I just watched and read IGN's Thoughts on the game and personally I'm pretty excited about it. I didn't play THUG 2 but have owned or still own numbers one through five. This looks to be the biggest and best game yet, with the inclusion of a cooler story mode (similar to THUG) and BMX riding. Anyone else interested?

I picked this up the other day and so far I have been pretty impressed. I havn't played a TH game since THPS3 on my PSone, so this is my first current gen Hawk.
The story mode is passable, but thankfully you don't have to pay much attention to it. Thankfully they have taken away all the 'jackass' type quests and are as all the tasks are skate oriented, with just a couple of BMX missions (the BMX bikes handle really well).
Also, the whole one big giant load-free skate area is true to some extent, all they have done is joined each area with a tunnel (that usually has a few ramps and rails in it) were in which the game loads as you go through the tunnel. It still works however, as it serves as a means to break up each individul area, which is nice.

The skating engine is pretty sweet, and will feel at home to any THPS fan, with a few extra cool moves thrown in. I havn't played it on Live yet (this is the first TH game to have Xbox Live multiplayer) as I fear I would get my ass handed to me, but by all reports its pretty lag free and fun.
All the levels are really well designed, with more freedom placed on making your own lines up. There's even a classic mode that has a number of classic maps that you complete the old-school tasks on, such as collect S-K-A-T-E etc...

I would suggest anyone who skipped the Underground games, just as I did, to give this title a shot as it does focus primarily on skating, but still provides some freshness to the series. It also worth pointing out that you can pick up the game for under $80 :thumbsup: .

The greatest Tony Hawk game is Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 follwed closely by THPS2 on PS1. All the rest is recycled. The Underground games felt like something out of MTV that focused too much on licenced music and Jackass.

American Wasteland, IMO, is only worth a rent. I would try it before shelling out for it. I own THPS4 and can live off that until Tony Hawk comes to his senses. Not buying it, sorry.

Mat Hoffman got shafted out of a game! :(

Sounds cool, might get it for my brother for xmas or something.

Yeah if I had THPS4 on a current gen system I wouldn't have bothered with AW. But as such, I'm very happy with my purchase and would reccommend to anyone who doesn't own a current gen Hawk game to give it a try. You can always use EB's 7 day rental policy :P

Mat Hoffman may have been shafted out of a game Estapol, but at least you can jump onto a BMX whenever you want in AW, plus Mat makes an appearance in the game.

Yeah, figured that was the case. :P

Mat Hoffman 2 and a Tony Hawk 3 were pretty much the same game, but with different levels/tricks, so putting both sports together was a great move imho. :)

Then maybe they should just call it Tony Hawk's (and Friends') Xtreme Sportz!! or something.

Nah, cause then they'd have to include all the shitty extreme sports. :P

The one I'm waiting for is Beast's Pro Footbagger. :)

The EyeToy was made for footbagging! Just like that ball juggling minigame.


On topic: THPS:AW sucks TO THE EXTREEEME!! IGN is a hype machine, they're like the confused and depressed teenager I was in the 90's, easily convinced anything was good if it had an X in the title. :P

Edit:
Gamespot gave AW 75.
Eurogamer gave it 60.

And this is what Edge magazine had to say about it: The title is just painfully apt: never has a free-roaming structure brought so little to improve the quality of a game's world. The mooted open-ended environments of Tony Hawk's American Wasteland feel like a fallacy, a bleak repackaging for hocking the game to a jaded audience.

I'm a big fan of the THPS games, don't get me wrong, but I don't see why I should sped money on AW when its simply a very expensive mod of the previous game. If it had a new graphics engine or re-thought physics (a different feel) and was a bit more challenging then maybe I'd consider, but its too average for me. I could get the same sensations (and fun) out of THPS4. I wouldn't be surprised if EA bought the THPS licence and churned out a game yearly, Activision are heading in the wrong direction and Neversoft seem to have run out of creativity.

I'm hoping Neversoft's new game Gun is successful so maybe they'll stop churning out all these Tony Hawk games. Can't be too fun working on the same franchise over and over again.

Yeah, you could say its "healthy" work on something other than Tony Hawk. Like Black from Criterion who are better known for their almost yearly (EA) Burnout games.

Criterion mainly work on their game Engine; Renderware, which is the main engine behind such games as GTA 3/VC/SA, Mortal Kombat Deception, Call of Duty: Finest Hour, Sonic Heroes, the Tony Hawk series(:P) and of course, the Burnout games.

:P

EDIT: Was over at Eurogamer, and they seemed to like the game.

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=61466

6/10 ain't too bad considering.

Yeah, Renderware is a sweet engine, it makes things shiny. So Neversoft have no excuse for not improving the game.

Well I actually ended up taking this back yesterday. The damn thing kept crashing on me (it would freeze just after I had completed a mission). I can't stand games with bugs like that, so a word to the wise, if you do pick it up, be prepared for the thing to crash. I had the Xbox version so I have no idea if the PS2 version suffers from the same problems. Ah well, back to THPS2 for me!

