Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3 Review

In the past it has been unusual to expect much from sports games that have appeared on handheld consoles, however with the advent of the GameBoy Advance and the stunning port of Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2, things had changed. The power of Nintendo’s handheld allowed for a rather remarkably accurate port of an excellent game. <br /> <br /> Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 on the GameBoy Advance builds upon the solid technical foundations already laid down and concentrates on offering an even better gameplay experience. The changes from the second and third games are exactly the same as the versions from the bigger consoles. Essentially this is the same game as before, but the changes such as the increased level size and variety, create a skater, revert trick, more level goals, more tricks and well, just more in general make this an even more compelling experience. <br /> <br /> The levels are about four times the size of those in Tony Hawk 2 and the design is just wonderful with a huge range of trick options as well as some great locations that offer some serious hazards such as lava and earthquakes. Ranging from Suburbia to Rio the levels offer a huge range of skating options and will require a lot of play before you start hitting the huge scores. The increase in size and addition of other characters coupled with the introduction of the revert trick – allowing you to trick after landing on a ramp or half pipe – means that even hardened hand-held skaters will have some things to learn. <br /> <br /> Graphically this game refines the engine that was so impressive when we first saw it used in Tony Hawk 2, the polygon characters are now fully textured and animate even more smoothly. Due to the introduction of textures you can now create your own skater and dress them up however you want with a wide range of clothes and accessories. The levels are about four times as large as the previous game and all of the changes that take place as you skate, such as the earthquake on the Los Angeles level, are in place, a rather impressive achievement on the handheld. The only problem with the graphics is the perspective; the isometric view can cause some problems initially in terms of getting the angles right for tricks. This is one small niggle and until they get a fully three dimensional engine – which we can’t see happening soon – you will just have to spend a little time practising and getting used to the angle. Once you have got used to the view then things become excellent and you will just spend time learning the levels and improving your scores. <br /> <br /> As well as being a great visual port Vicarious Visions have done a good job on the audio. Sound effects are spot on with numerous high quality samples for every situation in the game, although to hear them properly you really need to use headphones. The music is also done well using instrument samples to good effect, lyrics have had to be dropped and most of the songs are guitar based, but if you like the more rock orientated songs then you won’t be disappointed. <br /> <br /> In addition to the addictive one-player mode there is a wide selection of multi-player modes, which are where Tony Hawk has always been good. If you just have one machine you can play the ever-excellent Horse, with up to four players you take it in turns to score the highest on an individual trick. If you have more machines and a link cable you can play trick attack, tag and king of the hill. Each of these multi-player modes are very good fun, especially if you have players of a similar skill level to produce some closely fought games.