Tony Hawk sells systems. It's that simple. Not that the GBA needs any help, but Tony Hawk is an awesome game. Actually, it's one of the most flawless games in recent memory. If you haven't played a Tony Hawk game yet, keep in mind that the N64 version of THPS 2 is on the way. Meanwhile, it's already out for every other major system... and it's going to be out for the GBA at launch.

Now, most of you have seen the lone screen shot by now (if you haven't, take a look).

You'll be surprised to know that the graphics aren't the only thing that are translating with such finesse to the GBA. Vicarious Visions is actually porting the gameplay as well.

So, how is this all acomplished on a 2D handheld system? Simple. The "camera" angle is 3rd person instead of over the shoulder and it is fixed at a three quarters perspective. The game looks 3D, and it plays 3D, but all the scenery is prerendered. Every once in a while the ramps and scenery may block your view of the character, but when it does, the scenery becomes transparent.

Now, if you looked at the screenshot for as long as I did before IGN played the game, you probably already figured all of this out. But how are they going to translate the skater from 3D to 2D? You better sit down because... they aren't. The skaters are 300-polygon 3D models (for comparison, Mario's model in Mario 64 was 700 polygons). The model won't have textures, just color shading, but on the small screen, the loss in detail will hardly be visible. That said, with a fully 3D model, every single trick from the 3D versions should slide right into the game with no problem. The IGN crew played the first level from THPS 2 and reported that it's running smooth at 60 frames a second.

The control scheme may be the only point of contention in the entire package. Aiming your skater in the correct direction and perceiving the 3D world correctly from a fixed perspective may take some getting used to. The button assignments are: L = Kick Flips, R = Grinds, B = Jumping , A = Grab moves. This is essentialy the same scheme we're used to, but rotation/nollie button is probably the select button now (it used to be "R").

All in all, the game is shaping up to be as perfect a port as you can get when going from a 3D system to a 2D system with limited 3D abilities. Whether or not it captures the magic of the console version remains to be scene. As PGC's Tony Hawk fanatic, I'll certainly be spending some quality time with this one at E³ to give you direct comparisons between the GBA incarnation and the real thing.