20 years after the legendary franchise’s original release, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 have been combined into an iconic remake.
The release includes both classic and improved features from the original games, which were some of the best of the best in their time.
According to the website, the game has been “revamped with more skaters, new parks, gnarlier tricks, eardrum-shattering music, plus a whole lot more”.
The re-release has new parks with monster water slides, sci-fi sets and life-sized pinball machines. Fear not, the classics like Foundry, San Fran and more have made their return.
New features include “custom goals available for the first time”, as well as a variety of “new themes, sick modifiers and cross-platform shareability.” On top of this, there is a new photo mode to capture your “gnarliest moves”.
Of course, it wouldn’t be ‘Pro Skater’ without, you know, the skaters.
There are more than two dozen skaters, with 21 of them returning, notably iconic names like Rodney Mullen, Chad Muska, Eric Koston, Bob Burnquist and Andrew Reynolds, and of course, Hawk himself.
Eight new additions have been included, including 17-year-old Rayssa Leal, who won Silver at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics when she was just 13, and Yuto Horigome, who won Gold at the same Olympics for Street Skating.
And of course, there are the secret skaters - Bam Margera, Andy Anderson, Michelangelo, and last, but not least, Constable Richard (formerly Uncle Dick) who is being played by the legendary Jack Black.
Speaking to BBC on his choice of skaters, Hawk said he wanted to keep it modern while “still respecting the legends”.
Hawk also said that he was aware of Jack Black’s love for the original franchise, so when he proposed the idea of Black being Constable Richard, the actor said: “I was born to do it”.
Classic.
The soundtrack has always been an essential part of the games, and this soundtrack holds some classics, while also including a fair amount of new artists to give them exposure.
Some of the original classics are CKY’s ‘96 Quite Bitter Beings’, AFI’s ‘The Boy Who Destroyed The World’ and Del the Funky Homosapien’s ‘If You Must’.
The soundtrack includes a mix of punk, hip hop, indie and hardcore, with new numbers from the likes of Denzel Curry, Run The Jewels, Schoolboy Q, Kendrick, Lupe Fiasco, Steve Lacy and more.
A notable omission was Alien Ant Farm’s ‘Wish’, who have said they were disappointed about being left off the list.
Hawk’s answer was all class: “We’re trying to make room for new acts and new songs… it’s nothing personal. I appreciate that people have a fondness for that song, especially in relation to our game.”
While I haven’t been able to get my hands on the game just yet, reviews online are giving it the nod.
One GameSpot reviewer wasn’t a fan of some career mode changes, certain original levels suffering and the locking of the Solo Tour. However, the reviewer said it’s still a “phenomenal game of skate” that “handles as well as these games ever have”.
Luckily, the game is available now, so we can get amongst and form our own opinions ASAP.
