|
Post by X-pert74 on Mar 5, 2015 17:37:32 GMT -5
I liked the first few, then later ones had a story mode and started doing gimmick missions and just lost me. I should hunt down 1-3 again. They were fun arcade type games. You might appreciate that THUG2 and American Wasteland have Classic-style single-player modes to play through, alongside their more-hyped Story modes. THUG2's in particular is pretty in-depth with a lot of branching options to choose between which of two levels to play through to continue in the career. I'm going to be weird here and say that I actually had a lot of fun with Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure. I mean, it technically counts, since I believe it uses the THPS4 engine, and it's actually a pretty good game, because of that. I haven't played it, but I'd say that counts That video actually looks pretty fun. I like the "If Rodney Were A Cowboy" trick, haha. A friend and I tore through the original on his N64, going so far as to get seven-digit points in The School by repeating some crazy long trick lines in the days before manuals existed to extend combos. There was also a glitch in Alcatraz involving grinding a ramp corner where you got stuck "hopping" it repeatedly, pumping up the multiplier without controller input. We'd get a kick out of triggering it, leaving the room to do something else for a bit, then come back and land it for a score that was more digits than the game supported, causing that area of the screen to blank out! (Many years later, I rented the PS1 version and completed it solo.) He also bought THPS2 on his system, and while we spent a lot of time building stages, we never really got the same mileage out of it. Oddly enough, the second game remains the only entry from the series' heyday that I still haven't completed. THPS3 was an early rental with my then-new PS2. It really is the capstone of the original "hit goals before time expires" trilogy, and was just a great "pick up and play" experience that the series would lose somewhere along the way... I'm glad X-pert74 mentioned Aggressive Inline, because while I played and replayed the THPS4 demo and went on to enjoy the game, its "free roam" approach was nothing new by that time, and the media coverage back then about the fourth game "revolutionizing" the formula rang hollow. This game was also one of my first online console experiences, although I was still on dial-up back then, and so the experience was little more than a leaderboard with the occasional choppy frame of a fellow player in my periphery. I have a soft spot for THUG. Yes, the story mode was incredibly cheesy, but as someone who grew up in Jersey, I lapped it up all the same. Having broadband by this time, playing online allowed me to actually see other players' tricks and lines, and I learned a LOT about extending combos to ludicrous lengths... The whole Jackass/Bam Margera thing was a major turnoff with THUG2, but I can't deny that the actual skating mechanics were in top form. I spent far more time online, where the challenge wasn't so much the total score, but keeping a trick line going 2-3 minutes after the timer expired. (Oh, and hoping you didn't waste all that effort by crashing into someone else doing the same thing!) I took a breather from the series after that, mixing in a few of the clones like Airblade, Evolution Skateboarding, Whirl Tour, and Eyetoy: Antigrav. Whirl Tour aside, they presented some redeeming qualities and features, but it really put into focus just how refined Neversoft's engine was in comparison. By the time I got around to THAW, the online mode was disabled. (Rumor was someone hacked their servers back then. Was this ever confirmed?) While I liked the concept of the story as kind of like a "West Coast" reimagining of THUG, the execution was flawed, the stages dull, and the hyped "no loading" feature a complete waste. (The "loading zones" resorting to slow-mo "security camera" footage of the player to buy time particularly irked me.) THAW was the last PS2 release to support online functionality, and so I never got around to Project 8 or Proving Ground. If I recall correctly, at least one, if not both were outsourced to another developer anyway, giving me even less motivation to pick them up. (A friend-of-a-friend claimed to have Downhill Jam during it's limited PS2 release, but it never materialized.) Overall, fun games and great memories, but I feel no need to continue with new releases... Haha, I have the first Tony Hawk game for the N64 It was pretty decent, but I never did save my progress to a memory card, so I had to keep on replaying from the beginning of the game every time I turned it on. Also, the extremely limited soundtrack was kind of disappointing... although I recently listened to some N64 versions of songs from its sequels, and those versions were even worse! The N64 versions of songs from the first THPS feel downright authentic in comparison. I remember really wanting to play the Tony Hawk games online, but I never had the equipment needed to connect a PS2 online. Now I think they've all been long shut down, which is disappointing D: I wonder if the PC versions still have online at least? EDIT: By the way, Alcatraz is actually a level from THPS4; what level from the first game were you talking about when you mention that super high-scoring glitch?
|
|
jjc14
Junior Member
Posts: 73
|
Post by jjc14 on Mar 5, 2015 19:34:38 GMT -5
Though I think my first contact was the demo of the first for Dreamcast. Two minutes, one hangar, but sooooo much fun. I bought someone's PS1 Pizza Hut demo disc just to play that over and over again... =) Also, the extremely limited soundtrack was kind of disappointing... although I recently listened to some N64 versions of songs from its sequels, and those versions were even worse! The N64 versions of songs from the first THPS feel downright authentic in comparison. I completely forgot about that! The first game's soundtracks were about 1:30 each, so you'd really only hear them repeat during the final seconds of a two-minute run. We got a good laugh at how brief the music clips were in the second game, and from what YouTube shows, the third game's tracks were chopped even smaller! I remember really wanting to play the Tony Hawk games online, but I never had the equipment needed to connect a PS2 online. Now I think they've all been long shut down, which is disappointing D: I wonder if the PC versions still have online at least? Those games online were often a spectacle of people glitching tricks and doing one extended combo in a circular pattern around a stage for the entire duration. This often led to situations where time would expire, most would automatically stop and see the scoreboard, but the skaters in last place were still doing their one big trick, which if successful, immediately propelled them from last to first! EDIT: By the way, Alcatraz is actually a level from THPS4; what level from the first game were you talking about when you mention that super high-scoring glitch? Oops, you're right! I meant to say Roswell, the final level of the first game!
