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Tony Hawk's American Wasteland

EMAIL PRINT xbox360

6.9 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 43 critic reviews
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Based on 10 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Activision

Developer: Neversoft Entertainment

Genre(s): Extreme Sports

Players: 2

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: November 15, 2005

Summary

No levels. No load times. Just never-ending action that doesn't stop until you leave the game. Tony Hawk's American Wasteland gives you - for the first time ever in a Hawk game - the freedom to skate, or bike, throughout a rich, expansive open environment. Once you arrive in Los Angeles, the vast city that gave birth to skate culture, the sky's the limit as you progress through the Wasteland story and choose missions that will have you immersed in the action without ever skating the same line twice. New on the board tricks include the Bert slides, Natas spins handstands, and one-footed grinds and manuals. New off the board tricks include wall runs, wall flips, and charged jumps. Choose Board Or Bike: For the first time, you can choose to ride BMX bikes throughout the entire game, with all-new physics, a BMX specific control system and several BMX-specific goals. Customize Like Crazy: Enter and explore dozens of shops in game to customize your gear and your look! Check out skate shops, barbershops, tattoo parlors, and clothing stores as you accomplish goals and earn cash. [Activision]

Also On Metacritic

GAMES: Tony Hawk's Proving Ground

Cheat Codes & Hints: GameSpot Hints & Cheats

Also On The Web: GameSpot Preview Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

GamePro

The visuals are the sickest they've ever been in a Hawk game, but that should come as no surprise--this is the 360. The player skins and massive environments are polished beyond belief, while the moves look exceptionally lifelike.

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GameSpy

THAW for Xbox 360 is a phenomenal game...if you haven't picked it up already.

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PGNx Media

American Wasteland is good, it just isn’t as impressive as it could have been considering the console’s capabilities.

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Game Chronicles

It’s a perfectly blend of extreme sports action with an intuitive trick system that allows you to grow with the game, and big city free-roaming adventure much like a GTA game without all the violence.

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Kombo

The story mode seems a little short. It also seemed very easy, which could be part of the reason it seems so short.

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Cheat Code Central

The story mode is fun, funny and yet not absurd enough to wonder what drugs were abused during development time.

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XboxAddict

I can't put my finger on it, the Story Mode was a great shot at changing things up a bit, it wasn't bad, but its not quite what the doctor ordered. Outside of that, the trick system, mechanics, and look are great as always.

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IGN

The Xbox 360 version of the game is really nothing more than a port of the current-gen versions, with upgraded textures and a bit of normal mapping... It's still a great game through and through.

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Next Level Gaming

It's one thing to be the same game and just blow you away with presentation or little tweaks to the gameplay. It's another to just be the same game. On it's merits, Tony Hawk American Wasteland is a great skateboarding game. But it is not really a next-gen game, and that's a shame.

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Gamers' Temple

The chance to skate a virtual LA will appeal to Tony Hawk fans and those new to the series will find the story mode a great way to quickly learn how to be a sick video skate rat.

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Xbox Solution

A step in the right direction for the series and certainly plays well enough on the 360.

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Operation Sports

The Xbox 360 version of Tony Hawk's American Wasteland is - despite the only-modest improvements - the best version of the game available on any system, and can be recommended as such.

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GameZone

An excellent skating game despite the fact that there’s very little that distinguishes this from the other console versions.

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Game Over Online

All in all, Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland is exactly the kind of fun you were expecting in such a title, and if those expectations aren’t sky-high in terms of graphical prowess on the new system than this title is for you.

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AceGamez

You really shouldn't even think about picking up American Wasteland before you've got "Amped 3" proudly displayed on your games shelf, because it eclipses Tony Hawk's in every conceivable way - graphics, music selection, story and cut scene presentation, and even gameplay, plus there's even more to do.

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ZTGameDomain

Hopefully when the next iteration arrives we can finally see a graphical upgrade worthy of calling it next-gen.

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Yahoo! Games

A definite step up from the Underground brand, but make no mistake: It's still yet another Tony Hawk game. With Activision seemingly stuck on annual sequels and Neversoft's dedication to advancement, you'll see even more bugs than before.

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GamerFeed

Those expecting next-gen brilliance will only find a modified port. At least it's a good one.

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AtomicGamer

For its time, it's not the best one (I'll leave that honor to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 back from 2000), but it's still a lot of fun - as long as pro players don't mind how easy it'll be for them, nor if the newbies don't mind how hard it is for them.

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Planet Xbox 360

Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland is the best game in terms of gameplay and graphics in the series to date. However that said, those looking for the next-generation look, feel, or features will be disappointed – there is nothing to really distinguish the game on the Xbox 360 from versions on the Xbox or PS2.

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Da Gameboyz

The level design is somewhat the same as other incarnations of the title. The moderately spruced up and polished graphics really make this effort a bit of a disappointment.

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Armchair Empire

If you've been away from the Tony Hawk franchise for a few games and just dropped a bunch of cash for a 360, it's time to get re-acquainted with the King of Extreme Sports Games.

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Talk Xbox

What’s heartbreaking is that it didn’t gain any knowledge when migrating from console to console. Sure, it has a new coat of fur, a full belly, and a smile on its face, but it’s the same bird you knew many moons ago.

