Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 for Sega Dreamcast
Developed by Activision

Let me just say one thing as I begin this review. I have never understood skater culture, not even a little bit. Back in the early 90s when the skater culture was limited mainly to skateboarder neo-punk teens, I had no patience for it at all, often riding by groups of them in my car yelling witty epithets like "Skaterats must die!"

Later in the 90s when the rollerblading craze escalated into a pop culture frenzy, I was still unimpressed. Then in the very late 90s, the whole "extreme sports" phenomenon exploded, thanks mainly to ESPN and the X-Games. It was with the X-Games that I began to at least be able to appreciate the fantastic amounts of skill it takes to excel at some of the activities – even if I can't quite comprehend being able to spend every waking moment for twelve years riding around on a skateboard in an effort to reach that level of mastery.

These guys were doing things on skateboards, rollerblades, and bicycles that just didn't seem like they should be possible. Of all the X-Games performers, none was held in higher regard than Tony Hawk, indeed considered by many to be the greatest skateboarder who ever lived.

So, when Activision decided to market their first skateboarding game, Tony Hawk was a natural choice to be its namesake.

The original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater originally debuted on PlayStation to ecstatic reviews. Critics hailed it as "a masterpiece," "a towering achievement." I, on the other hand, just yawned and went back to downloading bukkake films off the internet, focussing on my own "towering achievement."

A couple months after the PlayStation version came out, the Dreamcast version hit stores. Again the critics were out in force, and they were even more ejaculatory in their reviews. "Looks even better than the PlayStation version!" "A must-own Dreamcast game!" Etc.

And I'll be damned if they weren't right. The game was amazing. The graphics were sweet, the gameplay crisp and nearly flawless – it was an addictive experience, almost as bad as when I was addicted to coffee enemas in the late 80s. It was the first Dreamcast game that completely absorbed me, and I played it to death. I then began my patient wait for a sequel. And here it is. And it's amazing.

The basic point of the single-player game is still the same as THPS. You choose a skater from amongst several real-life pros, such as Kareem Campbell, Bucky Lasek, and of course, Tony Hawk. You progress through a series of levels by achieving various goals set up for you.

The goals from the original are still in effect such as beating a preset score, picking up letters to spell "SKATE," or picking up items though instead of videotapes, you pick up items specific to the stage, like hall passes or fire extinguishers. New goals have also been added, such as requiring you to perform a certain type of trick in a certain area of the stage. There are competition levels as well, where you make three runs at the course, and you're scored on a scale of 100.

You can even pick up money, either by completing a level, or by picking up icons in the levels. The cash can be used to power up your skater, or to buy new and better equipment.

The big selling point on THPS2 on any system has been the gameplay. It is absolutely flawless. There are no discernable button or control pad lags, and you know exactly what you're going to get from a particular button press. The control scheme is simple enough to learn easily.

The buttons either make your skater jump, perform grind and plant tricks on lips, or do grab and flip tricks in the air. The shoulder buttons make your skater spin while in the air. The controls are a breeze to learn, but making it work during the game is tough at first.

First-timers will find themselves wiping out as often as they land tricks. Spend enough time with the game, however, and the controls begin to become more and more natural.

Eventually, you reach a point where it just clicks, and you suddenly find yourself pulling sick combos and racking up huge points without even really trying. The moment you pull your first 100,000 point trick will stay with you for a long time, a lot longer than even an expertly administered coffee enema – trust me.

Graphically, THPS2 is just fabulous. The original looked good, but the developers didn't have as much time to clean it up en route from the PlayStation to the Dreamcast. This time, they seem to have made a concerted effort to use the power of the Dreamcast hardware to its fullest, and it shows. The level designs are immaculate and intricately detailed, not to mention huge.

The character models are a bit less boxy than the original, and the little details like shirttails flapping in the breeze are really nice touches. There is no noticeable pop-up to be found anywhere in the game. Sonically, the game has its definite pros and cons. The in-game sound effects are top notch. Your wheels sound different depending on the nature of the surface you're skating on, and the ambient stuff is also great, be it the New York cabbies screaming at you, or the sick "thwack" of your face on pavement when you bail.

The music, however, is another story. The selection is a bit more varied than the original, but it still gets repetitive very, very quickly, and if you're like me, before long you'll be playing with the music turned off and a CD in your stereo.

There are many other new facets that rock. The skate park editor allows you to build the park of your dreams (or nightmares) by giving you a blank room and a selection of pre-rendered ramps, pipes, rails and the like. The game has what is termed the "gap listing."

Each level has a number of gaps, which are specific areas where you can pick up bonus points, usually by jumping from one surface to another, like from a certain ramp to a certain rail. The gaps are given names, and whether you have hit the gap is tracked in the gap listing. Perform all the gaps, and you can unlock a secret character.

It's yet one more thing that will keep you playing THPS2 for months, that is unless you've found something else in the Dreamcast's increasingly formidable library to distract you. If that's the case, I won't hold it against you. But, if you haven't played this game, you're nothin' but a durn fool, fool. Go buy it, fool. Now, fool!

Loud Bassoon rating scale

Review by Mario Speedwagon