Anyway, not all was lost, I picked up Pro Evo 5 instead. Thank god for EB's 7 day return policy :P

God bless you, son. Pro Evo 5 is a great game. I'm glad to see we have some good taste on these forums.

I was considering giving this a purchase somewhere down the track actually as it does sound like an improvement again. Now that I have heard about these bugs, I'm not so sure.

Hmm.

I was wondering weather to get the game on PS2 or GCN, does anyone know anything about which version is better?

Also I have Pro Evo 3 DZ, which satisfys my soccer needs.

I think it comes down to the control layout and which you're more comfortable with.

Dunno what you're trying to point out there James, but the Pro Evo games just keep on getting better with each instalment and no bullshit. You won't see any MTV type of crap in the Pro Evo games, its the beautiful game.

Well it seems with me, I think the Tony Hawks game has got better but you only need an older game to satify your skating needs (and rightfully so, I used to own THPS4 on PS2), and it's the opposite with me - I only need PES3 to give me soccer love. I probably wont update untill number 6 comes out.

And I think I'm in luck, because when I'm away my mum i sprobably picking this up for my little bro who wants it to play on his PS2. No money spent to me!

That post didn't make any sense. Go back to your english text books, James.

I got it, and so far I'm enjoying it. I don't look at the Tony Hawk games with a critical eye, except THUG2, in which the story mode sucks.

I'll be trying Xbox live play soon... I'm hyped for it. It's probably the main reason I bought it!

DZ - Has THPS4 which furfills all his skating urges.

JJJames - Has PES3 which furfills all his soccer urges.

DZ - Doesn't need THAW because he doesn't need a skating update yet.

JJJames - Doesn't need PES5 because he doesn't need a soccer update yet.

If you don't understand this colorful little explanation then I give up.

No, you see, the difference between soccer and skateboarding is that in soccer you have transfers and new teams every year moving up and down the league tables, so if you're a fan, you want the latest version.
But skateboading doesn't have all that. They just chuck in a couple new course, a new soundtrack, better graphics and voila. With PES, everything is tweaked, the modes work better, the game is more fluid, the difficulty is balanced.

Well I picked up the game today and have played it for around half and hour. It's a pretty damn good game so far. The story mode is pretty simple - you move to LA to get some form of skating career going, and you meet with some chick who I think will help you out along the way.

I have to play it a little bit more to give any more impressions, but it's a sold title so far.

Is it as glitchy/buggy as everyone says?

Not at all, it's running smooth as a babys arse. :)

I've got this pre-ordered for the Xbox 360, looking forward to it. A move back to skating is what the series needs, the last three games have been too distracted in their focus.

Just do what ou do well.

I've probably played the game for around four hours total so far. I gave the multiplayer a whirl with a mate which was incredibly fun (King of the hill was awesome), and have been working on the Story Mode. It seems that the main goal of Story Mode is to collect pieces for our little skate paradise, Skate Ranch. Or atleast, it's the main goal thus far.

The BMX mode is incredibly awesome. The handling is great and the right analogue stick (on PS2) is used to pull of tricks such as crankflips and tailwhips. But back to the skating; it seems there is so much jammed into this game! Climbing up walls, nada spins, bevil (or something :P) thingies are just a few of the inclusions.

There are basically no loading scenes which is a plus. Graphics are smooth and detailed. If you're a fan of the series but didn't enjoy THUG, definatly pick this one up.

Note to DZ - If I get PES5, will you get this? :P

You better get PES5. Or better yet, send me $20 and I'll send you a "modified" version with real names, real clubs, real sponsors, and up to date teams.

Edit:













Thats what I meant. The mod teams, WEdoit, We-Uk, WENDETTA etc. You should all try it out. It rocks! My WE9 has Chelsea on the cover. :P

California Games needs to make a comeback.

It's just the fact that I don't really do the Master Cup mode or whatever it's called, because I can't really get into all the Italian/English clubs and all that.

You can't get into the Premiership?? Or you don't feel like it? Cos its real rewarding, you get PES points and can purchadse shit. Action Replays exist too. ;)

Is your console modded? Cos its legal now in Australia. DO IT NOW! :P

That's right post a page full of images right when I'm capped. Nice work dude.

I don't think I would buy the new version of a sports game just for the updated player lists. Maybe every two or three years when there's a fairly significant graphical improvement. That said I wouldn't buy every new version of Tony Hawk either. You've played one, you've played them all.

Was there a point to posting a heap of really lame, poorly made boxarts that hurt texta's internet?

keyword's: "hurt" "texta".

:P

I was just giving examples. :D

I dunno. I think I can see nipple in the first one. :P

You know I could have sworn this was the the THAW thread, but you never know, maybe in the next iteration, they will have a soccer theme. Idiots.

I got this game and I'm reasonably impressed. Its pretty good. Not as good as THUG 1 but definately better than THUG 2. And nothing comes close to THPS 3.