Review for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2. Game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 04/09/2020
Just launched Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 do a little experiment: close your eyes and throw your mind and heart to 1999. Let yourself be carried away by the notes of May 16 by Lagwagon, Guerrilla Radio by Rage Against The Machine or even No Cigar by Millencolin. Now imagine those afternoons spent beating that damn record on an old CRT TV and primeval 3D graphics.
Then open your eyes, open them wide. You're in 2020, but it's like being back in 1999: it's time to warm your fingers.
In Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 what you will find in front of you is a sumptuous work done by the guys of Vicarious Visions, which improves in a concrete way the already excellent modernization done on the Crash Bandicoot remaster some time ago. So forget that HD version of the first Tony Hawk - dated 2012 - and dive into a product that respects its origins and is at the same time modern. A game that - together with other illustrious colleagues - brings back a philosophy that was being lost. No open world, no large-scale competitions, but space for one of the most fascinating challenges ever: the one against yourself.
Within the 9 levels that make up the first Tony Hawk and the 8 of the second chapter that completed the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 package, you will find yourself reliving situations that - we are sure - have remained engraved in your memory. Combo, perfect joints between jumps, grinds and manuals and that damned need to be able to beat the crazy score in those three minutes that the game offers you.
Obviously there is not only that, in each scheme you will have various tasks to complete, necessary to unlock the next levels, as well as the addition of new secrets, including platelets that allow you to improve the stats of the skater you are using, they give the places visited that pinch of freshness that doesn't hurt. In all this we must not forget other adds that, as we said at the beginning, make this remake modern and able to attract a completely new audience. A new mode, called Ranked & Free Skate, allows you to visit the various levels without time limits, using them as training gyms for your perfect combo, or peeking into skate parks created by the community and by yourself .
Always talking about editor in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 there is the possibility to create your alter ego by customizing the aesthetics, clothing and essential equipment for each skater. Each character has a growth system, with experience accumulating through completing certain challenges. Money-giving challenges, new customization slots, and more.
In short, that touch of modernity that does not hurt, especially because it is integrated within a system that oozes old school from all pores. We cannot fail to mention the multiplayer sector, which allows players to challenge some of the minigames already known in the past both locally and online.
If on the one hand we therefore find a clean, refined and precise gameplay, on the other we have a graphic component that while not making a miracle cry, is effective and satisfying. The only drawback we encountered is a frame that occasionally shows some uncertainty, but nothing that seriously affects the gameplay of the title. In short, the King of Skate is back and the compliments all go to Vicarious Vision.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 is an incredible videogame work. A sincere and concrete tribute to a series that has indelibly marked the world of video games. Do not be in doubt, buy it with your eyes closed and you will discover how a concept from 22 years ago is still able to entertain so much.
► Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 is a Simulation-Sport game developed by Vicarious Visions and published by Neversoft for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 04/09/2020
