Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD reminds us why the original THPS games reigned supreme, with its near-perfect control scheme and (for the most part) well designed stages. It does feel admittedly light on content, and there are a few missing pieces that seem like they should have been obvious inclusions. Still, if you want to relive the glory days of the THPS series, fifteen bucks isn't too much to ask.

With endless hours of online multiplayer and constant leaderboard score tracking, this beautiful remake takes the cake for classic re-releases and will have you grinding for hours.

Tony Hawk Pro Skater is a great skate down memory lane that will hopefully lead this franchise to a much needed reboot. Not only does this HD edition provide a sturdy gaming engine but it modernises one of the world's best skating games on modern consoles. It's worth every penny!

Great flashback from the late nineties proves that old games were worth playing and except for the visuals there is no need to change anything. [Sept 2012]

This kind of purity is exactly what's been missing from the series for years. [Issue#89,p.77]

It's certainly not perfect, but it's a wonderful attempt that captures a lot of what made the games fun in the first place. It's a strong entry in a storied series, and will hopefully be a guiding light for a resurgence of the franchise.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD may accomplish all of its goals, but there is still a lot to be desired. The graphics are outdated, the gameplay is missing a key component, there aren't enough levels and the create-a-character mode has been removed entirely. If you can get around these disappointments, you'll find a good, but not great, skating game for cheap!

Despite being a great game, it is still just a re-release, and hasn't done anything major from the originals except improve the paintwork

This comeback is exactly what was needed: pared down, cheap and distilled to its irresistible essence.

The simple recipe of great level design, great controls and great gameplay still holds up better than most things, and we can only hope that Activision realizes that.

Tony Hawk is back. Robomodo has made a great working upgrading the first two chapters of the Tony Hawk original saga, creating a game as entertaining as in 1999. Direct, no-brains skate, with great scenarios and some great songs, and classic and addictive gameplay.

So the classics have been resurrected in one nice package, and while it's not a total home run, it'll scratch that itch you might've been feeling for something - anything - like the original Tony Hawk games.

We can't tear ourselves away from the purity of the trick system, the pleasure of exercising long-dormant 'hardcore gaming' abilities and the tantalising target that is the top of the Live friends leaderboard.

Tony Hawk is finally moving in a good direction again, and that's enough to give Pro Skater HD a solid thumbs up. Perfect it's not, but it retains a lot of the goodness that made the original games such a hit, and for us, close definitely counts.

Proof positive that sometimes all you really need to kickstart a series is to go back to its roots.

Though we question these changes to the tried-and-true gameplay, the majority of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD works as well as (or better than) the originals did when they first captivated us nearly 15 years ago. This update isn't all it could have been, but it's the best take on those early games we've had yet.

If you played the classic versions like I did, chances are you will be disappointed with all the things that Robomodo left out. There was so much potential but not enough was delivered to live up to it. All in all, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD is still fun, but not worth its $15 price tag.

The updated visuals give the dated games a fresh look, but the exclusion of levels and options like the park editor are sorely missed.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD, while not perfect, is a great game that features some of the best levels from the first two Tony Hawk's games.

There are major problems with this release however, that will turn off many long time fans. You can't create custom parks or skaters. You can't customize (or even skip single songs) the soundtrack, and the soundtrack itself isn't the full track listing from both games. Not every level from both games is included (where's Mexico?). As previously mentioned, multiplayer is online only, strangely with no sign of local split-screen play.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD recreates the gameplay that made the franchise famous, but to mixed results. It lands the trick, but doesn't do it cleanly.

Despite the fact that Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD does seem to have a number of holes that could have been filled with content from the original games, the controls, tricks, and levels have been given a lot of attention, and play out like the original two titles they're meant to represent.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD has no offline multiplayer, no HORSE mode, ugly graphics, not full track listing of from both games and you can't create own skaters. So many things are left out, however it is still a good game, because when you play it, you will get those old feelings of the early games.

Those who grew up with later installments in the series may lament the lack of an open world, split-screen support, create-skater option, level editor, or moves such as the revert, but the best part of the original games--working toward mastery of particular techniques and levels--remains a compelling reason to revisit the past.

It´s not perfect by any means, but this HD version of the classic Tony Hawk´s franchise has its moments and it´s fun to play (albeit its hard difficulty level).

Despite the changes, the game remains largely the same, which is its biggest strength and its biggest weakness. The core gameplay remains the same, but with better physics, which makes the game as entertaining and challenging as the original, but in many ways the game is too old to endure as a modern title.

This is pure skating, without façade climbing, without jackass, without useless cars or non-functioning skate hardware. At its core the mechanics are outdated, though.

Sure, some of the objective design really bogs down the progression, but that's just a facade. The real progression happens with a fully maxed out character and a player that's willing to engage with the design. That's when THPS HD is at its best.

All in all, Tony Hawk HD proves that while you can't always go back, it certainly can be a lot of run to reminisce. Definitely worth a short-term pickup or for a quick break from reality… long term though? Not really.

Young skateboarding enthusiasts will be better off playing Skate 3, which is a better game in every aspect. THPS HD might be fun for those who remember the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. [10/2012, p.58]

While the game invokes memories with those who grew up playing the Neversoft games, the content is a bit skimpy and the gameplay behind its time.

This edition is composed of the best bits we loved from the first two Tony Hawk games, but at the same time there is an absence of some major characteristics (no offline multiplayer and only 7 stages) that's completely unjustified.

I had a good nostalgic time with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD. Sure, it may be missing some key elements, but for $15, you can still relive some of your favorite levels while listening to old ska and punk bands (with a little Public Enemy) playing in the background.

