Written by Jeff Buckland, 10/13/2004
Played on:
Windows
Tony Hawk's Underground 2 is the sixth in Neversoft's impressive series of skateboarding games in as many years. Every time, Neversoft manages to throw enough new stuff in to make long-time fans of the series go ahead and try the new game. A full set of new levels, crazier new goals, and new moves are what Tony Hawk fans have come to expect every year. Yes, they've delivered an entirely new game (with some striking similar gameplay mechanics, granted) for the sixth year in a row with THUG2.
While we haven't really seen any major engine enhancements since Tony Hawk 4 two years ago, Neversoft continues to push the envelope with more and more detail and even larger levels. Beenox is the company who did the PC version of this game, and they've done an excellent job keeping up the same smooth gameplay as you can get on the consoles.
The obvious difference when comparing the PC and console versions of THUG2 is the game's resolution. Playing this game at 1280x1024 does make the game seem more impressive than playing it on a console, but at the same time, the need to use a gamepad that works for the PC and the benefit of having a large TV on a console mean that the PC version - to me - isn't really much better at all.
The nice thing is that almost all of the features in the console versions of the game work on the PC version. This includes online play with the new game modes, putting your own face on the skater, and all the gameplay. I say this because the last PC port of a Tony Hawk game, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 by Gearbox, was a barebones version of the game that lacked the PS2 version's online play.
The most important basic thing you'll need for a game like this is a good control setup. It's pretty much a given that a console version will be fine here, but on the PC it's not so straightforward. Using the keyboard for any Tony Hawk game is an exercise in frustration, so a gamepad is a must. My weapon of choice is a standard PlayStation 2 controller plugged in with a USB adapter, and it did everything I needed it to for THUG2. The game uses a standardized controller interface that allows you to configure every button how you want, and anything that Windows detects as a normal game controller should work. The one thing you may lack is the right number of buttons - the game uses up to 11 buttons as well as four axes if you've got 'em. Not all of these buttons are crucial, but about eight of them pretty much are.
Otherwise, the game's interface is decent. The save system is a little too much like the console versions for me, and I do wish there was a quicksave or something. The menus are all tricked out in the graffiti-coated "THUG" style, and most of the options you'd expect to be there are right there. THUG2 does include quite a few customization features for both your character and for skatepark creation; some of these have been seen in previous games, and others are either totally redone or all new.
As in all the previous Tony Hawk titles, you'll travel the globe and hit classic skate spots - this time around, you'll see Spain, Germany, Australia, Boston, New Orleans, and more. Each map is highly detailed, but the best part about it is that every object was placed there for a reason, and you can skate on or over just about everything in a level. It's the combination of serious attention to gameplay details while still making each level unique and impressive that really makes the game that good.
Many of the skaters seen in this game have been seen a bunch of times before, but Neversoft went ahead and re-drew most of the game's content anyway. A bunch of the old animations are here, but this is by no means an "upgrade" game like so many sports titles turn out to be. The character models are improved, the classic levels were re-lit and retextured, and it just overall feels like a completely new game rather than a rehash with a fresh coat of paint.
As far as special effects go, this game falls quite a bit behind the competition on the PC. There aren't any decent DirectX 9 or pixel shader effects to speak of, and some of the fire effects and whatnot are pretty rudimentary. At the same time, I can't really fault them for this, as style and gameplay are the obvious focal points in the Tony Hawk games.