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Official Xbox Magazine

It's fun, just not next-gen sparkly. [Jan 2006, p.62]

Game Revolution

American Wasteland is greased lightning on the 360, but is otherwise totally unchanged from its earlier release. I suppose it’s a fine purchase if you skipped out on the other versions, but keep in mind that you're just getting new wheels for the same old board.

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Play Magazine

Maybe it's time to teach this dog some new tricks and enter the realm of hub-based platforming with fantasy elements. Now that'd be something. [Jan 2006, p.49]

Worth Playing

Neversoft needs to seriously look at what they've done right with THAW (larger environments and skating mechanics) and strip away the fat to return Tony Hawk back to what made it great: a clean, fast, and compelling sports game for those of us who aren't so much into "sports."

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My Gamer

Unless you’re locked into buying a bundle when you purchase your Xbox 360 this holiday, it’s probably best to rent Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland.

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Computer and Video Games

Not exactly groundbreaking and there are very few noticeable play alterations, but it plays well on the Xbox 360 controller thanks to the repositioned Black and White shoulder buttons (the buffers). [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

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Extreme Gamer

More of the same in a different wrapping.

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Gamezilla!

There isn’t so much gameplay here that you can’t beat it in a couple of days, and the fact that the levels aren’t completely free open really reduces the game’s sense of scale.

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TeamXbox

A somewhat dated gameplay engine shows its age on the 360 hardware...Better looking than the regular Xbox version, but not by leaps and bounds.

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Xbox Evolved

The strange thing is, there is something different about this one, like it was a bit rushed, and that doesn’t reward you at all.

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GameShark

Tony Hawk fans will probably find Tony Hawk's American Wasteland a must-buy, but I really think the franchise is starting to get as overexposed as Mega Man.

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GameSpot

American Wasteland on the 360 runs in a high-enough resolution to show off every single ugly little flaw that isn't as apparent in other versions of this otherwise-decent skateboarding game.

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Gaming Nexus

Regardless of how it looks or sounds, American Wasteland just feels like a step backwards from previous Tony Hawk games.

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Gaming Illustrated

This is a title that fans of skateboarding games will pick up and love, due to the simple fact that for XBox 360, there isn't much of a selection of this type of game out there for them. Other people can and might enjoy it, but in the end, it fails to impress and is nothing spectacular.

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Xbox World Australia

There is absolutely nothing here that is different to the xbox version apart from minor graphical advancements. So, on the one hand there is still a great game here, but with annoyingly random game crashes (and THAW is the only game I've had crash on my 360) and the fact it's anything but next-gen I really can't recommend it to anyone.

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360 Gamer Magazine UK

What there isn't, though, is a great deal new in gameplay terms, making the old-gen game desirable, rather than essential. [Issue #3]

G4 TV

A cheap and dirty port, Tony Hawk American Wasteland is only recommendable to newbies or hopelessly devoted fans. On the 360, however, the game is not worth the extra $10. The lousy graphics, and tired gameplay makes this one a serious grind.

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PALGN

When entering the next generation you expect more and unfortunately Neversoft has delivered a very quick port.

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games(TM)

When only a couple of challenges require you to break the million point barrier, only the weakest players will have trouble acing the game in hours. [Christmas 2005, p.107]

Total Video Games

Regrettably Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland feels too much like a “by numbers” sequel; a tag that in some eyes has been hanging around the series for a while now, but most certainly manifests itself in THAW.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 6.9 (out of 10) based on 10 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Bobby J. gave it an8:
I thought this game was very entertaining! Even though I thnk they should of lowered the difficulty a litlle lower beacause I found it quiet challenging.

Adam B. gave it a7:
As a 360 game, this is a lackluster port; the only real draws are the standard 360 features such as Live, Achievements, and Soundtracks. The graphics quality looks identical to PS2 running in progressive scan, and the controller is clunkier than PS2's for nailing down the tougher combos. Still, due to the lack of Live games for 360 that allow great freedom of movement and character customization, Wasteland makes a great addition to anyone's library at the current time. As more open-ended 360 Live games are released, such as Mass Effect, Phantasy Star Universe, and presumably GTA online, I would wait until Wasteland's price dropped to around $20 before checking it out. As an original game, Wasteland feels more complete and freeing than the Underground games (and with preloading, is a much smoother experience), yet lacks some of the classic feel of the original Pro Skater series. With that said, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and 4 remain the truest and most enjoyable virtual skateboarding experiences. Pick them up for the PS2 if you can, since they don't support online play on 360. Or if you're a Hawk game fan and can't wait for your latest fix, you can't go wrong here.

Jace N. gave it a5:
Urgh!...this happens with every new system. Desperate for "something...anything...to do with it once you get it home" developers get super lazy. You cant just recycle the last remnants of the last generation as base lauch titles for the next generation! I can see places here & there where theyve tried to "up" things but at heart its just toying around with the new hardware. With the 360's backward compatibility you might as well just get the XBOX version and run it instead! Nicer framerates & anti-aliasing!

Grounder gave it a0:
not much better looking than the PS2 maybe a litle smoother but for a next gen consol very dissapointing.

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Tony Hawk's American Wasteland

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