Tony Hawk's Underground
Two years in the making, Neversoft's latest version of Tony is as good as ever.
Published: November 24, 2003
Four years. In a little over four years Neversoft has built the THPS franchise up into an entire skating world, particularly with the release of the latest game in the series. With each successive game, more and more features have been heaped upon the previous bunch of code, each change adding something that now feels like it was there all along. From manuals to reverts to spine transfers and now the ability to get off your board and run, each addition has always felt entirely welcome.
Aside from your skater's repertoire, the biggest changes with each game have been in the environments. At first they simply grew and added more logical places to try out all those new moves with each game, but with THUG, things have blossomed into more than just a set of locations loosely strung together. THUG adds a pervasive storyline and goals that, perhaps more than any game in the past, really reflect some of the trademarks key to each location.
The aforementioned story is the catalyst for nearly everything that takes place in the game. You'll start out as a simple Jersey kid that gets a chance to see Chad Muska get his stake on locally. From there, it's up to you to impress the pro, get sponsored, turn pro yourself and then… well, let's just say there are a few plot twists. It's nothing ground-breaking, but a good three quarters of the way through the game motivations change quite a bit, and it helps keep things entertaining.
The options for customization and upgrading have gotten a pretty significant overhaul and border on the monolithic. Lucky PS2 gamers can either snap a pic of themselves and send it in to Neversoft, who will then convert the image to a file you can download via an online-enabled PS2, or if you have an EyeToy, you can simply take your own picture and import it that way. Even if you don't have a digital camera option, it's probably possible, given enough time, to make a face that comes about as close with the create-a-skater mode. While the usual host of preset options for face and body types are selectable, the real meat of the mode comes in the ability to alter just about everything about most of the body parts' shape, so that nose of yours can keep getting whittled down or flattened out until it's picture perfect. It's damn impressive, and while it's probably more than most gamers need, it's nice to know the option is there for the truly hardcore.
Further adding to the customization options are the ability to create and use your own tricks anywhere in the game. A simple timeline interface allows you to sculpt a couple different moves into one seamless trick and while it takes a little practice to get things to Neversoft-quality smoothness, there is again the option to pull it off should you choose. This coupled with a knowledge for how certain levels are designed can lead to monster trick runs if pulled off properly.
Neversoft has overhauled the stat system in an incredibly fresh way. Rather than picking up icons or gaining stat increases with boards over time, you'll now have to complete objectives in almost mini-goal fashion. They're mostly rudimentary tasks (hold a lip trick for a few seconds, grind for a few sections, etc.), but towards the end some of the tasks (get 60 feet of air, land a 20 trick combo) get downright challenging. It's again a wonderfully imaginative way to build up your stats and with enough dedication, it's possible to get nearly everything up on the first couple levels (the last few objectives are lock until you finally do turn pro).
With all these changes, you'd think things were unbelievably fresh, but for some reason some of the pop and soul that the games seemed to possess in the past don't quite carry through. The level designs are fantastic, the unlockables fun to collect, and the new options for upgrading and progressing though the levels are a breath of fresh air, but it all seems a little stale. Inclusions like driving other vehicles weren't solid enough to feel like anything more than simple tacked-on additions to keep things from being all about skating, which in my opinion is what the games should concentrate on. Luging on a board was fantastic, but hopping into a car that still handles like a board just feels flat.
Perhaps some of this stems from the game engine. While it's undoubtedly the most potent of the five games' iterations, it's still beginning to show its age. Overall texture detail and variety are fantastic, and while some of the levels might not be as big as THPS 4, they more than make up for this in detail. Things like player faces and vehicle modeling, however, are really starting to look a bit antiquated, and as good as the engine is at crafting environments, the frequent close-ups during cutscenes really hammer home the fact that the world should still be digested from the far-off, behind-the-back camera angle that you get during regular game play.
Oddly enough, and perhaps because of the march of time affects it less, the audio in the game is still remarkably top-notch. The same cutscenes that highlight the weathering graphics engine do wonders to show off what proper foley can contribute to things. The voice acting is fantastic – even from riders. One of the scenes later in the game where Bam Margera looks on a string of Russian tanks nearly had me crying it was delivered so well. The new addition of board physics when you bail allow the different surfaces of your deck to respond to the level geometry with startling realism. Seeing your deck fly out from under you then skitter down some stairs and up a small ramp isn't nearly as impressive until you hear it do the same thing off-screen, and when the two are paired, it's incredible.
While I've always leaned more towards the side of punk and rock when it comes to skating soundtracks, it's obvious that more rap and R&B heavy influences play a big part in the scene. Luckily, for me, THUG boasts quite the aural rap sheet. All four of the aforementioned musical styles are available in the game, and can actually be toggled on and off by genre or individually. Inclusions like a special edition of KISS' Rock-N-Roll All Night with a smoking philharmonic accompaniment or White Riot from The Clash or even the Stiff Little Fingers and some old-school Sublime are all incredible contributions. Groups like Jurassic 5 and DJ Qbert provide tunes that appeal even to those of us who usually shy away from that style, and mainstays like Bad Religion mean there isn't too much new material to scare away veterans. In all, a whopping 75 songs are crammed onto the game, some of them weighing in at well over 5 minutes apiece. While there are plenty that would disagree, I'd venture to say it's probably the series most well-rounded – if not the best – soundtrack yet heard.
Broken down, each individual part of THUG (control, music, level design, graphics, sound) is better than the games that came before it, which should add up to the best game in the series. And yet, there's something intangible that just couldn't hook me like the older games did. Understand that the two years Neversoft spent crafting the game would hardly wasted, but I think rather than pumping out a game every year, this same attention to detail should be spent on further iterations – and I'm sure they will come soon enough. It's doubtless Neversoft will find something else to add that will seem as though it should've always been a part of the game, but hopefully they won't forget to include that same oomph that made the first games, in all their featureless simplicity, so damned endearing in the first place.
