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Tony Hawk's American Wasteland PS2 Neversoft/Activision  Tony Hawk's coffers will no doubt get another shot in the arm from the latest instalment in his 'Pro Skater' series, 'Tony Hawk's American Wasteland' (abbreviated as 'THAW'). Following the free-roaming style of the Under Ground games, 'THAW' puts the player in the role of a rookie, out from the sticks to make his name (yes, 'his' name: once again there are no female options) in big, bad Los Angeles. The Unnamed Skater starts with a paltry bag of tricks and is soon taught new moves as the game continues. The ultimate goal is to help your new friends to build a gigantic skatepark by picking up a huge range of trickable objects by fair means and foul. Of course, there are many obstacles in your way: stealing a huge dinosaur head isn't as easy as it sounds. While the 'Hawk's' franchise has always been thoroughly enjoyable, 'THAW' shows that Neversoft are veering scarily close to dead horse flogging. The missions are getting tiresome, the characters are unlikable brats and the game itself is far too short; in a few mere days of playing I had already completed the story mode and classic mode on all difficulty levels. The big selling point that's being pushed for 'THAW' is the absence of loading time. The game claims to have 'one massive streaming world'. This is not technically true as the world is split into several different areas, connected by tunnels. And to be honest, the worlds are not that big. It is true, however, that loading time is minimal and it's definitely more enjoyable skating through a trickable tunnel than it is watching a loading screen. One of the great features of the Hawk's franchise in the past has been the inclusion of some truly great songs on the soundtrack and 'THAW' is no exception. While there are the requisite fashionable emo and 'punk' bands and hip-hop acts, there is also a good range of other styles of music, including Frank Black's Los Angeles, Motley Crue's Live Wire and, my personal favourite, Oingo Boingo's Who Do You Want To Be Today?, all of which are superb to skate to. The game is very smooth and the addition of new tricks make for some almost-too-incredible lines and combos. There are few bugs and the character design is fairly steady. 'THAW' basically delivers the game we know and love and makes just the right amount of tweaks to keep the fans happy but there's still the inescapable feeling that maybe Neversoft need to sit back, relax and approach the franchise with fresh eyes.  |
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