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Tony Hawk's a tricky prospect on handheld systems, but last year's Tony Hawk's Underground 2 proved it could be done write with proper care. The attention given to THUG 2 on PSP was denied Tony Hawk's Project 8, which fails to deliver Neversoft's vision. Developed by Page 44 Studios off of the underwhelming Shaba current-gen Tony Hawk port, Project 8 is fun is short spurts, but ruins the series' innovative new addition.
Join Project 8
Using last year's engine, Project 8 features 10 different areas, none of which are directly connected. Like old-school Tony Hawk games, you'll clear one area to open another and then be able to select specific levels. It's not one big city as in the next-gen versions. Your goal is to rise from your sad #200 ranking among amateur skaters and crack the top eight. Every secret token found, gap crossed, and challenge beaten propels your created skater up the rankings. Complete enough challenges and you'll enter the Birdman's elite Project 8.
Size Matters
The moderately-sized levels have a healthy number of challenges. Skate up to any highlighted character to engage in specific challenges, including the re-modeled Classic Mode, which now works within the structure of the Career Mode. That's right, instead of having to play classic two-minute Tony Hawk challenges in a separate mode, you can now do so in the middle of the city. In fact, completing the ten challenges in each Classic zone can go a long way to boosting your rankings.
New this year are Spot Challenges. These test your specific skating skills, whether it's grinding a certain distance or trying to gain air. Likely for technical reasons, the Spot Challenges must be activated by talking to a character. This effectively negates the purpose of the challenges, which, in the next-gen versions, is to allow you to complete tasks while free skating about the levels. As a segregated event, it seems a bit pointless.
The majority of skill contests have three possible rankings: Amateur, Pro and Sick. You can get to Project 8 by mastering the Amateur level of difficulty on challenges. This is a cake walk and even the Pro difficulty is pretty easy. The only real test of your skating prowess is nabbing Sick ratings. Some of these are difficult, but shouldn't be too great a test for veteran Hawk fans.
The only time a ranking is not involved is when you face one of the Pro Challenges. Some of the best vert and street skaters have specific skill tests. While a few of the old guard come into play, including fan-fave Bob Burnquist, the majority of the pros are newer stars. The young (and ridiculously talented) Ryan Sheckler heads up a list that includes Paul Rodriguez, Jr., Nyjah Huston and Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins. Bam Margera shows up in the Slums. Fitting.
Page 44, who was primary developer for the PSP version, chose to return Hawk to its more traditional roots for stat progression. Completing goals earn stat points, which can then be spent as you please. The one area where the current-gen versions trump next-gen is that you can increase your skater's speed. In fact, the speed of Project 8 on PSP is enjoyably faster than what is seen on 360 and PS3. There is some intermittent framerate issues, but nothing too distracting.
Design on a Dime
All of this is fine and dandy and, with the right level design, could make for a decent entry in Activision's long-running series. But, the level design in Project 8 is lacking. Suburbia, The Factory, The School -- we've seen these same areas before, but done much, much better in other versions of Tony Hawk. None of the areas pop with energy or vitality. The lines in Project 8 are so obvious they might as well come with a neon sign. You can, quite literally, take air and hit the grind button and be almost certain to grind something by the time you reach the ground. As long as you can maintain your balance, you can easily pull off long lines.
One of the keys to Tony Hawk's longevity has been Neversoft's ingenuity in level design. Project 8 feels like an exhalation, as if Neversoft, Shaba and Page 44 are all saying, "Well, we're tapped out." This isn't to say that the game world has nothing to offer, just that it just feels uninspired. To its credit, the PSP version has slightly stronger design than its next-gen counterparts.
Nail the Trick, Not So Much
The big new shiny addition this year is the highly addictive Nail the Trick. Sadly, it is a complete disaster on PSP. Anytime you have air, you must move to the thumbstick and flick up-down to enter Nail the Trick. Time slows and all focus goes to your feet and the board. Your task is to flip your board as often and quickly as possible to jack up your score. The D-Pad acts as your left foot, the face buttons as your right. Push in a direction to kick with your foot and flip the board. It should be simple, but on PSP the mechanics are off and it's frustratingly difficult to nail anything but a face plant into the sidewalk.
The game often takes two or three seconds to register the mode, which makes it virtually impossible to do quick Nail the Tricks off grinds or with small air. Instead, you can only really use it on quarter pipes and long gaps, which kills part of the ability to make Nail the Trick part of every combo string. The latest addition to the Tony Hawk series does not work well on PSP and that just about kills the game from the start.
How to Ruin Tony Hawk
Some absolutely terrible decisions were made for Tony Hawk on PSP. Inexplicably, Shaba and Page 44 decided to alter one of the most basic control functions. Ever since Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, gamers have pushed up-down (or down-up) to manual. This is how tricks were first linked and became the basis for the series' insanely long trick lines. In Project 8, you can still use the old way to manual, or you can press a face button to instantly manual. And, you don't have to revert anymore out of a quarterpipe. The new manual button covers the revert and continues the line. What. The. F@$&.
This ruins Tony Hawk. Ruins it. As I said before, this is Tony Hawk for dummies. Manual balance is also far too easy and coupled with the simplicity of the new trick system, pulling off huge combos can be done without any effort. I don't know who thought this is necessary, but they should be forced to sit in the corner for the next year.
Go Classic
Exclusive to the PSP is Classic Mode. Here you can choose a skater and select from eight redesigned levels. Skate against a two-minute time limit in an attempt to complete 10 different tasks. Collecting S-K-A-T-E, earning high scores and finding the secret disc are all part of this old school mode. It's a nice addition to have and offers something extra for those who find Project 8's Career Mode to be a drag.
Online
Ad hoc wireless play is available for up to four players on any of the host's unlocked stages. There are a dozen playable games and while it would have been nice to have more skaters online, the games are actually a lot of fun. Elimiskate has turned out to be one of the favorites. In it, players skate in timed rounds. The player with the lower score is axed and play continues until only one player remains.
The online support is actually more attractive than the single-player game.
Sights and Sounds
To its credit, the PSP version of Project 8 runs far better than the PS3 or 360 versions. Working off the old engine, Project 8 runs smoothly and has some decent animations and textures. The only glitch in graphics comes from the bloated rendering of former skate pro Jason Lee's face. He must have eaten a Hot Pocket that didn't agree with him before having his face scanned, because he doesn't look so good.
Once you've managed to calm your screaming (it's okay, mutant Jason Lee isn't real), you can enjoy more than 50 licensed tracks. Once again, it's a killer set of songs, which include the classic Dead Milkmen ditty "Punk Rock Girl," Joy Division's "Interzone" and Kool and the Gang's brilliant instrumental, "Summer Madness." The sound effects are up to par, but get used to the sound of your wheels on pavement, because there's almost no ambient noise.
Tony Hawk's Project 8 is a big letdown after the success of THUG 2. The level design is mediocre and the new Nail the Trick feature is no fun at all. Worst of all is the changes to manuals, which is completely unwarranted. If this is representative of the future of Tony Hawk, the series is in serious trouble.
Verdict - 3 Star
Platform: Sony PSP/PSPgo
Developer: Page 44 Studios
Publisher: Activision
Release Date: November 21,2006
Rated: ESRB T(12+) for Teen.
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