Sorta video game review: Tony Hawk's Project 8

Last weekend we sold a bunch of games (including Guitar Hero 1 and 2 for PS2- in the box) back to Gamers and got $210 for the lot (We have $90 left). I first got Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground for the PS3 – but didn’t like how I couldn’t play as a girl, among other things. So I returned it for Tony Hawk’s Project 8, an earlier game for the PS3 that:

1. lets you play as a girl (although there’s only one girl option out of 5 playable characters) and
2. has slightly easier controls and on screen cues, IMO

I do wish it had online play and the video editing features of Proving Ground, but I don’t honestly think I would use those features that often. The (very helpful) employee at Gamers recommended Skate for the PS3, and I think I will try it in the future. Video reviews of all three games can be found here (click on “watch review”):

• Tony Haw’s Proving Ground
• Tony Hawk’s Project 8
• Skate

The video review above tells you a lot about the game mechanics and what the game looks like, so I’m just going to list a few of my impressions of Tony Hawk’s Project 8. Keep in mind that I am not a “hardcore” (read: very good) gamer.

The first thing that struck me about Project 8 was it is sort of weird, physics wise. When you fall, sometimes you defy all physics, flying into the air and bouncing of the ceiling (if there is one). Later in the game, the reasoning for this becomes apparent – there are goals where you need to crash spectacularly. In the beginning, though, it’s a bit strange. Other controls just don’t work quite as I thought hey should, though I could blame that on me being rusty.

Another thing I noticed fairly quickly was that in game people around you respond to you much more than in previous games. When you’re doing well, they might start praising you (“way to go, man!”) and when you’re not, they’ll let you know. Neat idea, but if I hear that kid say “you should go pro!” one more time I’ll… well, I can’t do anything, can I? Also, if you run into someone, they sometimes start chasing you, and there’s a rear view mirror to let you see yourself as you run away from them. While this isn’t so great while playing (you can’t watch both at the same time very well) it’s fun while watching someone else play. If they catch up to you they’ll beat you up, but it’s not hard to get away from them.

The design of the game is good and bad. Some features of people (like teeth) look weird. But I really like the style of the load screens and other graphics, and I like the way they worked real video footage into the game. Overall, it is a pretty good looking game.

You can complete most of the game in a number of ways. Many of the goals just require point totals to proceed, so you can do what you are good at instead of what the game tells you to do. So, for instance, I can do manual and grind tricks, and my husband can do air and wallplant tricks. Also, there are cheats, so you can enter in a cheat to complete a task if you are really stuck. I always appreciate this in a game. The game does utilize the SIXAXIS tilt control, and for the most part it works pretty well.

There’s no online play, which really didn’t bug me much. What DOES bug me, though, is the poorly implemented 2 player play. I have not found mention of this elsewhere, but for us the the play is super slow and laggy, especially when there is a lot of action. It is NOT what I expected from a current gen gaming system, and by far the biggest disappointment of the game. We also have found we can’t both choose custom characters while playing 2 player. I have a sneaking suspicion this is better implemented on the 360, which also gets online play.

All in all, it’s a fun game, but a bit disappointing. If we didn’t have a store credit, I probably would have waited till it was a little cheaper – it was $45 used. ouch. I can’t get over this annoying feeling that the game was overall more responsive and fun on the PS2, and that makes me sad. :( I’m sort of regretting selling back all our old Tony Hawk PS2 games if only for the 2 player fun, but we can always rebuy them later. (I see they are super cheap on Half.com)