Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 Review

Gamers have had to wait almost five years for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 to get the same treatment as the first two games did with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2, but now they can hit the streets and parks of those games in all their remastered glory with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 (THPS3+4). Activision and developer Iron Galaxy deserve credit for not releasing the 3 and 4 upgrades as separate games, and for giving the games the full remaster treatment. I’ve played numerous remakes of games from the 90s and aughts recently that barely touch the graphics of the low poly originals, but THPS3+4 looks every bit like other modern games running on the latest console generation. The plus in the game’s title is a bit of a misnomer, though, as you progress through the two halves’ levels separately so it’s more of an “and” thing. You’re free to jump back and forth between the two, though, and most of the game has been integrated into a single package – there isn’t one of those top-level menus that dump you into one game or the other.

You don’t need to be familiar with the original games – or even Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2 for that matter – to jump into THPS3+4. There’s no story – the game is all about the skating – and when you first fire-up the game it will walk you through all of the tricks as part of an extensive tutorial. The tutorial takes place on the level inspired by San Francisco and you can perform the tricks it’s teaching you anywhere you’d like. Once you successfully complete the trick, the game doesn’t just dump you into the next lesson. You’re free to play around as much as you’d like and initiate the next lesson whenever you feel like it, which really helps you to practice the move a little longer to make sure you have the hang of it. My only complaint with the tutorial is that it doesn’t give you feedback when you fail to pull off the trick. The input sequence is displayed on the screen so you’ll know what you should be trying to do, but after a number of failed button taps in a row it would be helpful if the game indicated if you were late or early, too fast or slow, etc. rather than leaving you to keep trying the same sequence over and over again.

The gameplay sequence will be familiar to you if you’ve played a Tony Hawk game before. The levels are presented in a sequence, and to unlock the next you need to complete a requisite number of goals in the current level. You’re free to go back and play any unlocked level at any time, but you can’t jump ahead until you’ve completed the goals on the most recently unlocked level. Part of the challenge is that the levels aren’t open for free-play in the main mode – each run is limited to two minutes – so you’ll need to focus on one or two goals per run. Some of the goals are common across the levels – reach a certain trick score, find and collect the letters to spell S-K-A-T-E, jump the special gaps, etc. – but others are unique to each level. If the pressure is too much for you, you can find your way to a setting that increases the time limit, but you’ll receive a minor admonishment from the game because the whole system was designed for a two-minute time limit.

Working your way through the levels to unlock them all is challenging, but not unfairly so. You don’t need to complete everything to move forward, so you’re free to focus on what you’re best at. The controls are tight and responsive, so you won’t have to fight the game system while trying to complete the tricks necessary to meet the challenges. If you’d rather just skate without any time pressure, the game includes a Free Skate Mode in which you can skate in any level, including those that you haven’t unlocked in Career Mode, without any time limits, goals, or restrictions.

The game includes a large number of pro skaters for you to choose from. They’re more than just skins, though, each has their own style and ratings in a number of different categories. If you don’t find one to suit your style, you can also create a custom skater. There’s a bit of an RPG element to the game in that the more you skate with a particular skater you’ll earn points to apply to their stats and make them better skaters. The wide variety of skaters also helps with the challenges – if a SKATE letter seems just out of reach, try using a skater whose stats allow them to get more air. The skater customization options are quite extensive, with a huge number of articles of clothing available, as well as options for your board – deck, tape, and wheels. There are a large number of challenges in the game – basically Trophy-like achievements that can be accomplished in any park or across sessions – and each one you beat will reward you with more gear to add to your collection.

You’re not limited to the parks included in the game thanks to a powerful park editor that lets you create your own new levels to skate. Even if you’re not skilled in level design you can benefit from this feature since anyone can design a park and then upload it to the game servers to make it available to all. Players can upvote their favorite parks, so it’s easy to find some of the best designs to challenge your skills.

The game also includes multiplayer modes – both local and online with cross-platform support. There are a variety of modes in which you can compete with other gamers that focus on scoring, tricks, or combos, or that are more directly competitive like games of tag. If you’re looking for a little competition, friendly or otherwise, THPS3+4 has got you covered.

I imagine that some gamers who played this pair of Tony Hawk games back in the day may find some nits to pick with it, but for me it’s been so long since I played the originals, I can’t say that I’ve got any of those sorts of complaints. The levels do jog some memories for me, and the modern facelift keeps THPS3+4 from ruining any nostalgic memories for me. If you missed the gamed the first time around, you’ll probably be quite happy with THPS3+4 – there’s a lot to enjoy here and all of the various aspects of the game are well-implemented and come together quite nicely.