Aside from your skater's repertoire, the biggest changes with each game have been in the environments. At first they simply grew and added more logical places to try out all those new moves with each game, but with THUG, things have blossomed into more than just a set of locations loosely strung together. THUG adds a pervasive storyline and goals that, perhaps more than any game in the past, really reflect some of the trademarks key to each location.
The aforementioned story is the catalyst for nearly everything that takes place in the game. You'll start out as a simple Jersey kid that gets a chance to see Chad Muska get his stake on locally. From there, it's up to you to impress the pro, get sponsored, turn pro yourself and then… well, let's just say there are a few plot twists. It's nothing ground-breaking, but a good three quarters of the way through the game motivations change quite a bit, and it helps keep things entertaining.
The options for customization and upgrading have gotten a pretty significant overhaul and border on the monolithic. Lucky PS2 gamers can either snap a pic of themselves and send it in to Neversoft, who will then convert the image to a file you can download via an online-enabled PS2, or if you have an EyeToy, you can simply take your own picture and import it that way. Even if you don't have a digital camera option, it's probably possible, given enough time, to make a face that comes about as close with the create-a-skater mode. While the usual host of preset options for face and body types are selectable, the real meat of the mode comes in the ability to alter just about everything about most of the body parts' shape, so that nose of yours can keep getting whittled down or flattened out until it's picture perfect. It's damn impressive, and while it's probably more than most gamers need, it's nice to know the option is there for the truly hardcore.
Further adding to the customization options are the ability to create and use your own tricks anywhere in the game. A simple timeline interface allows you to sculpt a couple different moves into one seamless trick and while it takes a little practice to get things to Neversoft-quality smoothness, there is again the option to pull it off should you choose. This coupled with a knowledge for how certain levels are designed can lead to monster trick runs if pulled off properly.
Neversoft has overhauled the stat system in an incredibly fresh way. Rather than picking up icons or gaining stat increases with boards over time, you'll now have to complete objectives in almost mini-goal fashion. They're mostly rudimentary tasks (hold a lip trick for a few seconds, grind for a few sections, etc.), but towards the end some of the tasks (get 60 feet of air, land a 20 trick combo) get downright challenging. It's again a wonderfully imaginative way to build up your stats and with enough dedication, it's possible to get nearly everything up on the first couple levels (the last few objectives are lock until you finally do turn pro).
With all these changes, you'd think things were unbelievably fresh, but for some reason some of the pop and soul that the games seemed to possess in the past don't quite carry through. The level designs are fantastic, the unlockables fun to collect, and the new options for upgrading and progressing though the levels are a breath of fresh air, but it all seems a little stale. Inclusions like driving other vehicles weren't solid enough to feel like anything more than simple tacked-on additions to keep things from being all about skating, which in my opinion is what the games should concentrate on. Luging on a board was fantastic, but hopping into a car that still handles like a board just feels flat.
Perhaps some of this stems from the game engine. While it's undoubtedly the most potent of the five games' iterations, it's still beginning to show its age. Overall texture detail and variety are fantastic, and while some of the levels might not be as big as THPS 4, they more than make up for this in detail. Things like player faces and vehicle modeling, however, are really starting to look a bit antiquated, and as good as the engine is at crafting environments, the frequent close-ups during cutscenes really hammer home the fact that the world should still be digested from the far-off, behind-the-back camera angle that you get during regular game play.
Oddly enough, and perhaps because of the march of time affects it less, the audio in the game is still remarkably top-notch. The same cutscenes that highlight the weathering graphics engine do wonders to show off what proper foley can contribute to things. The voice acting is fantastic – even from riders. One of the scenes later in the game where Bam Margera looks on a string of Russian tanks nearly had me crying it was delivered so well. The new addition of board physics when you bail allow the different surfaces of your deck to respond to the level geometry with startling realism. Seeing your deck fly out from under you then skitter down some stairs and up a small ramp isn't nearly as impressive until you hear it do the same thing off-screen, and when the two are paired, it's incredible.
While I've always leaned more towards the side of punk and rock when it comes to skating soundtracks, it's obvious that more rap and R&B heavy influences play a big part in the scene. Luckily, for me, THUG boasts quite the aural rap sheet. All four of the aforementioned musical styles are available in the game, and can actually be toggled on and off by genre or individually. Inclusions like a special edition of KISS' Rock-N-Roll All Night with a smoking philharmonic accompaniment or White Riot from The Clash or even the Stiff Little Fingers and some old-school Sublime are all incredible contributions. Groups like Jurassic 5 and DJ Qbert provide tunes that appeal even to those of us who usually shy away from that style, and mainstays like Bad Religion mean there isn't too much new material to scare away veterans. In all, a whopping 75 songs are crammed onto the game, some of them weighing in at well over 5 minutes apiece. While there are plenty that would disagree, I'd venture to say it's probably the series most well-rounded – if not the best – soundtrack yet heard.
Broken down, each individual part of THUG (control, music, level design, graphics, sound) is better than the games that came before it, which should add up to the best game in the series. And yet, there's something intangible that just couldn't hook me like the older games did. Understand that the two years Neversoft spent crafting the game would hardly wasted, but I think rather than pumping out a game every year, this same attention to detail should be spent on further iterations – and I'm sure they will come soon enough. It's doubtless Neversoft will find something else to add that will seem as though it should've always been a part of the game, but hopefully they won't forget to include that same oomph that made the first games, in all their featureless simplicity, so damned endearing in the first place.