Tony Hawk's Project 8 for Xbox 360 Reviews by Gamers

If you're playing Project 8, you've probably played at least one of the previous Pro Skater games, so I'll try to aim this review at that demographic.

Graphically, Project 8 takes a bigger step than any of the previous Pro Skater games had taken, except maybe the graphical leap between 2 and 3. The character animations are smooth (so smooth, in fact, that it seems to have placed a serious limitation on the create-a-skater design mode). The world you skate in is attractive and realistic, and doesn't at all look like a pieced-together skater playground. The slow-down and bloom effects for "nail-the-trick" and "focus mode" are neat.

Gameplay. This is what really matters for a Pro Skater game. You will instantly feel familiar with the controls when you begin playing this game. The only addition to the game controls is "nail-the-trick," which is done by pressing both joysticks, and allows you to manipulate the board in a custom trick. It's fun, looks cool, and rakes in the points. The map design here is awesome. Unbelievably, there is no loading between zones. Imagine all of the maps in Tony Hawks Underground strung together into one huge city that you are free to skate and even drag combos through from one zone to the next. Goals are set up the way they were in THPS4, with people standing around waiting for you to initiate the goal with them. My favorite new feature in Project 8 is the chalk challenges. You will find chalk marks throughout the maps in four colors; green, orange, blue, and yellow. By grinding, manualing, wallriding, etc. through the green marker and then through the others consecutively you will earn a goal of various difficulty (Amateur, Pro, and Sick). Very spontaneous, very fun. There are a LOT of goals in this game to keep you very busy for a long time.

The music is once again interesting and diverse. You'll find a lot of tracks that you'll want to hear come up again and again.

I am a HUGE fan of the TH series. Since THPS 1, I have played each title extensively. Every game seemed to get better until THUG, which was a step down from THPS 4. THUG 2 was even worse, with downgraded graphics, stupid levels and a horrible story mode. THAW was horrible, with uninspired levels, an easy Story Mode (even on sick) and no redeeming qualities. I went into THP8 with low expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Unlike the past 3 games, THP8 doesn't follow much of a story. Sure, there is a plot to tie things together, but it really has no impact on the game. The game is non-linear, a la THPS 4. You do goals of your choice to boost your rank, which opens up new areas. Your mission is to get into Project 8, by being ranked in the Top 8. You start at 200, but move up quickly by clearing goals. The Difficulty in Story Mode is done really well, because most goals have 3 difficulties: Am, Pro and Sick.How well you do in the mission will earn you your rank. I am a TH veteran, but I can't complete most of the Sick goals. However, the story-related goals that don't follow Am, Pro, Sick are easy.

The Gameplay is similar to past Hawks, but it more grounded now. The tricks look much better, your skater moves slower and you can't pull off combos as big as in previous games. My top scores in the past 3 games have all been around 20 million, but I had a hard time cracking 3 million in this one. Nail The Rick is pretty cool, because you use the analog sticks to control the skater's feet. But this got boring fast, and I never risk big combos by using it.

The Graphics are amazing, with very detailed environments and brilliant lighting. The Soundtrack is like most TH games, with about 60 songs, It isn't bad, but you'll probably use your own. Online Play is a disappointment, because of glitches and the fact that it freezes every hour.

THP8 isn't perfect. There are glitches, a bit of slowdown and lame online play. Still, it is a great TH game and a must-play.