| Page 2 of 2 < |
REVIEWS
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
The story line is simple. You play the "new guy" -- recently transplanted from the Midwest to Los Angeles and now trying to build your street credibility among the other skaters. You befriend a girl named Mindy who shows you the ropes and aids you on your adventure of self discovery. Along the way, you'll meet up with other skaters, build your own skate park and earn a plethora of hidden items.
What impressed us most about American Wasteland were the load times. There aren't any. Players will be able to skate from one side of L.A. to the other without seeing any type of load screen. A technical achievement indeed, it allows for seamless environments and the ability to chain combination tricks together indefinitely -- that is, if you're good enough to do so.
And speaking of combinations and tricks, American Wasteland has an incredibly robust control system. Using the original Tony Hawk groundwork, players will learn basic moves such as manuals, reverts and transfers and then work their way up to rails, flips and grabs. Sure it may not be as difficult as previous Tony Hawk games, but for a lot of players, that's a good thing.
In addition to skateboarding, American Wasteland includes BMX bike riding. Although it's only for a short portion of the game, it works and is a blast to play. Executing tricks is as easy as a couple of button pushes and the challenges you have to complete round out the game quite nicely.
Online, American Wasteland doesn't disappoint. Nothing beats squaring off against human opponents on skating runs. Not only are you ranked on your performance, the game even has buddy lists and voice chat so you can trash-talk to your heart's content.
Visually, the game looks on par with previous Tony Hawk games -- nice-looking environments, colorful characters and buildings. Although the game looks great on all systems, it looks best on the Xbox. Microsoft's machine showcased richer textures and smoother frame rates.
A big part of all Tony Hawk games is the soundtrack and American Wasteland continues this tradition. Classic bands such as the Dead Kennedys, Iggy Pop and Public Enemy share the soundstage with Green Day, My Chemical Romance and The Bravery.
-- Tom Ham
PlayStation2, Xbox and GameCube, $50
