Having grown up in the United States I have always dreamed about being able to skateboard. Unfortunately, there have been several roadblocks that have prevented me from accomplishing this; my high center of gravity, my fear of broken bones, and the time and effort necessary to gain even the most rudimentary of skateboarding. Tony Hawk's Proving Ground gives me the chance to become a skating legend by removing all of these obstacles, but unfortunately adds a whole new set of its own.
Tony Hawk's Proving Ground is the latest in a long and illustrious line of skateboarding videogames. Each new iteration added features to the already solid gameplay of its predecessors. One of the major new additions in Proving Ground is the 3 new "Skater Styles". Each style focuses on a different aspect of skating. Hardcore skaters are all about over the top tricks. Riggers scrounge items to make their own lines. Career skaters are all about showing off for the cameras. You can work on any storyline you choose, switching back and forth as you see fit. As you progress through them you earn a variety of new skills.
And are there a ton of skills to learn! Beyond just the basics of grinds and manuals, there are also plenty of additional moves to be unlocked and mastered. Unfortunately, this can be rather daunting for newcomers. Being unfamiliar with even the basics, I was quickly overwhelmed by the flood of new moves. I would learn something new and then immediately move on to something different. By the time I finished learning that I had forgotten how to do what I had learned earlier. I had no hope of linking the moves together because it was simply too daunting. I'm sure it would be much easier for someone more familiar with the series, but for me it ended up feeling like one long and complex training level.
There is also Nail The Trick mode. With the click of a button you can switch to this mode which slows things down and gives you control of your skaters legs. Each stick controls a different leg, giving you precise control of the trick and allowing for some incredibly complex combos. It is a bit confusing though and a lot of the time I found my board flying away from me to leave my skater pasting into the ground. There is also Nail The Grind and Nail The Manual mode, which applies the same theory to different tricks.
All of these skills are unlocked through interactions with famous skaters. Each will mentor and train you in the use of some of their specialized tricks. Whenever a new skater is introduced they will show you a brief live-action clip of them performing the stunts you are about to learn. It's a really cool feature and a nice reminder that while you may just be playing a video game there are actually people out there who do this in real life.
Your skater is almost fully customizable. I say almost because there was no option to build a female skater. That seemed like an odd choice to me, although maybe they simply decided it would prevent a flood of bikini clad skaters appearing online. Other than that single limitation, the plethora of options for making your skater look how you want is fantastic. You also get your own "skate lounge". You can design it however you want, putting in all the necessary pieces to rack up the points while doing tricks. There are also a number of items that are unlocked by achieving various goals given to you by the famous skaters you meet.
Fellow skaters are not the only people you will meet though. The Crazy 21 Gang will be a thorn in your side. From taking over skate parks as part of their turf to destroying some of the best skate lines in the city they will do whatever it takes to make life more difficult for you. Fortunately a quick skate check is enough to send them flying and keep them out of your hair, for a little while at least. But there are always more of them and they're always waiting for you to let your guard down so they can knock you off your board.
The cityscapes you skate in are based on variety of East Coast locations, including Downtown Philly and the National Mall. I was particularly impressed by the Baltimore location. It really looked like the inner harbor and was very close to real life. It was really cool to see a location in a video game and be able to say "I've been there. I've stood in that spot."
In addition to all the skateboarding, there are several tools to help you record your best tricks for posterity. Cameras can be placed to take pictures of your stunts. When you pass in front of the camera it will change views so you can snap a picture by pushing in the right stick. This was another thing to focus on and I often found myself so focused on doing the trick right I would forget to snap the picture. There is also an extensive video editor allowing you to shoot video of your tricks, add all sorts of neat effects to it, and then post it online to share with people.
There is definitely a lot going on in Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, and it has a steep learning curve. For those familiar with the series the new tweaks are interesting, but for those who aren't it might be a little too much like real skating. If you haven't tried it by the time you're 28, maybe you shouldn't.
I’ve always loved video games. I don’t know why, but they’ve always fascinated me. When I was younger, if I visited someone who had an Atari, that was all I wanted to do. It was a glorious day when I finally got my very own Nintendo.
I like a wide variety of games. I’m great at action and rpg games. I tend to be too much of a perfectionist with first person shooters and stealth games. I’ll spend 20 minutes in a level, only to reset it the first time a guard sees me. Platformers aren’t really my thing, I think the technology has better things to offer than that now. And I don’t do sports games.
I love games with a good story. I’ll play for hours just trying to get to the next plot twist. In a perfect world, I’d be writing my own video games someday
