Anyone familiar with the Tony Hawk series knows it is a cash cow property, milked yearly with little in the way of change, aside from slightly improved graphics and an updated roster of the latest and greatest skateboarding talent. Needless to say, I was certainly surprised to find myself even remotely interested in another Tony Hawk game, much less a handheld version (as sacrifices must be made) such as Tony Hawk's American Sk8land for the Nintendo DS. While some people may simply be more resilient than myself and may still be playing the games even today, for me, the last great game in the series was way back on the Nintendo 64 with Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3. It wasn't too long after that when I stopped playing the games all together, even as a rental. So why did this latest version catch my attention so? Well, it wasn't just because the game was promised to be a return to the series' roots, since most long running series that begin to lose their edge (and sales) eventually claim such, but it was more because it actually looked like it.
Now, when I say it "looked like it," I mean it quite literally, as the first thing you may notice about Tony Hawk's American Sk8land is the graphics. This time around, Vicarious Visions decided to use cell-shading for this latest skateboard romp. The same cartoon-like style that gained notoriety from the controversy surrounding The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, though I don't think that will happen with this game. In fact, the graphics actually work great with the game. Perhaps I'm just more sentimental and enjoy the nostalgic effect of it, but the new style of graphics are highly reminiscent of the Nintendo 64 game I mentioned earlier (with the exception of cutscenes, which really do have a cartoon sort of feel to them), only more colorful. Some areas could have used a bit more detail, such as the various people scattered on the streets (they are all very general sprites, used several times throughout the level, which only get actual features once you speak to them), but you don't really notice since you'll spend most of your time running over them on your rush to complete objectives. Of course, the graphics are only half the battle in a game that must look and sound good, though they are fortunately backed up by some decent sound effects. Everything in this game has a noteworthy effect of some sort, whether it is the sound of your character grinding a rail across half the city or smacking face first into one of the many obstacles scattered along the way...unless of course you find yourself being bounced back and forth between two different obstructions, but that is another matter entirely. On the other hand, I can't say too much for the music. It is on par with every other game of this sort, though I can't stand it. However, I think it is safe to say that everyone will be able to find at least one song they like and, even if you can't, the game allows you to turn off each song individually until there is nothing left but you and the sound effects. All in all, though, the graphics and sounds of Tony Hawk's American Sk8land use the DS hardware to great effect.
The rest of the DS is also put to some interesting, if not somewhat limited use, too. Of the two screens, the top screen gives you the action and a variety of meters, while the bottom screen gives you a par-for-the-course map (drawn in the same edgy style as the rest of the game, I might add). However, Tony Hawk's American Sk8land also changes up the mix a bit, tossing in a few touch screen actions along the way. For instance, if you build up your special meter (the colorful bar with a star in the top left corner of the top screen), you can tap special move icons that will appear on the right side of the second screen. While those may be somewhat hard to get to, you can also use the touch screen if you screw up a massive combo, attempting to tap the three meters that will appear on screen as they peak. If you have quick enough reflexes, you can salvage most of what you lost, though it is a burden to so suddenly interact with the touch screen. Apart from that, traditional controls will dominate the play. You will use the directional bad to move and to balance yourself while you are performing any variety of feats, which you initiate with a wide variety of button combinations that are probably harder to learn than an actual skateboard. However, to make things easier, you can customize your buttons to your heart's content. And customization is a big part of this game.
You can personalize almost every aspect of this game, with Tony Hawk's American Sk8land utilizing almost every one of the unique abilities the Nintendo DS has to offer somewhere along the way. Apart from simply customizing controls and music, you can build up stats for your character in a number of categories depending on how you skate, including speed, air, manuals and loads more. You can also constantly recreate your character's appearance, selecting from a variety of hats/hairstyles, shirts and pants, and each of those come in a whole myriad of colors. You can use the touch screen to create custom boards, though it is not as accurate as the art editors found in games like Mario Kart DS or Animal Crossing: Wild World, and there is no D-pad control alternative. On the other handy, even while stray lines may shoot out of no where as you draw, the setup does provide you with a little more freedom than the other two aforementioned games. The same goes for the custom graffiti editor, which allows you to design your own personal tag to place at specific areas all over the various cities. Even the Nintendo DS microphone gets in on the action, letting players create signature sounds for performing certain feats throughout the game. And all of this goes towards being able to distinguish yourself by more than just a screen name, perfect for making a lasting impression when you go online.
Tony Hawk's American Sk8land has a variety of modes, including some online options via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, a first for any Nintendo system. I am sure we can all agree that games of this sort have never been about story, so it should come as no surprise that the Story Mode of Tony Hawk's American Sk8land is backed by a paper-thin one, though it must be played to unlock all the areas. As the story goes, you manage to impress the game's titular icon at a skate tournament and Tony Hawk invites you on his skate tour. When you arrive in Hollywood, you meet Mindy the "local skate chick" and artist who is making a comic about an old skate park, the titular American Sk8land. Impressed by her work (Tony Hawk seems easily impressed, doesn't he?), the three of you decide to rebuild the now-dilapidated warehouse. In order to help restore American Sk8land to its former glory, your job is to complete a series of objectives in each town, earn money and then spend it on the park whenever you meet a new skate legend. Tony Hawk's American Sk8land also has a Classic Mode, which, as the name might suggest, plays like the old Tony Hawk Pro Skater games. Players get a 2-minute timer, 10 goals and a dozen other characters to try and work their way through, level by level. Players can also upload their best runs onto the Tony Hawk's American Sk8land website so everyone can learn to respect their talent. There is also an offline Free Skate, which doesn't have any goals or timer and is a great way to polish up your moves before you go online.
The online aspect of Tony Hawk's American Sk8land, while being one of the most noteworthy features, is mostly just novelty. There is a lot of downloading and uploading, which is all well and good, but there are only four types of competitive skating, and even then it is just between two people. The four competitive head-to-head games I have mentioned are also all very similar. You have Trick Attack, where the player with the highest score in the end wins, there is Score Challenge, which is a race to reach the target score, Combo Mambo has players performing the biggest combo in order to win and, finally, The Price Is Wrong, where the two players have to get as close to a target score as possible without going over it. The online modes over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection have a bit more appeal than the local Wi-Fi (which requires two cards), since you are getting fresh competitors instead of someone you have played time and time again, though I must admit it takes me longer to find a random opponent than any other Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection game I have played.
Bottom Line:
Tony Hawk's American Sk8land has the distinction of being the second Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection-enabled game available, and the first third-party one at that. However, it now also has the distinction of being more bells and whistles than substantial online play. If a game like this and Mario Kart DS came together, there could be something good, but right now you would have to be a hardcore fan to pick it up. While it pleases me to no end to say that this game is indeed a return to the series' roots, it would seem wiser to wait for the inevitable sequel, allowing for some of the small, annoying nuances to be worked out and for the gameplay to be beefed up a bit. Even so, if you are in desperate need of an online game and nothing Nintendo is offering at the moment attracts you, I can't say Tony Hawk's American Sk8land doesn't deserve another look.
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7.5 |
Posted: 2006-01-21 09:32:55PST