Game's Influence

A few days ago, I bought Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground for the Wii, And recently I got my hands on Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground for the DS. The PS3/Xbox 360 versions were developed by Neversoft, The PS2/Wii versions were developed by Page 44 Studios. The DS version was, once again, Developed by Vicarious Visions.

I’ve seen the PS3/Xbox 360 version of the game, and the graphics are amazing, and gameplay is on par with previous titles in the series. before buying the wee version or the PS2 version it’s worth noting at the east to versions do not have the online features on the The PS3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo DS, despite the fact the GameStop has listed otherwise. I have called GameStop, and inform them of this mistake, and the Wii listing has been corrected, but so far at the PS2 listing is has not been changed. this lack of online capabilities is probably due to the fact that the game was not developed by Activision, Page 44 Studios is probably not familiar with the protocol involving Activision’s servers. The Wii, PS2, and Nintendo DS also does not feature the Create-a-Park and Video Editor featured in the PS3/Xbox 360 versions.

When the Wii didn’t see Tony Hawk Project 8, instead giving giving us the kiddy Downhill Jam, I was pretty crushed. if you don’t know Donnell jam was more of an SSX style game, which dropped the open environment type of game four a more rigid gameplay style. is pretty glad to see a true Tony Hawk game come to the Wii.

I’ve got several e-mails requesting to know how the controls are part of the game, so here they are. For controls for the Wii Version, To perform the Grab Trick press the Z button in combination with any direction on the control stick. To perform the Flip Trick press the C button in combination with any direction on the control stick. To perform the Grind Trick press the B button in combination with any direction on the control stick, including the idle state as always. Now to the motion sensing; motion sensing controls are used to enter Focus Mode, for the Aggro, Spine Transfers, Agroo Skitch Boosts, Flatland Tracks, Acid Drops/Bank Drafts,Grind/Lip/Stalls/Notas Branching, Nail-A-Trick, and Nail-A-Grab.

I really don’t feel that Page 44 Studios created the controls as best they could, I don’t consider them tacked on, but they don’t seem perfect. Subtle movements are not always pick up. As always, the game is full of glitches.

Below is one of the glitches that I found, where when looking behind the layer that shadows a tree the characters hair and other accessories become invisible. In addition to this cosmetic glitches, many other glitches involving the character are present. Many times when the character bails, portions of his body appear to go through the ground. Often when the characters standing on a small object or a corner of an object whose body itself appears to be standing on the flat object whereas environment only contacts 1 foot.

The most innovative version of the game, is the DS version. the DS version dropped the previous Toon-shading from Tony Hawk’s American Sk8land and Downhill Jam, instead using graphics similar to the console equivalent. Below is a quick preview of the game.

The DS version seems quite developed, in addition to the levels mirroring quite well the console versions. The game also features a large soundtrack and unlockable videos. Below is a listing of the soundtrack and a preview of one of the videos.

        

Surprisingly there was no PSP version of the game release, but you might expect a remix version like we saw for Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 Remix.

So who do I suggest Getting the console version of the game? And who do I suggest not getting console version of the game? Will you have to look at the franchise itself. Over the years, the Tony Hawk franchise has become less innovated from the previous year, franchise seems to be adding less new abilities to upcoming titles. Don’t get me wrong, I personally liked the game, but the franchise seems to be getting kind of stale. Personally I believe the franchise would better be suited for a two-year release cycle, rather than one every year. In terms of game play Proving Ground seems pretty similar to Under Ground. Little has been added to the series. For those of you who have bought a Tony Hawk game, not including Downhill Jam, and did not enjoy playing it, the Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground game does not offer many more features that could change you’re mind. For those of you who have played at Tony Hawk game in the past and want more, could like this game. for those of you who have never played a Tony Hawk game, I don’t know what to tell you; you could like it or you could hate it.

I believe the shining diamond of the Tony Hawk franchise this year was the DS version. The Nintendo DS version packs quite a punch, with big levels, nice controls, great graphics, and online gameplay. For those of you who have played a tony on franchise and liked it, would love the game. For those of you who have bought into it and didn’t like American Sk8land or Downhill Jam, this game offers a lot more than the previous titles, so you may like this game. For those of you would’ve never played a Tony Hawk game on the DS may like it or maybe just think it’s okay, I don’t think that you would hate it.