I beg to differ with the review. I have the Gamecube version, and I find it's not nearly as good as you make it out to be. Note that I'm making comments on the GCN version, which I assume you are going to buy.
Graphics: 8.0/10.0 The graphics in this game do certainly not deserve a 9.5, especially considering that they are improved from the PS2 version. The textures are of decent quality and resolution, and the character models are well done, but the animation has been reused from Tony Hawk 3. If you've played any of the previous games, you'll easily tire of the animation, which is not bad, but looks somewhat stiff compared to games like SSX 3. The framerate also chugs quite often, especially in open areas, which gets incredibly annoying at times. On a system as powerful as the Gamecube, I'd expect a perfect 60 fps. If games like Metroid Prime can do it, then why can't this?
Sound: 9.0/10 Very decent job on the sound department this time around. The voice acting is decent, nothing to write home about. There is also a huge playlist, but most of the music is so shoddy and washed-out-sounding 80% of the time that I often just turn it off. There are a few good songs, but we need more stuff like Iron Maiden, Rammstein, and all. While I haven't heard all of the songs and haven't gone over the whole playlist, there are definitely more bad songs than good. This has no real relation to musical preference. I know good music when I hear it, whether I like it or not.
*ahem*What I like the most, however, is the sound effects. Nearly everything has been replaced from Tony Hawk 3 and 4, with things sounding much better. The ground sounds grassy when you skate on it, the cobblestones sound cobblestoney when you glide over it, and the rails sound raily when you grind on them. No complaints here. Like I said, the music downs the score for me, but not enough to detract too much from the whole experience, especially when I can play my own music while skating.
Control: 9.5/10Control, like all other Tony Hawks, is spot-on. Everything is incredibly tight feeling, with easy control over flips, plants, grinds, and everything in between. The on-board stuff is simply perfect. However (there's always a "however"), the controls behind the "revolutionary" driving and walking are beyond horrible. There is absolutely no sense of weight with each. Car handling is worse than the worst racing games, and the running feels more like gliding, with your character able to turn on the spot.
Gameplay: 9.0/10This game is undeniably fun. I'll admit that. New this time around is the much-hyped Story mode. In it, you create a character (presumably you), and you work your way from being a no-good skater punk to a full-fledged pro over the course of the storyline. While there are no alternate endings or deep and epic character conflicts, there is enough humour and plot to inspire you to keep going. I never felt like I was playing to get to the next level or to unlock the next trick. While there is a day/night cycle, I will stress that it is
not real-time. Rather, it happens at certain intervals in the plot. The game is also
not like Vice City (complete freedom in a huge city) like many believed, which pissed me off to no end. However, the levels are bigger than ever before, which helps offset this. The goals within these levels are just as original as ever before, with Neversoft's crucial humour laced into ever situation, which makes for a good play experience. The game is also much harder this time around, especially on the highest difficulty level, which is always welcome. There are a few trick expansions this time around, along with the Create-a-Trick, but they aren't all that special.
However, what drags things down this time are the off-board sections. These consist of two things - driving and running. I'll start with driving. Like I said earlier, control of this is horrible, but you get used to it. The driving physics are so horrible that you'd wish you weren't driving in the first place. In other words, it's good for about thirty seconds until you realise how awful it is. As for the running, it's not as bad as the driving. Control issues aside, it allows you to scale ladders, walls, jump around, etc. in a somewhat overly quick and frantic fashion. It adds quite a bit to the game's goals, but you won't be using it much outside of that.
Multiplayer is nothing new. The same basic modes are available as before, along with a new "Firefight" mode, which allows fireball-launching-by-combo gameplay. There's no online play in the Gamecube version, and while split screens can get cramped at times, those gripes don't have much impact on the whole multiplayer component.
Closing Thoughts: This game is a logical and decent expansion on the Tony Hawk franchise. It's fun, humourous, and hard. Multiplayer isn't as fun as it was last time around due to a lack of changes, but it's not bad. The additions of driving and off-boarding should either be removed or improved in the next inevitable release. Framerate could be cleaned up a bit, and the music needs some fine-tuning, but sound effects are spot-on. It's not the longest and most replayable game out there, but it should keep you occupied long enough until the next blockbuster appears.
Final Score: 9.0/10Certainly not the amazing messiah of a game that DarkRockerX claims it to be, but still a decent and worthwhile one.
Gah, first review here...sorry if that's too long. I'll most likely be writing more, so comments are welcome if you want me to improve your experience in the future.
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