READY TO ROLL AGAIN?
SOMETIMES the memories a game evokes are better than the actual game itself. Voodoo Vince will always remind me of my first home with Mr M – summer mornings in the sunlit living room, the open windows letting in the scent of sea air, and the sound of crashing waves.
Gregory Horror Show summons memories of stolen moments of calm between wedding planning, hammering the gym, and the chaos of getting a new kitchen fitted.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (depressingly) takes me even further back, spending weekends with Mr M at his parent’s house, staying up all hours on the PlayStation, the punk-rock soundtrack becoming an earworm that lasts to this day.
And while Tony Hawk’s is rightly considered one of the greatest sporting games of all time, past attempts to remaster it (2012’s Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD, anyone?) have failed horribly.
Pro Skater brought skateboarding to the masses, taking it out of skateparks, car parks and actual parks and into millions of homes around the world.
TONY HAWK’S PRO SKATER 1+2
Not only did it feel authentic, the gameplay was addictive – the nerve-jangling tension of pulling off a move so you didn’t face plant the floor from a great height.
So the pressure was well and truly on developer Vicarious Visions to bring not just Pro Skater, but its magnificent sequel – Pro Skater 2 – to the new-generation consoles.
The result is an absolute triumph. Vicarious Visions have neatly bundled both games together, stripping them to their bare and essential elements, then layering them with tweaks and extras.
One of the greatest things I found was the ability to transfer your character between games, taking all your upgrades and progress with you.
Visually, it’s breathtaking, the skating environments rendered with rich texture and colour. The drops are now vertigo inspiring, the sunlight dazzling, the shadows deep and enriching. It’s odd that each level feels so familiar, whilst looking so wildly different.
As for the skateboarding itself, none of the adrenaline-pumping action has been sacrificed, and there have been some new tricks added from later franchise entries to help you boost your total as the timer ticks down.
There’s no shame in admitting that I hammered the tutorials to begin with, until my fingers found their muscle memory and I was pulling tricks like a pro.
The game’s seminal soundtrack remains largely intact, with 37 new songs to compensate for the three classics that couldn’t make the cut.
Being slightly obsessive when it comes to collectables, I was delighted to discover that none of the game’s collectables had moved from their original positions, meaning that most of them were easy to track down – and there’s the added bonus of a Vicarious Visions logo (two stacked, blue Vs) to hunt out in each level.
Another fun addition is Speedrun mode, which has you aiming to beat all the challenges in a level as the timer ticks up.
There’s a hugely impressive roster of skaters to choose from, all the original characters bolstered by the addition of some new names. There are also unlockable characters including Officer Dick, done in motion capture and voiced by actor Jack Black.
While the levels feel small by today’s gaming standards, it’s still incredible how contemporary Pro Skater feels. It will bring a heady wave of nostalgia for gamers of a certain age, it offers something new and exciting for younger players.