It's not quite on the same level as the previous highpoints in the series, but it's a solid title that understands what made the old games so memorable.įor starters, this series has never really been about skateboarding-they're over-the-top arcade games. Technical complaints aside, THPS5 is a pretty good Tony Hawk. The fact that a game with this level of polish launched at a $60 pricetag is absolutely baffling, so expect a fairly rough experience. It is a shame that the aesthetic simplicity wasn't paired with technical reliability. Graphically, it comes off like a budget game, but has a clean, simple style. Less forgivable, though, are the screen-tearing and framerate problems. The game is full of glitch, really-the collision detection is wonky and the physics occasionally send skaters flying in impossible directions, but the Tony Hawk games were never technical marvels. Starting the game up, it was a bad omen when the audio cut out several times during the Activision logo. To their credit, it is an authentic Tony Hawk experience. Boldly positioning their new entry as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 rather than a spin-off, Robomodo grabs a board and tears up the streets. Stripping back the bloat a nd returning to the core of the experience is exactly what the series needed. In light of all this, the prospect of a 'back to its roots' reboot held promise.

However, I still remember when the Tony Hawk games were great, and it's been an amusing sideshow of cartoonish absurdity watching the series stumble over its own feet. Though once an example of the finest that arcadey sports titles had to offer, it overstayed its welcome and piled on bad idea after bad idea until it got to the infamous Ride / Shred sub-series, which was almost entirely unrecognizable compared to the source. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater holds a special place in gaming's cultural landscape. WTF Lil' Wayne is a playable skater, but doesn't appear on the soundtrack. LOW Framerate and screen-tearing issues abound.

HIGH Solid level design and one excellent unlockable skater!

Lil wayne tony hawk pro skater 5