Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 Review - daytrum

Publisher: Activision, www.activision.com

Ages: seven and up.

Parental Advisory: None

With three wildly popular versions, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater has been the clear king of action sports titles. And in its latest incarnation, Activision's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 remains at the top of the heap. While the game's enhancements aren't enormous, they improve the gameplay and challenge and will appeal to Pro Skater fans.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 lets you become Tony Hawk or 13 other athletes to virtually skate through free roaming levels, accomplish some 190 progressively harder goals and build skills to perform 14 intricate skateboarding stunts.

A welcome change, the game removes the area time limits and lets you focus on exploring the vast levels and performing tricks. You'll find goals clearly marked and similar to those in past games. The goals include executing a sequence of tricks within certain time limits, gathering letters, and breaking or collecting items. The game features some tough goals that will challenge experienced players. A nice change, you can instantly re-attempt goals. And, as before, you can earn cash and purchase things and unlock decks.

Pro Skater 4 offers additional control over tricks than that in prior versions of the game, which will appeal to advanced players. While the game increases the realism, it also offers its share of outrageous elements and tricks that keep the game entertaining. The game's enhanced career mode lets you take on professional goals and accomplish a skater-specific pro challenge that's based on a skater's personal history.

The graphics are detailed and look great, and the game comes with some 30 edgy audio tracks. While Pro Skater 4 is a sports title, it has some rough edges that are relatively harmless. In the end, while the enhancements aren't huge, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 is a first rate title and the finest action sports game on the market. If your kids are into these kinds of games, it's a safe bet.

1/24/03 www.daytrum.com Editorial Staff