New Review Posted: Tony Hawk's American Wasteland

Daniel Weissenberger · 02-01-2006, 01:27 PM

Mike Bracken reviews Tony Hawk's American Wasteland, and appreciates Neversof'ts work ethic:

"In life, there are some things that are simply inevitable: death, taxes, Christmas, etc. Since 1999, there's been a new addition to that list—every fall will see the release of a new game in the Tony Hawk series. This year is no exception as the guys at Neversoft grind (pun fully intended) out yet another sequel in the form of Tony Hawk's American Wasteland. Since Neversoft is never content to merely make sequels, American Wasteland is essentially the third new iteration in the series' history—following in the footsteps of the Pro Skater and Underground games. It's a credit to the developers that they've been able to make so many games in this franchise in such a short amount of time yet haven't made a single game that felt like a rehash or an attempt to simply cash in. Each year's new installment of Tony Hawk is a lot like each year's Madden—the core gameplay might be the same as the last year's, but there's always something new in the mix that makes the current release unique."

Just how unique? Find out here.

EnduroGamer · 02-01-2006, 02:15 PM

Quote:

If I had one complaint about American Wasteland as a whole, it would be that the game almost feels too easy in spots. I'm a fan of this series, but I'm not good at it—in other words, I'm not the kind of player who busts out the million point combos with any kind of regularity

Ding ding ding. Ladies and gentleman we have a winner! You're exactly right Mike. Not only is Normal mode too easy for casual Hawk fans, but Sick mode is too easy for veteran players.

The past three games in the series (especially THAW and THUG2) have broken up each of the missions into Skittle-size pieces that virtually play themselves. Long gone is the sense of trial and error, the encouragement to explore, the experimentation. There are too many times when I feel that the game all but plays itself.

Indeed, thank goodness for Classic Mode and Online Play because the main Career Mode has mode is not nearly as fun as it once was.

And the problem, as I've said before, is attributed to the seriies' pinnacle release -- THPS4. Neversoft took a beating in the press and from consumers for THPS4 being too hard and now they're gunshy. They haven't made a challenging game since. Sure, THUG had its tricky moments on Sick mode, but they were few and far between.

But the one thing that Neversoft definitely deserves credit for with THAW was the level design. Although I still prefer the level design in some of the earlier games better, THAW definitely has its share of memorable areas.

PS: Nice review, otherwise.
PSS: You knew I couldn't not comment on a review on THAW.

Mike Bracken · 02-01-2006, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EnduroGamer

And the problem, as I've said before, is attributed to the seriies' pinnacle release -- THPS4. Neversoft took a beating in the press and from consumers for THPS4 being too hard and now they're gunshy. They haven't made a challenging game since. Sure, THUG had its tricky moments on Sick mode, but they were few and far between.

I only really got interested in the franchise with the release of THPS4, and while that game is certainly tough, it's still easily my favorite of the games in the series. The difficulty of 4 never bothered me though--but the fact that each subsequent release in the series gets almost exponentially easier bothers me to no end.

Mike B.

Hypatia93 · 02-02-2006, 11:55 AM

I must be on drugs.

It seems like the reviewers are doing games outside their normal areas of reviews. 'Cept LD. And I've not read the 4th. Not to pigeon-hold anyone. Still. It's weird. Especially since I'm sick. And on drugs.

The last Tony Hawk I played was 3. The last Tony Hawk I played /extensively/ was 1 -- that's while I was going to Law School. I had great fun. (And no, like you Mike, I never had scores in the millions.)

I'm not sure they've gotten any better since (have they Doug? I promise I won't tell). And I definitely won't use any controller outside of the PS dual shock. Seems like the game was made for it.

But I'm with Mike. Neversoft needs to take some time off and make the fans /want/ to see a new one.

BTW, as always -- a great review.

EnduroGamer · 02-02-2006, 02:34 PM

THPS4 is my favorite and I bet it always will be. THUG, THUG2, and THAW each make improvements and additions, but they somehow never really exceeded THPS4 in my opinion. Probably because of the story -- the story just seems to get in the way.

I bought THAW for Xbox Live play but the Controller-S sucks for it because of the use of the White/Black buttons instead of the R2 and L2 Buttons of the dualshock.

The game would probably play well on the X360, given the new controller.

By the way, Hypatia, in the future if you're going to try and tempt me into commenting negatively about a game I have ties to professionally, you might want to at least not use my real first name.

Jason Karney · 02-02-2006, 02:50 PM

I enjoyed THPS3, and hated 4. (I also enjoyed 2, although I could pull off more tricks in 3.)

I have to admit, I'm not the most skilled player, and THPS4 seemed geared to the experienced players who already knew how to pull off tricks in their sleep.

Although I spent a lot of time on 3, on the 'cube, I was never an expert player able to rack up 1,000,000 points and then some. Making the switch to the THPS4 proved to me my undoing, because I felt like all I did was bail.

