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Better Than CNN / News Archives / Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 Review (X-Box) |
My brother chose to buy Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 for PS2 because that's what the series started on (plus, that what system our cousin bought it for). However, after discovering that the X-Box version has the soundtrack feature (which allows you to put music from your CDs onto your X-Box and listen to them while you play games), he also bought THPS4 on X-Box. The following is the PS2 review I did of Tony Hawk 4 with a more added for the X-Box version.
The music sucks! Out of the entire list, so far I have only found two songs that I like ("All My Friends Are Metalheads" by Less Than Jake and "Shimmy" by System of a Down) in THPS4. Remember when THPS2 came out with great songs like "You" by Bad Religion and "Guerrilla Radio" by Rage Against the Machine? Or even "Ace of Spades" by Motorhead and "Wish" by Alien Ant Farm from THPS3? The series took a huge step backwards in the soundtrack department...
(Added for the X-Box review.) The soundtrack feature available on X-Box adds so much to this game! Not only does it replace the crappy songs that come with the game, but you get to choose all the music! This feature alone makes the game with getting on X-Box rather than any other system.
Then there are the levels. When I get to a level, it's fun for a few minutes, but then I find myself trying to quickly finish as many goals as possible until I can get to a level I like...and I seem to be chasing my tail. I don't know why, but the levels just don't seem as fun as before.
Now onto the spine transfers! This is a great addition to the game, and makes the game a little more realistic. Plus, you can now land tricks that would usually end up as bails by pressing R2 after flying off a quarter pipe and not having a place to land! This feature adds so much to my runs, it's unbelievable!
The Career mode has improved so much from THPS3! First of all, it's like you're actually out skating when you come across objectives, which is very cool. Being able to Free Skate, then deciding to try some challenges involved a lot of quitting, loading, and changing game types before, but now all you need to do is find someone to talk to! The best change to the game, by far!
(Added for the X-Box review.) Also with the X-Box version of the game come faster load times. It is truly incredible how much faster the game loads on X-Box compared to PS2. If you get impatient while games are loading, the X-Box version is the best version for you.
In conclusion, the game has lost some of it's prestige, but gained some great features. The official rating (for the X-Box version) is...
8 out of 10
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by Jimm McShane |
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