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The seventh installment of this well-done series is done up a little differently than before. This time around, you have the option of riding a bike! Although bikes are not the central aspect of the game, I can tell that time was put into them. Just as you have a line of missions in skateboarding, you also have a line in BMX. You create your story character, choosing from among several basic avatars. From that point you go through several story scenes and tutorials to personalize your character to your liking.

In classic mode you've got the same general idea as the previous games in the series - a 2-minute timer to complete 10 or so different tasks. Collect S-K-A-T-E, find the secret tapes, etc. All the old goodies like building your own skatepark and fun multiplayer modes are back, now with updated graphics and maps.

Then you have story mode, the basis of the game. Story mode offered very few options when starting out, which was disappointing. I did have the same issues I've had with the past Tony Hawk games' story mode in that they limit you to something you must accomplish in order to get to your next task. During tasks, if you have five separate tasks that must be done in succession and you pass four and fail the fifth, you start all over again. This can be very frustrating in the beginning, because your tricks are limited. Thankfully, after a couple hours of play it no longer seems like work, and you can affect the in-game world. Because story mode is made up of different events that you must complete to build your character and move along with the storyline, if you don't do anything but skate around you will never learn new tricks or get any better.

The "free roaming" that is promised isn't exactly what you would expect. Rather than hitting invisible walls as in older versions, now the square mapping is done in a more open looking environment. In reality though, the environment is fairly similar. You can move on to a different city now that tunnels back to your old city. Throughout the game there are different sections you can unlock, and also different physical sections that you can change with missions. I wasn't so sure about the game at first - I was afraid that it was too cookie cutter to be fun. Thankfully, once my character started evolving - as he obtained more tricks and I had a wider area to roam - my concerns subsided.

This isn't the most realistic of games but, really, would you play it if it was? One new concept is the endless combo. I've yet to pull one of those combos seen on the main menu, but it's nice to know that it's possible.

The graphics in the game are awesome looking. The game looks nice and smooth as opposed to being blocky. I love the ability to change your clothes and look in general. Now you have the ability to look sharp while pulling off those mind-bending combos.

I think some of the ideas that have been implemented in the game are great. Sometimes the tasks are difficult to pull off and don't make the most sense, but they are so fulfilling to complete. I like the design of the cities/parks - there's definitely the TH edge to them. When one of the characters instructs you to pull certain tricks off, sometimes they demonstrate. This is great to watch and duplicate. Something's always going on in town; you've just got to make sure you're there to crash it.

The controls feel a little bit different in AW than past TH games, I didn't like it at first but they grew on me. One nice thing is all the tricks all seem so fluid now. The clunkiness has gone away, and a nice breath of fresh air has come along - seamless reacting.

The playlist to the game is great if you're into rock/punk. I imagine it's popular since they even released a soundtrack for it. Nothing feels better than trashing up the half-pipe with the tunes leading you on.

I think this game can be played by anyone and enjoyed. Once things start moving along and your actions change the gameplay, you get a real sense of involvement. When work becomes play in the game, you just can't get enough. I recommend this game straight out to everybody. Give it a chance and you won't be disappointed.