It’s been twenty years since Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was released. I remember skating around the warehouse and pulling off my first flawless grind like it was yesterday. Since then other titles in the Tony Hawk’s franchise have reached huge success and EA’s Skate series has revolutionized how we control the board with a joypad.
It’s weird to think that Skate 3 was initially released back in 2010 and was the last must play skateboarding game. Summer 2020 is looking to change all that with two games that we’re really looking forward to getting our hands on.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2
First things first, on 4th September Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 Remastered will be unleashed which will see the first two games in the iconic series getting a full graphics overhaul whilst keeping the same mechanics that made the series iconic.
What’s amazing to see from the initial release trailer is that all the classic selectable skaters are back but their avatars have been made age appropriate for how they look in 2020. The location graphics look spectacular and all of the top skate brands are represented.
The game is still being released by Activision who have owned the franchise since the beginning but instead of Neversoft that became defunct the game is being handled by Vicarious Visions, who were responsible for the latest Crash Bandicoot game - an amazing return to form for a classic game franchise so it’s safe to say that this game is in safe hands.
The last part which is extremely exciting is that multiplayer is back but something that’s been missing for a while is split screen as well as online multiplayer, imagine hanging with your friends together and throwing on multiplayer and laying out your favourite tricks? September frankly needs to hurry up!
Skater XL
The other big game which was released in July is Skater XL, it’s been out for a while in various forms during initial testing and the gaming community have been very pleased as just like the Skate franchise Skater XL seeks to make the most realistic translation of tricks through a joypad.
So the unique controls mean that each thumbstick controls either the left or right foot so getting the foot placement on the deck for a trick is vital and the physics of the game means that tricks can be combined not by pressing a single button but by controlling and setting up the next trick to string them together.
The game has an open sandbox landscape with realistic spots including downtown Los Angeles and the game has fully gone all out in terms of characters customization with many Skate companies having their boards, parts, clothes, shoes and more so you can express your style.
So with both of these games coming out which one are you going to get? Are you going to fully immerse yourself in updated nostalgia or innovative realism. I say why not both?