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Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix

Platform(s): PSP
Genre: Action
Publisher: Activision

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PSP Review - 'Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix'

by Chad on April 24, 2005 @ 1:34 a.m. PDT

Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix takes players on an all new skating blitzkrieg where they embark on the ultimate road trip from Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 in addition to wreaking havoc in four never-before-seen city-levels – Las Vegas, Atlanta, Kyoto and Santa Cruz -- that feature original goals, level changing events and unlockable characters. For the first time, players can live the Tony Hawk console gaming experience on a handheld device as they join either Tony Hawk or Bam Margera on a World Destruction Tour where they nail insane tricks with lightning speed or slow motion focus control, pull off mischievous pranks, and conquer sick terrain through 13 single-player levels, or face off against up to three friends in 10 wireless multiplayer games.

Genre: Extreme Sports
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Shaba Games
Release Date: March 15, 2005

Buy 'TONY HAWK'S UNDERGROUND 2 REMIX': PSP

Sony had 24 titles for the PSP available at launch. That's more than some people have in their entire game collections for one console, let alone a handheld. So no one really blames you if on launch day, you were like a kid in a candy shop, eyes wide due to all of the choices laid before you. After laying down the green for the handheld itself, you likely had enough for one or two games, but which ones? They're all so pretty and shiny! Oh, oh, oh! This one! Yeah! ...ahem, anyway, chances are that you barely scratched the surface of the launch title lineup.

If you didn't pick it up on launch day, Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix is worth your attention now that your cash reserves have had a chance to recover. THUG 2 Remix is a port of the game of the same name (sans the "Remix") currently available on consoles. For the uninitiated, the Tony Hawk series has always been about pulling off skateboard tricks in exotic urban locales while completing certain goals in order to advance. THUG 2 Remix doesn't try to fix anything that isn't broken, so those expecting a radical change in gameplay will be disappointed.

THUG 2 Remix controls almost exactly like it did on the PS2. There are separate buttons for ollies, grab tricks, flip tricks, and grinds. The left and right should boulders will allow you to hop off your board and run around on foot (which allows you to climb ladders and hang on ledges in order to reach new areas) and switch your stance, respectively. Even to newcomers, the controls are very fluid. You can really keep a string of tricks going for a long time because almost every type of trick allows for some sort of tweaking in the middle of it, making scores in the six-figure range and beyond satisfyingly accessible.

Believe it or not, THUG 2 Remix does have a story behind it. In a nutshell, you're a rookie skateboarder who's been recruited by skating legend Tony Hawk and bad boy Bam Margera to take part in the World Destruction Tour. Don't expect a lot of plot twists and character development, but there are cut scenes that have some pretty hilarious stuff in them. In the story mode, your level goals center around breaking stuff, breaking high scores, and finding local "celebrities" (the jury's still out on whether Surfer Dude counts as a celebrity), among other things. In addition to the goals you yourself have to accomplish, there are separate objectives for your pro skater partner (who you select prior to beginning each level), the celebrity skater, and a secret skater. Needless to say, you'll be spending a lot of time in each of the levels on your World Destruction Tour.

Miss the old days of Tony Hawk? Classic mode is for you, then. Whereas story mode doesn't limit the amount of time you have in a level, allowing for exploring and experimentation, classic mode only allows for two minute runs. Goals differ as well: while high score challenges are still present, new objectives include collecting letters to spell out SKATE, doing a trick on a particular ramp or rail, and finding the level's secret tape. Classic mode would be great for short bursts of gaming when you have free time, but THUG 2 Remix takes its time booting up, with different title screens and mildly irritating load times.

I'm happy to say that THUG 2 Remix looks very similar to its console cousins, which is to say it looks great. Level designs are unique and colorful, not to mention large. Character models are fairly well animated and have a decent amount of detail. There are some very minor changes in the form of textures that are a little blurry by comparison and some of the thinner objects in the levels are 2D, but if these were the sacrifices that had to be made in order to keep the framerate as smooth as it is, I call it a fair trade.

The sound seems to not have changed very much from any of the other Tony Hawk games. Every rail grind, ollie, wipeout, etc., sounds the same for all the characters, and while nothing sounds bad, nothing really stands out, either. There are plenty of licensed songs for your skating pleasure, though: they threw everything from The Distillers to Frank Sinatra in here, so you're bound to find something you like. The play list can be edited to your liking, so if you only want to hear Ring of Fire and Rapper's Delight, then more power to you.

THUG 2 Remix offers wireless multiplayer for up to four people over an ad hoc network, but not over the internet. Personally, I've never felt that the Tony Hawk series had the best multiplayer. Trick Attack, Graffiti, and H.O.R.S.E. are all right, but just ask yourselves how much you really want to play King of the Hill and Capture the Flag on skateboards before getting together with your friends to do so.

Not satisfied with the game's roster of professional skaters? Do you find the selection of logos for your board, graffiti tag, and clothes underwhelming? Think you have a better idea for a level goal than Neversoft does? Well, THUG 2 Remix can help you out in all of these areas. Create-a-player allows you to choose everything from size and shape of your character's head, to what type of timepiece they sport. In addition, you can map your face onto your created character with the help of a digital camera and the Memory Stick Duo, assuming you want to make all the faceplants and wipeouts that much more personal, of course. Create-a-graphic allows you to personalize your own graphic to use on your board deck, clothes, or graffiti tags. Create-a-goal puts you in the game designer's chair as you take any of the game's levels and fill them with your own goals. These goals can then be traded between PSPs via WiFi.

Whether or not you should buy THUG 2 Remix all depends on whether you've played it in a less-remixed version on a console. If you have, and you're okay with paying for the same game, albeit in portable form with four additional levels, go ahead. For everyone else, I highly recommend Tony Hawk Underground 2 Remix for all of your on-the-go, authority-defying needs.

Score 8.1/10


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