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gamer by nate denver Wasteoid IT WASN'T TOO long ago that skating was "dead" and Tony Hawk was one of the skaters featured in a skate magazine article about pro skaters and their Honda Civics. Now his mansion has been featured on Cribs, he does commercials for Bagel Bites, and he probably drives a Millennium Falcon. Love him or hate him, the Birdman was always a very consistent vert technician. Sure, Jason Jesse and Hosoi had more style, but give Hawk a break – he's a golden boy, which isn't an easy image to maintain in the law-bending, bench-breaking, noise-polluting, injury-inducing world of skateboarding. While he may be considered a bit of a nerd to most skaters, his video game-making skills are undeniable. Tony Hawk's American Wasteland (Activision; PS2, GameCube, Xbox, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance), the seventh installment in the Hawk series, is a fun game and much better than the last version, T.H.U.G. 2. The big selling point being touted – and it's no small detail – is the lack of load times between levels. Once a new level is unlocked, you don't have to wait for the loading bar at the bottom of the screen to slowly move to the right; you can just skate there. If you feel like going to the last level, you can skate to it. The game takes advantage of the no-load-time feature by asking players to travel back and forth between levels to complete challenges and collect money. The basic story line: You play as an up-and-coming skater who has just moved to Los Angeles to make it big. You must prove yourself to the locals and endure some hazing. Before long, local skaters consider you to be official, and they ask you to help build a new mega-skate park. The park-building journey includes busting people out of jail, meeting up with Z-Boy Tony Alva, trading the board in for a bike and doing BMX tricks, feeding a shark, and tons of other stuff. The story makes sense, and while goofy at times, it moves the game along in a fun and entertaining way. You can actually play the entire game on a bike. The controls are consistent with all the other T. Hawk games, which is to say they are excellent. A bunch of old-school tricks are thrown in the mix to keep things well-rounded – standouts include bert slides and Natas slides (mimicking Natas's spin on top of a fire hydrant in the classic skate video Streets of Fire). Special moves, spine and hip transfers, reverts, manuals, and all that junk is in there too. Players can be customized to the max; tattoos, hairdos, clothes, and gear can be changed to fit your needs. For gamers who hate to play alone, the multiplayer and online modes will keep you in good company. The game is supported by Xbox Live and PlayStation 2 Online, and a two-player co-op play enables you to get down with your best gaming friends/enemies. Other game modes include Capture the Flag, Trick Attack, Scavenger Hunt, HORSE, and Create-A-Park. The face-mapping feature enables you to upload your own beautiful image into the game. The music and sound effects are fine, and the voices range from great to funny to harsh. The bum voice sounds so much like Will Ferrell that I'm not sure it isn't Will Ferrell. |
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