Though some would argue that the actual impact of the games have declined over the years, the Tony Hawk franchise is notable not just for single-handedly creating a genre all its own, but for linking the games with soundtracks that are every bit as good -- and for many the two are intrinsically linked. We still can't hear Goldfinger's "Superman" without thinking of the Downhill Jam level in the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, which is kinda funny considering the songs were actually truncated in some cases (remember "Jerry Was A Racecar Driver"?).

As the series has grown, so too have the soundtracks, swelling to encompass more genres and artists. With Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, the total count has surpassed the big 5-0, and includes the Foo Fighters' latest single "The Pretender" from their as-yet-unreleased album Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. And of course it wouldn't be a Tony Hawk game without some fun little unlockable bonus characters. This time around, The Beastie Boys' MCA will be playable should that be your thing.

“Tony Hawk games are known for having incredible soundtracks and we’re really excited to have MCA, an icon of the music industry in our game as a secret character,” giggled Tim Riley, worldwide executive of music at Activision. “Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground continues the tradition of great music and provides the perfect vibe for players as they create their own experience, no matter what kind of skater they choose to become.”

The full soundtrack is as follows:

!!! -- “All My Heroes are Weirdos”
Airbourne -- “ Girls in Black”
Angels & Airwaves -- “Secret Crowds”
Anglo Jackson -- “Motorbike”
At the Gates -- “Slaughter of the Soul”
Bad Brains -- “Banned in DC”
Beastie Boys -- “Electric Worm”
Blackalicious -- “Your Move”
Bloc Party -- “Version 2.0”
Cursed -- “The Hands will Abide”
Cymande -- “Fug”
Dag Nasty -- “Circles”
Darkest Hour -- “Sanctuary”
DJ JS-1 featuring L.I.F.E. Long & Immortal Technique -- “Audio Technician”
El-P -- “Up All Night”
Folk Implosion -- “Natural One”
Foo Fighters -- “The Pretender”
Fu Manchu -- “We Must Obey”
Funky 4+1 -- “Rappin and Rockin the House”
Future Pigeon -- “Gift Tax”
Gallows -- “Come Friendly Bombs”
Gorilla Biscuits -- “Hold Your Ground”
Jimmy Castor Bunch -- “It’s Just Begun”
Jurassic 5 -- “Radio”
Kittens -- “Carpenter”
Los Abandoned -- “Panic-Oh!”
Lyrics Born featuring KRS-One and Evidence -- “Pack Up Remix”
Maylene and the Sons of Disaster -- “Memories of the Grove”
Motorcity Daredevils -- “Bear in the Air”
Nation of Ulysses -- “You’re My Miss Washington D.C.”
Nirvana -- “Breed”
Oh No feat. J. Dilla and Roc C. -- “Move Part 2”
Paint it Black -- “The New Brutality”
Paris -- “The Devil Made Me Do It (Poach a Pig Mix)”
Percee P -- “Throwback Rap Attack (Madlib remix)”
Pierce the Veil -- “I’d Rather Die than Be Famous”
Pig Destroyer -- “Loathsome”
Reverend Horton Heat -- “Baddest of the Bad”
Revolution Mother -- “Come On”
Roots Manuva -- “Chin High”
Sayvinyl -- “That’s Entertainment”
Silversun Pickups -- “Well Thought Out Twinkles”
Slick Rick -- “Children’s Story”
Smashing Pumpkins -- “Tarantula”
Snapcase -- “Energy Dome”
The Bled -- “Starving Artiste”
The Clash -- “Clash City Rockers”
The Cramps -- “Garbage Man”
The Icarus Line -- “Gets Paid”
The Kooks -- “See the World”
The Octopus Project -- “Music is Happiness”
The Rolling Stones -- “Sympathy for the Devil”
The Sex Pistols -- “Holidays in the Sun”
Twilight 22 -- “Electric Kingdom”

Okay, so maybe the soundtrack gets the Dragula Award for having the same Nirvana song as seemingly every other game right now (well, just MotorStorm and The BIGS that we can think of, but it's still all over the place these days). Still, any soundtrack that gives us the Stones, Jurassic 5, the Clash and a song with both Lyrics Born and KRS-One all at once is reason enough for us to get excited. And hey, the game doesn't look half bad either.