Review: Tony Hawk's Project 8 (360)

It seems like only yesterday that we delved into Tony Hawk's first foray into video games and now we're here writing about its eighth instalment. The series has always had its fans and rightly so; although the series has never really surpassed its second and third entrants. Project 8, while good fun, also falls into the same trap.

Not just the name of the game, 'Project 8' also refers to the elite team of the best eight skaters in the world. As you'd expect, your main goal is to get a place in the Project 8 by winning challenges and defeating pros, which is easier said than done. Indeed, it doesn't take long to discover Tony Hawk Project 8's biggest fault: its harsh learning curve. This is a game where beginners will feel incredibly overwhelmed as missions soon ask you to pull off insane lines and massive tricks. Instead of easing you into the game gently, you'll be bombarded with such tricks as grinds, manuals and reverts - all of which are crucial to getting anywhere. Developers Neversoft have designed Project 8 on the assumption that everyone in the world has played all the Tony Hawk games before.

For those who have, much will be familiar. The mission formula sees high scores and specific tricks needing to be performed once you find a certain character in the city. Also, in each section of the world you will be able to find a 'Classic' mission - this is the same as the old games in the series with a variety of goals to complete in the two minute time limit (ranging from finding a secret disk to the absolutely awful 'Combo' letters). The world itself is a free-roaming area which you can explore to your heart's content, but after venturing online we were left wondering why the entire game wasn't turned into a completely online experience (e.g. Test Drive Unlimited). Once you begin the Xbox Live match, you're flung onto the world map - essentially a lobby experience - and a lot of the fun is had right here, before you even enter a specific game type. Once on your board, just skating around and knocking opponents off rails is good (yet guilty) fun, and surely a fully online skating experience is a far better evolution of the series than what we've been given.

Introduced to the series for the first time is the Nail the Trick move. Clicking in both thumb-sticks sends you into slow motion and flicking the sticks in a direction whilst airborne will allow you to flip the board that way, and chain together which moves you want. But aside from this, there are very few new elements that have been brought to the table. The create-a-skater mode is reused from the Underground series and is still extremely lacking. Being able to create a decent looking character (or one that even remotely looks like you) is a challenge in itself.

Not everything is a disappointment, though. The pro challenges are a great addition and probably the highlight of the game. Each challenge suits each pro's style, ranging from simple trick challenges to the insane Bam Margera stunt of bailing into a dumpster. But like the rest of the game, the difficulty soon ramps up and you'll be constantly hitting the retry button with rage. Adding to the authenticity are the characters who are actually voiced by the pros themselves. You have to bear in mind, though, that these are not actors - and rightly so - because the acting is as wooden as a Star Wars movie. Cut scenes are good enough, but suffer from bad lip synching and characters' mouths that seem to lack teeth.

Have you been playing the Tony Hawk series since its incarnation? If so, the chances are good that you'll get a kick out of tearing up the streets, finding all the hidden gaps and challenging players online. If you haven't, then prepare to be thrown straight into the deep end. This is a challenging game to say the least, but it's the lack of a decent learning curve that really hurts it. With Tony Hawk contracted to Activision until 2015, it doesn't bode well when the series is already becoming stagnant. Maybe some new ideas are needed for the next entrant. 

Rating: 6 / 10

Words by Adam Gulliver