I haven't touched a THPS since. Besides, it seems boring to play the same game over and over; and the whole Bam-Jackass thing was a turn-off for me personally.

Quote:

It seems like the reviewers are doing games outside their normal areas of reviews. 'Cept LD.

And 'cept me.

--Jason

Mike Bracken · 02-02-2006, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hypatia93

It seems like the reviewers are doing games outside their normal areas of review.

Oh, man, I'm that pigeonholed? I like to think that I'll write about anything here at GC (although I tend to gravitate toward RPGs/shmups/strat RPGs/hack-n-slash). I mean, damn, I did an ATV game at one point.

Mike B.

Hypatia93 · 02-06-2006, 02:56 PM

DISCLAIMER: I am /still/ sicker than a pup with distemper, but I /had/ to come back to work today.
________
Bullocks.

See what I get for posting in a drug-blanketed coma of a plague? I offend /everyone/.

Well kids, I'll try and be better in the future.

No Doug (and you're more than free to call me by my first name as well, since I do with you so much* -- that is, if you can recall it

), I really had no intention of calling you out. But on reread, it does look that way. My bad, and I honestly apologize. What I /meant/ to do was simply encourage discussion, not put a gun to your head.

And yes Jason, you're on track too.

Remember, I was sorta.. outta my head last week. (No comments, thank you!)

I totally forgot about you doing that ATV review, Mike. But yes, it did seem odd. I even remember the furrow in my brow deepening b/c of it.

Still, without stereo-typing you, I think most folks would think it odd if you suddenly reviewed say, The Sound of Music, rather than Murder Set Pieces in your column. It's not that you're incapable of doing it, just bizarre that you would. Get it?

*Oh, and I used Doug this time for continuities sake. But if you'd prefer me to use your screen name in the future, I'll gladly do that to (along with the dangling participles). It just seems that /some/ people's rl name just.. fits (?) them better than their screen name. I have no clue why I use yours more than I do others', but if that offends you too, I apologize for that as well.

EnduroGamer · 02-06-2006, 06:16 PM

Hypatia, it doesn't matter. I just thought it was funny that you were basically asking me to go negative about a game I'm professionally linked to, and then you decided to use my real name. Not that I really have anything negative to say about the THAW game, and everyone here knows how much respect I have for Neversoft. So it's no biggie.

Anyway, either Enduro or Doug is fine. I don't really care. I just thought it was funny.

ferrarimanf355 · 02-06-2006, 06:23 PM

To tell you the truth, the only Tony Hawk game I could get into was THPS2 on the Dreamcast. I couldn't get into the other ones. That being said, anyone try Tony Hawk's American Sk8land for the DS? I heard it was pretty good.

Hypatia93 · 02-07-2006, 11:54 AM

Good. Just, good.

I have a brief question for those who care to answer.

Re: THPS2

Which version do you all like better? I've not played it. For me, I would /think/ the PS version would be optimal, but I keep hearing such fabulous things about the DC version. What's the big/er/est difference/s? Are they really all that much? What version would you recommend (to me/anyone) and why? Oh, and anything else you'd like to add about the title would be great, too.

EnduroGamer · 02-08-2006, 12:11 AM

After THPS4 for the PS2, the DC's version of THPS2 is my next-favorite one in the series.

THPS2 was a great game because it introduced the Manual and made linking grinds and non-vert tricks possible (although the Revert in THPS3 was equally important). It also had some excellent courses. Venice Beach, Philly, the Bullring, etc., etc., Marseilles... good stuff.

I liked the DC version much more because Treyarch really did a great job beefing up the textures for the game and making use of the DC's power over the PSone. Don't forget, you were basically playing a near-nextgen game on the DC compared to the PSone's version of THPS2. Also, the sounds sounded crisper. The only flaw was that the DC's controller was uncomfortable over time, but I didn't really mind that too much.

Definitely play the DC version of THPS2 -- it's one of the best. Oh, and definitely do NOT play THPS2X for the Xbox as the entire game feels like it has the moon-physics cheat enabled. You end up racking up such high stats on the game that you literally fly way way way too high on many of the ramps and soar straight over rails and ledges that you're supposed to land on. Although the new THPS2x-specific levels were pretty cool.

GrandRoyal · 02-11-2006, 11:36 PM

"I don't want Tony Hawk games to go away, but it would be nice if they'd take a break for a few years and let gamers miss them. Absence does, after all, make the heart grow fonder."
My thoughts exactly - since the third game. My big problem with this series, which is one of the best game series out there, is that with each new game it gets easier and easier to to play.

Tony Hawk 1 was a great game because you could play for months and STILL learn new things about it. The recent games just seem like they give you the how-to and it's far to easy to pull off those million piont grinds right off the bat.