|
|
|
Post by susanismyalias on Mar 5, 2015 19:39:25 GMT -5
I played the hell out of THPS4 on xbox, I replaced all the music with Tragic Kingdom and Songs for the Deaf and Nirvana and just went to town for hours and hours.
|
|
|
Post by The Great Klaid on Mar 5, 2015 19:45:21 GMT -5
My ex was super into these games before I even really got her into gaming. So naturally I ended up playing them with her a lot. Couldn't tell you which one anymore, I think Underground, but I thought she got that while we were out somewhere. Something for Gamecube certainly. I never could get a feel for them, she always beat me. Which I think she enjoyed after all the games of Mean Bean Machine in which I'd destroy her.
|
|
|
Post by JDarkside on Mar 5, 2015 19:53:59 GMT -5
Everything after three was unnecessary. The ground tricks in four didn't really add much besides an easy way to continue combis (in a really cheap way). That also when the series started going more 'MTV' and started inserting more Jackass and generally "cool" things from that era. That annoyed me.
Mechanically, the third game had it near perfect. Levels weren't too long or too short, the tricks were all easy to pull off, lots to do, and character customization was wonderful. Later games added, but also subtracted or added lame elements.
|
|
|
Post by Weasel on Mar 6, 2015 3:06:33 GMT -5
The PC version of 3 is by far my favorite one. And, of course, I always play as Doom Guy.
|
|
|
Post by GamerL on Mar 7, 2015 15:10:35 GMT -5
Sports games are not usually my bag, but I loved THPS3 dearly, that game was a classic, I still listen to songs from the game's soundtrack for a good nostalgia rush.
Beyond that I played 4, which was good also but not as memorable, I really only remember the zoo level, then there was THUG which was cool for trying new things, but after that was when I lost interest and never played another entry, still, THPS3 holds a special place in my heart.
|
|
|
Post by 16bitter on Mar 15, 2015 1:00:16 GMT -5
THPS2 was my favorite, but I'll admit that I stopped with number 3 (also excellent). I think I did because they took out the gap checklist. Did they ever bring that back in any of the later ones?
|
|
|
Post by X-pert74 on Mar 15, 2015 2:36:22 GMT -5
THPS2 was my favorite, but I'll admit that I stopped with number 3 (also excellent). I think I did because they took out the gap checklist. Did they ever bring that back in any of the later ones? Yeah, the gap checklist was definitely back for THPS4, and I believe the later ones too. I actually took the time to get every gap in THPS4 (though with help from online guides/videos... which took some time to download, since this was pre-Youtube days ), but I just don't have the patience for that kind of thing in general. One game's entire gap list is enough for me Anyways, I'm not really sure why the gap list was taken out for THPS3. It's kind of strange that it was in 2, then not in 3, then back in 4 and the later Tony Hawk games.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2015 5:40:23 GMT -5
All I can say is god bless anyone who calls it "Tony Hawk" and not "Tony Hawks". Seems like a lot of people mishear the possessive "s" in the title and mistake it for multiple Tonys.
Or maybe they're all just having Robert Loggia moments. HAWKS!
|
|
|
Post by X-pert74 on Mar 15, 2015 6:59:16 GMT -5
It's sort of a pet peeve of mine when people add or subtract letters to a word that aren't necessary, or are even flat-out incorrect. Like for example, when someone says "Deadly Premonitions", it irks me a little.
|
|
|
Post by 16bitter on Mar 15, 2015 11:24:37 GMT -5
THPS2 was my favorite, but I'll admit that I stopped with number 3 (also excellent). I think I did because they took out the gap checklist. Did they ever bring that back in any of the later ones? Yeah, the gap checklist was definitely back for THPS4, and I believe the later ones too. I actually took the time to get every gap in THPS4 (though with help from online guides/videos... which took some time to download, since this was pre-Youtube days ), but I just don't have the patience for that kind of thing in general. One game's entire gap list is enough for me Anyways, I'm not really sure why the gap list was taken out for THPS3. It's kind of strange that it was in 2, then not in 3, then back in 4 and the later Tony Hawk games. Awesome! Maybe I was suffering from OCD in those days, but working on the list in THPS2 was always a fun side project when I was getting burnt out on the missions. Guess I have a bunch of games to go buy now
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2015 15:21:46 GMT -5
It's sort of a pet peeve of mine when people add or subtract letters to a word that aren't necessary, or are even flat-out incorrect. Like for example, when someone says "Deadly Premonition s", it irks me a little. High five!
|
|
|
Post by Feynman on Mar 15, 2015 15:25:24 GMT -5
I remember owning a cheap used copy of THPS2. I've never played any of the other games in the series but as I recall that one was pretty darn fun.
|
|
|
Post by X-pert74 on Mar 15, 2015 15:48:52 GMT -5
Awesome! Maybe I was suffering from OCD in those days, but working on the list in THPS2 was always a fun side project when I was getting burnt out on the missions. Guess I have a bunch of games to go buy now I think the only reason I even put up with it in THPS4 is because I really wanted to unlock Daisy as a playable character It's sort of a pet peeve of mine when people add or subtract letters to a word that aren't necessary, or are even flat-out incorrect. Like for example, when someone says "Deadly Premonition s", it irks me a little. High five! Woo, mutual annoyances!
|
|