Xbox

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2x

The game is a few years old but it goes back to the roots of THPS and will give you a reason to fall back into love with the franchise. I urge everyone to get a copy and make your friends get a copy too so you can System Link together for extra-long thrash sessions.

Normally, games start to lose their charm after they have gone through a few sequels, not to mention getting ported to an entirely new system. Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2x is an amazing game that takes two good games, combines them, and makes them even better. The Xbox delivers some stunning visuals at silky smooth frame rates and features excellent and intuitive controls and challenging gameplay.

It may not be Hawk 3, but it is the 2nd best Hawk game available right now, and it will definately tide you over until THPS3 does come out for Xbox.

You must be crazy if you don't buy this game. The game is cheap, cheaper than most games with such large amounts of content. The multiplayer is great, the editor adds so much to the replay value, and even the worst levels are still awesome to skate on. I recommend that anyone who does decide to try out Tony Hawk for the first time to buy this game, as it is the best version available. And for those who have played it, I still recommend it, the bonus levels are well worth the trip through the older ones.

Even though there are 25 levels in the game, and a lot of gameplay time, there isn't any reason to really have this game if you have the first two versions of Tony Hawk. I know, I spent 50 bucks on it when I first got my Xbox and a month later, it was 20 because nobody bought it.

As the "X" so clearly indicates, there’s more to this title than meets the eye. As necessary, all the environment textures have either been revamped or completely redesigned. If you look closely, you’ll also see highly detailed rendered backdrops, single-bladed grass, flocks of seagulls, and extensive use of motion blurring. In addition to the impressive new coat of paint, 2X also includes all the original Tony Hawk 1 levels, and five brand-spanking new stages – all of which utilize Tony Hawk 2’s gameplay. Oddly, the Tony 1 segment takes place after Tony 2 – which is a little out of order if you ask me.

Overall, I'd highly recommend Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2X to either fans of the series or to newbies who've never experienced this amazing series. The more rabid Tony Hawk fans should find more then enough here to come back and play through it again while the newbies get a great introduction to the series. You can also find the game for a mere $20 at most places so its a great buy as well.

Has the bar been raised to a new level with the release of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2X for the Xbox? No, not really. Same as before in controls, graphics and audio. More tricks, more levels and more hidden treasures. What distinguishes this version from others are the additional features such as Skatepark Editor and Create-a-Skater. If you have played Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater before and now want one for the Xbox, pick this up. If you’re waiting for the next generation of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, wait for the next version. This game is Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 with some beefy extras thrown in.

The sound, as always, is very well done. Skateboard wheels on sidewalk or wood sound as they should. Bail, and you will cringe at how painfully real the landing sounds. The music is also a fine accompaniment. Licensed tracks from Rage Against the Machine, or Papa Roach, even a little hip hop is in there. There isn’t an overwhelming variety in the game, but your runs are only 2 minutes for the most part anyway, so it’s not all that unbearable. I have read and heard that custom soundtracks are possible to use, however, either I am just stupid or something, but I haven’t been able to figure out how. That is until I paused the game once, and saw the sound options. As silly as this sounds, I didn’t think that it was possible to do at first, since the music mode isn’t selectable in the main menu. The option is there though; you just have to poke around.

With Tony Hawk 3 out there, and the lack of new material in this game, I think this is at best a rental, or a play-it-at-your-friend’s-house game. The game is worth a purchase if you have never played Tony Hawk 2, but if you’ve never played Tony Hawk 2 then you probably aren’t buying an Xbox.

Your love of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2x depends directly on your involvement with other games in the series. If you've already played the heck out of both Tony Hawk 1 and Tony Hawk 2 on different platforms, the updated graphics and new 2x levels don't add anything significant to the experience, and you won't get much out of the game unless you intend to play the expanded multiplayer modes on a LAN. If you've played Tony Hawk 3 at all, 2x is going to seem almost entirely unplayable due to its slower speed and more limited combo potential. But 2x represents the ultimate version of a classic game, so anyone who is looking for a nice, solid freestyle sports game for the Xbox and who isn't looking for a graphical showpiece for his or her new system won't be disappointed.

Tony Hawk 2X is exactly what you expect -- an amazing translation of Tony Hawk1 and 2 with extra touches such as more detailed characters, and crisper textures and details on the environments. Unfortunately, because it's exactly what you expect, this isn't a game that can be recommended to everyone. If you haven't played Tony Hawk 1 or 2 on the other systems, AND you've just picked up an Xbox, then this is definitely worth your purchase.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2x is definitely not better than the 3rd game in the series, nor would I suggest picking up this game over that. THPS2x is a great game for those who are either huge fans of the series, or who have not yet played the original games when they were first released. It also serves as a good indication of what THPS3 will be like on the 'box. If you already know the previous title like the back of your hand, and have already moved on to the more advanced THPS3, then you will probably find 2x to be at the very least a great rental.