A Worthy Entry To The Series
Now while the Tony Hawk videogames today is regarded to be series that needs to die, plain and simple. I still feel a touch of nostalgia when playing old Tony Hawk games. This lead me to play through every game again. T.H.U.G. 2 is generally seen as the sloping point of the franchise. I disagree, I think the many additions they add to streamline the gameplay are actually very refined and intuitive. The way that goals are done in THUG 2 is just as simple as grinding on an object. Normally this would trigger a bunch of objects to flash and you will have to trick off of them. Now this is just one type of goal, they still have a heap of others to do within the level. For instance getting highscores requires you to go to an arcade machine. Other goals feature some more of board action as you are tasked with tagging specific spots within the level. These are just some of the normal goals in THUG 2. In each level you have 4 skaters to choose from. The Custom Skater, is basically you, you have your own goals that aren't too challenging and require little skill. Then there is the Pro Skater, which you choose at the start of the level, he has his own set of goals that are a bit harder than the usual Custom Skater Goals. Then there is the Guest Skater, who usually reflects the stereotypical culture of the particular place you skate. For instance, in Australia the guest skater is a shrimp vendor, in Barcelona there's a Matador. And so on and so forth. Along with those there are also secret skaters, for instance in Barcelona you have the option to play as Steve-O. If you can find him that is. Every secret skater rides a vehicle of some sort instead of a board. For instance in Boston you can ride a motorised scooter. Each one of these skaters has there own unique set of goals and the seamless switching between them makes jumping to goals a lot easier and of course more fun. THUG 2 also adds a couple of other new features within the main game, mainly a couple of tricks and gimmicks. One new feature is the abilitiy to tag, which incorporates its way into a couple of goals. The ability to customise your tag is also a welcome feature. Another new feature is focus which in essence slows down gameplay to make performing tricks easier. While it is an interesting concept, it's just not that useful. Especially for seasoned Tony Hawk veterans. The story of THUG 2 is fair. It's not great and dpesn't live up to the standards of the first Underground, which didn't have a good story to begin with. THUG 2 basically tells you to blow shit up for points. Which is fun in a gameplay sense but the story that ties it just feels thrown together with some lighthearted laughs
along the way. Clearly a weak point in the game. While Tony Hawk is worthy entry to the series, it just feels held back with a bad story and some gimmicky additions.
