Game Review
Tony Hawk's Proving Grounds Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, DS, Wii
Besides its levels and gameplay, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground features a large soundtrack with a wide variety of artists including Blackalicious, !!!, Foo Fighters, Slick Rick, The Clash and the Rolling Stones, just to name a few. The game also features a number of unlockable items, just as its predecessors, such as skaters and environments. The player is also able to film or photograph their own moves and edit them with an in-game video editor.
Although Tony Hawk's Proving Ground offers a wide array of features, it still does not fall far from its predecessors except for its enhanced graphics and enlarged skating environment. For the past eight years, no game was comparable to the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series. But with the release of game developer Electronic Arts's fall 2007 release, Skate, the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series seems to be losing the competition. EA's Skate could undoubtedly be called a simulator because of its unbelievably realistic gameplay. Whereas in Proving Ground, the player can simply hold down a button to accelerate and eventually move as fast as cars, the player in Skate must push to obtain speed and only can reach a realistic level unless using a ramp or going downhill. Although Proving Ground features the "Nail-It" mode, which enables the user to control the skater's feet, EA Skate's entire gameplay is based on a similar idea. Using the analog stick controls to pop the board and move the skater's feet on it, making every trick attempt different in someway. In Tony Hawk's series, each trick will always look exactly the same unless entering "Nail-It" mode. In EA's Skate, the player basically has the ability to style each individual trick that he wishes to perform. One persistent issue with the Tony Hawk's game series is the unrealistic abilities of the skater. In Proving Ground and its predecessors, we see the skater flying over buildings and grinding objects for miles, enabling the player to cover an entire city in one combination move, without ever touching all four wheels on the ground. Each game character becomes Superman on his board. While this can be fun and entertaining, the concept gets old and makes the game less challenging.
EA's Skate stands out as a more sophisticated game than Proving Ground, with features and gameplay that make the enjoyment of the game lasting. While Tony Hawk's Proving Ground is not a poorly developed game, but its overbearing similarity to its predecessors makes the game lack originality.
Although Tony Hawk's Proving Ground offers a wide array of features, it still does not fall far from its predecessors except for its enhanced graphics and enlarged skating environment. For the past eight years, no game was comparable to the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series. But with the release of game developer Electronic Arts's fall 2007 release, Skate, the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series seems to be losing the competition. EA's Skate could undoubtedly be called a simulator because of its unbelievably realistic gameplay. Whereas in Proving Ground, the player can simply hold down a button to accelerate and eventually move as fast as cars, the player in Skate must push to obtain speed and only can reach a realistic level unless using a ramp or going downhill. Although Proving Ground features the "Nail-It" mode, which enables the user to control the skater's feet, EA Skate's entire gameplay is based on a similar idea. Using the analog stick controls to pop the board and move the skater's feet on it, making every trick attempt different in someway. In Tony Hawk's series, each trick will always look exactly the same unless entering "Nail-It" mode. In EA's Skate, the player basically has the ability to style each individual trick that he wishes to perform. One persistent issue with the Tony Hawk's game series is the unrealistic abilities of the skater. In Proving Ground and its predecessors, we see the skater flying over buildings and grinding objects for miles, enabling the player to cover an entire city in one combination move, without ever touching all four wheels on the ground. Each game character becomes Superman on his board. While this can be fun and entertaining, the concept gets old and makes the game less challenging.
EA's Skate stands out as a more sophisticated game than Proving Ground, with features and gameplay that make the enjoyment of the game lasting. While Tony Hawk's Proving Ground is not a poorly developed game, but its overbearing similarity to its predecessors makes the game lack originality.
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