Release Date	Distributor	Developer	Players	Rating	Difficulty
24/11/2003	Activision	Neversoft	1-8	M15+	Medium
Save Size	Sound Format	Vibration	60Hz Mode	50Hz Border	Widescreen
110KB	Dolby PLII	Yes	No	None	Yes

Double Kickflip Varial Indy...

Even though the Birdman himself may have hung up his wheels, you better believe that the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series isn't ready to fold just yet. Weary gamers fear not, because Tony Hawk is back, and his voice is being heard louder than ever before as Tony Hawk's Underground attempts an interesting new concept that seems to have paid dividends. The definite undisputed champion of it's respective genre has it's fifth wind, and it's adrenaline is pumping stronger than it ever has - God, there's life in this old boy, yet.

Over the years, Activision and Neversoft (Publisher and Developer, respectively) have gone to their absolute greatest efforts to provide us with the most realistic skateboarding game to date, and every single time, they've gone one better. From the very beginning, the gaming world has been stunned repeatedly by the Hawkman's ability to have his name branded on unbelievably spectacular video games, how he does it, we'll never know. And it would seem Activision, and Neversoft, recognise the power they possess in their hands, as they decided to take a chance, a chance to revolutionise video gaming, forever, and holy extreme sports, it paid off.

Just hanging around.

It seems the popular trend of assuming the role of your favourite real-life skating junkies has died slowly. Because now, it is you, yes you, who is in the official lead role. You are a skateboarding rookie, as you spend your time being a local unknown in your hometown of New Jersey. But this all changes when Tony Hawk's Pro Skater veteran, Chad Muska performs a skating demo in your own backyard, in New Jersey. This is where you are found impressing the man himself, as he observes your moves and approaches you, and handing over some free gear, thus beginning your quest to go from rags to riches, and become a skateboarding legend. You begin this quest alongside your best friend, Eric Sparrow, who too is a skateboarder looking to make it in the big time. The story begins with the two of you, trying to score a ticket out of suburban New Jersey, to make it onto bigger, and much better things.

This is where an unfortunate series of dramas unfold as you pass through cities and scenarios, quicker than Oprah passes through baked hams. You soon find yourself skating a tournament in Tampa Bay, in Florida, this is where you discover that Eric isn't all he seems, as conflict occurs, and a break-up is all that is left for your friendship. But then, thanks to a helpful fellow named Stacey Peralta, the same figure who helped Tony on his journey, you'll soon be on your way. And as the story mode progresses, you'll find yourself confronted by various professional skaters and celebrity figures, either to guide you, or compete with you. Then again, in Peralta's case, he'll throw you a job, so there is a wide variety that is for sure.

The many revolutions the gameplay mechanics of past Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games have received are quite apparent. First, it was manuals, then it was reverts, then of course came skitching, and flatland abilities, but never before has gameplay been revamped like it has with the release of Tony Hawk's Underground. This addition to the mammoth franchise includes the ability to get off of your skateboard, and walk around by foot, this also comes with the ability to shimmy along electric wires, and roof guttering on citizen's houses. And you can now even, at certain points, drive fully functional cars. And if you don't think that's cool, there is an obvious problem with you.

Yep, this is still THUG.

And not to mention several other inclusions to a seemingly very different Tony Hawk's Pro Skater game, you now hold the key to designing your own art on your skateboard deck. Also, you are now able to design your own signature tricks, be it grab, or be it a spin, it's your choice and it's completely flexible and easily operated. And it's overly entertaining designing a move titled the 'Uber-Nut Sack Smack', but then again, anything involving the word 'uber' is entertaining. You can, too, now set your own mission goals, and tasks, however, that tool is quite restricted and does not allow for much creativeness to come into play. And of course, the inevitable return of Create-A-Park, which has been in the series since the beginning, is always fun to play about with.

The whole experience of being able to leave the sanction of your skateboard is almost like the free roaming of Grand Theft Auto, only with boundaries. Not to mention that Tony Hawk's Underground is much faster, and more so reality-based.

The gameplay is generally refreshing, with it's much-needed changes, but unfortunately, there are obvious flaws. The bland multi-player mode returns to haunt us gamers, once more. You'd think Activision would jot it onto their list of priorities to revamp the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series' multi-player mode, because after five consecutive games of playing 'Horse', and 'Trick Attack', it has become a little more than boring, and repetitive. However, 'Firefight' is a refreshing change, I mean, the ability to haul fireballs at Bam Margera is reason enough for me to buy this game.

The graphics, one of the more impressive elements to what makes this game one of the undisputed games of the year. A definite improvement from it's predecessor, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4. Many may have thought that improving over the past two games would be a tough achievement, but the shift between the years is noticeable, as obvious technological improvements have helped this game to be one of the cleanest looking games of the year. This time around, the graphical improvements are so smooth, you could eat a steak off of them. Sure, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4's character models, and environments seemed to push the limits of most television sets, with it's extra clarity, some considered it to be somewhat too neat. Whereas, in Tony Hawk's Underground, the environments look much crisper, and grungy, to suit the underground feel of the game.

Running around the streets.

The audio is definitely one of the highlights of all of the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games, continuously stunning gamers with their titanic soundtracks, with some of the world's best recording studio artists. This time around the block, the Hawk man has overly outdone himself, over seventy artists have contributed to this game's soundtrack, which is not only a great effort, but a fantastic effort. And just like the previous Hawk games, the sounds included aren't exactly 'smash hits'. Artists from Jurassic Park - Kiss, and the Clash - through to Jurassic 5 are here, lending their musical techniques to the game. Oh, let's not forget the sound effects from the actual game, some may have got drawn into the soundtrack to remember it's a video game. The various voice-acting from the skater's is as good as it has ever been, and the many grunts and moans as a crippled skater attempts to peal himself from the pavement never gets old. But the soundtrack is the obvious winner, here.

Tony Hawk's Underground is a perfect example of how inventive and creative Neversoft can be. They just keep doing it, don't they? They just keep outdoing themselves, and it never gets old. Especially offering such a realistic and enjoyable skateboarding experience on a video gaming console, it's something special. All this can do is leave one wondering what can they do to top themselves, again? We'll have to wait and see in the inevitable sequel. But honestly, compare Tony Hawk's Underground to the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, for the baby brother console to the PlayStation 2. It's becoming apparent that Neversoft can perform revolutions all in a day's work. But as for this game, there aren't many better ways to spend your paycheck.

Review By: Brodie Gibbons

GRAPHICS	Clean, and polished. Yet, there is more left for Neversoft to work on.	87%
SOUND	The gorgeous soundtrack spells this one out loud, and clear.	90%
GAMEPLAY	It's a revolution damn it, quite well done, indeed.	91%
VALUE	Endless possibilities and create modes - the story mode is too short.	94%
OVERALL	Once again, Neversoft stepped up to the plate, missed for a strike due to some minor flaws, but off the second ball, smashed a homerun. And they lost no style, or finesse doing so, either.	90%