there are plenty of people that roam the streets. If you're not careful, you could run into them and bail. And they just don't stand idly by, either. They'll praise you if you pull off some insane trick, or taunt you if you mess up. (Stop teasing me, gorgeous super model! I'll do better!) Plus, each stage contains goals and obstacles that are unique to that level, just like the previous incarnations. The Los Angeles area, for example, has four rails to grind. If you hit these four specific rails, you'll trigger an earthquake, accessing brand new areas to skate. The Suburbia area, assuming you can complete the goal, has a very ''interesting'' haunted section, that is, if you can find it.

For those who are into the big named skaters, there are 13 of them to start you off with. Bob Burneqest (forgive the spelling) couldn't make it into this edition, but that didn't stop Tony Hawk, Steve Caballero, Kareen Campbell, Rune Gilfberg, Eric Koston, Bucky Lasek, Bam Magera, Rodney Mullen, Chad Muska, Andrew Reynolds, Geoff Rowley, Elissa Steamer, and Jamie Thomas from rolling in. Don't like these guys (and gal)? Well, you can create your own skater, using the Create-A-Skater feature. Let me tell you, this thing is amazing. You can customize your skater from the nose on his face to the socks on his feet. Very good stuff, and much more advanced than THPS2.

You can also create your own Skate Park once again, using the Skate Park Editor. I haven't messed around with this feature much, but now you can create the park of your dreams! I'd suggest browsing the 60 or so pre-made parks first to get a general idea of what you want to make.

The PS2 version also has the inclusion of online play. I'm sure that it's a very nice feature, but due to the lack of PS2 modem, I can't comment much on it. Oh well, didn't buy the PS2 to get online anyway.

All this, coupled with the fluid game controls and gameplay mechanics, net this game a 10/10 for the presentation alone! I can't get enough of this game!

The graphics are some of the best I've seen on the PS2. The visuals have been drastically upgraded from the last THPS, and have definitely taken advantage of the PS2 hardware. The levels are incredibly detailed, and the skaters themselves look incredibly realistic then skating. (Their knees move!) Due to such a drastic improvement, I'll ignore the jaggies that pop up every now and then. 10/10.

The music, once again, is a soundtrack taken from what's hot today. Motorhead starts things off with it's title track ''Ace of Spades'', and it goes on from there. X-Zibit, Gorillaz, and The Ramones also make appearances, among others. I'll give the music 9/10, but only because some of the songs sound very ridiculous. (You gotta wash your @$$, if you must...)

OVERALL

What can I say, it's Tony Hawk. Ergo, it's incredible. I didn't even buy into the hype until September 2001 when I bought Tony Hawk 2 for the PSone. Now, I'm never looking back


Overall, very good   September 22, 2002
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I liked this game. The tutorial is very helpful, and it takes roughly half an hour to an hour to get used to the controls which isn't bad. Plenty of moves on store, although the better ones are very hard to pull off. Good graphics and detailed levels but having to go back on the same levels to complete missions does make it a bit tedious. Sound wise, there are 20 excellent tracks, ranging from new wave punk (AFI, Pennywise, Guttermouth) to old-school punk (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ramones, Henry Rollins) to nu metal (Alien Ant Farm, Mad Capsule Markets) to rap (Redman, Xzibit)...


excellent.   August 30, 2002
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

this is an excellent game, and easily one of the best out on the playstation. The latest instalment in probably the most popular series of alternative sports games, pro skater 3 sees the hawk returning in as much glory as he had when he first came on the scene all those years ago. Tony Hawk's 3 has all the good qualities of the previous games plus some added ones, notably the ability to revert tricks and continue combos to an almost endless degree. The create-a-skater and skate park designer are easy to use andoffer a huge range of options, whether changing Bam Margera's hat or designing a whole new park.The graphics have never been better, and there is no shaking of distant objects (one of the problems of the original game). The skaters are smoothly animated, and trick combos flow effortlessly into each other. Novelty skaters make appearances in this ghame, following the trend in the series, with some memorable characters and their unique special tricks to boot. All in all, this is the best skating game one can ever come across, and one of the best playstation 2 games out there. A must have for any playstation 2 owner.