It's got the great Tony Hawk's classic gameplay and good online support, but with too little in the way of content and no local multiplayer it's a half-successful revival.

With just seven levels-three of which have serious problems working with the current control scheme-it's not like the game has a wealth of content, and its hostility to new players prevents me from recommending it to any but the hardcore.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD is the perfect remake of the first two chapters of the series. While not adding anything new to the original package, Robomodo has successfully managed to reproduce the settings, modes and gameplay of a magnificent gaming generation.

Taking elements from the first two titles of the IP, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD returns to basics especially regarding its gameplay and the music used to entertain our ears. Even if the game is developed for those who are nostalgic for the PSOne era, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD has nothing revolutionnary to offer.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD turned out quite good. A purely acrade gameplay has aged well and modern looks leave little to be desired. A small amount of content can be painful, but if you haven't had the opportunity to discover this great series – THPS HD makes for a great beginning. In case you are a veteran – this game works like a nostalgic time machine and a couple of minutes is enough to feel like it's 1999.

THPS HD is certainly good enough, but it's at least a half rotation away from being worthy of the record books.

Robomodo tries to reinvent Tony Hawk's first chapters, but unfortunately the game can't shine because of some terrible technical issues.

The saving grace then is a big one: the amazing, still fluid, tremendously enjoyable trick system. The conversion might be Dana Scully but the foundation trick system and level design whips out an excellent welcome speech for those that missed THPS 1 and 2 or for those wishing to relive past glories.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD looks good on the surface, but some particularly frustrating design and gameplay quirks can drastically cut down on the enjoyment.

Lacking features and crucial improvements. [Oct 2012, p.85]

Despite the unsatisfying work done by Robomodo, those who long waited for a Pro Skater for consoles of this generation will be reasonably satisfied with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD.

A remake of a classic that never reaches its full potential, mostly due to messed up graphics and buggy physics. It's still quite fun, but not as great as it should have been.

Mild Tony Hawk's first episodes HD mash-up. Control system is arcaic and not on par with Skate, poor single player mode and glitchy graphic engine. Online is a lot of fun.

In a perfect world, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD will lead to a brand new game in the series, because the core mechanics are just as fun as ever. But the bare-bones presentation around those mechanics may not be quite the return to form for which fans had hoped.

Most of the mistakes like the visuals or the faulty physics can be forgiven. One does to just forget about them after a while. But while the skating is just plain fun and veterans will almost be swept away by the nostalgia there is just not enough content in this one.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD just about nails the feel of vintage Tony Hawk, but it's a lean package that fails to capitalize on that foundation.

Some of it is down to the execution, which is mostly competent but lacks the spark and energy of Neversoft's original work.

At first sight it seems that everything's in place, but a few seconds will be enough for an experienced player to notice that there's stuff that doesn't work well and make this a rather missed opportunity.

Fun for the most part, but infuriating control issues, crazy bugs and various omissions make you wonder why a game that isn't an untouched HD port wasn't bolstered and expanded upon in some way.

A terrific idea that just doesn't pan out as well as it feels like it should. All the little tweaks and decisions, from level list to the soundtrack to the decisions about which moves to include or exclude eventually start to weigh on the overall experience in a meaningful way. It turns something that should have been a joyous update and revival of a tarnished franchise into something that simply misses the mark.

Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD misses most of the iconic parts of the Tony Hawk franchise and has a messy finish. The improved graphics and the nostalgic value aside, this game never really manages to capture the pure Tony Hawk experience of the old days.

Two of the most awesome games from a few generations back are stripped down to almost nothing and are distributed full of bugs. Even the thirteen year old originals are technically better than this remake. On the other hand, it is a great blast from the past and a reminder of how cool the Tony Hawk games used to be.

It doesn't entirely make sense as a whole product. The best thing that can be said is it's the best Tony Hawk Robomodo's made.

With only seven levels and a very thin soundtrack I am somewhat underwhelmed by the nostalgic remake that is Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD. The lack of local multiplayer and a faulty online experience make this a very average XBLA game with a lot of unused potential.

It's this feeling, the one of crushing disappointment, that riddles this HD update with frustration. Activision killed the series for a reason, and there's nothing here to suggest that decision was a bad one.

Sure it is fun to return to a game that I enjoyed so much in the late 90's, but does that make it worth the $15? Not in this case. Great source material and decent mechanics are marred by sloppy execution and limited extras, both which make this a decidedly average game.

While Neversoft's course design holds up, its objectives sadly don't; setting high scores is as thrilling and rewarding as ever, but we're less forgiving of being asked to collect five objects dotted around a level without a right-stick camera than we were at the turn of the millennium.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD makes us doubt the quality of the original games, but it turns out that this is just an average, thinned out version of two classics.

Apart from better graphics, the 12 year old originals are still the better games.

While the concept is good, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD fails on execution. The game just can't hold a candle to its predecessors. Playing the remake is like listening to a classic band on a reunion tour. The song lyrics haven't changed, but the magic just isn't there.

Lag is relentless, a problem for a game which requires precise controls.

For anyone with an itch to play Tony Hawk again, know what you're getting into. THPS HD is a remake that opted to leave what cost too much in the past, consequently hemorrhaging that which we've come to know and love.

In a world where THPS 2X is still readily available for less than $10 on eBay, it's hard to give this HD downgrade any sort of recommendation. The original games earned our nostalgia, while this release abuses it. It's short on content, quality, and personality. This is not the Tony Hawk I remember spending middle-school summers with.

Thanks to screwy physics, dated design practices, and a series of poor decisions, this Hawk is a real turkey. [Oct 2012, p.64]

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater in name only, this will infuriate old timers reliving their youth and seem archaically simplistic to everyone else.