Coming from essentially out of nowhere, the announcement for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2 had me pumped for the chance at dropping back into the franchise that I poured countless hours into as a teenager. The Warehouse Demo for the game provided an incredibly satisfying and nostalgic gameplay experience that left me with even higher expectations. Once I was finally able to get my hands on the full game, I did my best to find a chink in the game’s armor, looking to see if the early reviews of the game overlooked any flaws or subtle issues. However, it turns out that the early glowing reviews of the game got it right. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2 is every bit as fun as it is nostalgic, with an online mode that effectively captures the best parts of what made the original multiplayer experience so great.
Dropping Back In
No doubt about it, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2 is almost identical to the original games. First and foremost, that’s a great thing. Altering the gameplay or control mechanics of the remaster in any way would have been a terrible decision. If you grew up playing any of the games in the series, you’ll be able to immediately jump in and play. Everything feels the same. Having personally not touched a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater game since 2005’s American Wasteland, I can confirm that your muscle memory will have no problems jumping back into the fray, though your thumbs may not be quite as excited to take on the punishment that the game requires to string together its insane combos (again, that thumb punishment being an odd part of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater’s overall charm).
The iconic soundtrack makes its triumphant return as well, with the welcomed addition of more recently released tracks making the playlist. Skating to the classic Lagwagon and Goldfinger songs brought back so many great memories while I explored the revamped levels, while new-to-the-series tracks from MxPx and Machine Gun Kelly (with Travis Barker) added a breath of fresh air to the soundtrack and a subtle reminder that this is, in fact, a brand-new game.
Be The Next Birdman
One thing I had forgotten about with the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series was just how much customization is available to you, especially as you progress through the game. Everything from facial features to your attire to your board can be customized to your liking. Personally, I massively appreciated the face mask that can be adorned by my skater. It’s pretty cool that the devs would add that option in, especially for those of us who take mask-wearing and social distancing measures pretty seriously. (I’d honestly like to see different mask varieties and styles make it into the game at some point.)
You’ll be able to unlock numerous pieces of gear as you complete the in-level challenges and earn money. You’ll also unlock the additional remastered levels, each of which looks and feels great (Downhill Jam being a personal favorite).
Of course, the customization options extend into the actual tricks that you can assign to your skater, including your over-the-top special moves. Tricks can be even more impressive (and possible) as you improve the stats of your skater. A standing Quad Heelflip becomes all the more possible once you max out your ollie and flip spin abilities. It’s in your best interest to improve your stats too since doing so will improve your chances of dominating the online competition in the game’s multiplayer mode.
Skating With Friends
One of my favorite parts of the original Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games was the local multiplayer mode. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2 knocks the multiplayer mode out of the park, allowing both casual and ranked modes.
Gameplay takes place in the form of two-minute sessions with multiple players that feature random challenges, many of which were included in the original games, such as getting the highest score, hitting the highest-scoring combo, and graffiti. At the end of each session, players are ranked by score before the next session automatically begins.
Unfortunately, even though I’ve played in countless online sessions, I have yet to hit the first-place spot, which makes the already addicting nature of online multiplayer even more appealing. I could easily lose hours upon hours to the online mode. It is easily one of the best parts of the game.
Soul Skating
A final awesome thing about Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2 is that although you’ll have to unlock levels in the game’s campaign mode, all of the levels are available to you from the get-go in Free Skate mode. It was wonderful to be able to skate around each of the levels in the game, refamiliarizing myself with the mechanics of the game before actually doing anything worthwhile. The decision to not gate levels is one that I greatly appreciated.
2020 is undoubtedly the year of skateboarding when it comes to gaming. From Skater XL to Session, and even the Tony Hawk documentary, Pretending I’m Superman: The Tony Hawk Video Game Story, it’s a great time for the current generation of video game players to hit the halfpipe. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2 is not just a must-play title for skateboarding fans. Given its longstanding history, it can arguably also be considered an essential title for gaming in general.
A PlayStation 4 copy of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2 was provided to TheGamer for this review. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2 is available now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2