Tony Hawk's Proving Ground (PS2)

Release Date: 02/11/2007

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Summary

Developer:: Neversoft
Publisher:: Activision

In the largest and deepest Tony Hawk game yet, gamers are now in total control of their skating destiny in Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground. Set in the streets of Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground empowers players with the freedom to define their character, story and style based on the choices they make, the paths they select and the style of skating they want. Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground delivers deeper customisation than ever before, including a full-featured video editor to create epic Tony Hawk’s videos and a completely customisable online Skate Lounge, where Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground players can skate with friends in the ultimate pad. Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground gamers also have the freedom to skate from single player to online seamlessly. Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground also features an arsenal of amazingly detailed Nail the Trick moves, and new gameplay mechanics like skateable terrain building and Bowl Carving to deliver the most personalised and immersive Tony Hawk’s experience ever.

Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground Features:

Freedom to Play Your Way: Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground players have unprecedented control of their skating experience. They can mold and shape their character however they choose – the choices made and the paths travelled determine how their Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground character evolves. As Proving Ground gamers progress, they develop into any combination of three skater classes, acquiring attributes and skills of a contest-winning Career Athlete, a fast and furious Hardcore Skater or a creative maverick Rigger, who alters and modifies the world as a giant skatepark.
Create Epic Skate Videos with the Full-Featured Video Editor: In Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground, players can capture their sickest tricks and bails with Neversoft’s new video editor to make their very own skate videos. Command the Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground footage using a full-suite of video editing tools, lens modes, camera angles and effects to cut clips and combine clips, add a personal soundtrack and even showcase online to share with other Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground players, or simply move up the leaderboard rankings.
Seamless Integration Between Online and Single Player: Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground gamers can join online multiplayer action anytime directly from Proving Ground's single player story mode and take all of their character’s skills, attributes and stats online. Additionally, Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground players can create their own personal Skate Lounge and invite others to view their winnings or join them for an online skate session.
Expanded Gameplay Mechanics Deliver Unprecedented Control: Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground introduces eight all new gameplay mechanics, empowering Tony Hawk's players to play the way they want; Expanded Nail-the-Trick™ moves such as Nail-the-Grab and Nail-the Manual, Bowl Carving, Aggro Push, Skate Checking, Climbing/Exploration, Environment Altering and Rig-a-Kit.
Guidance From Skateboarding Pros to Create Your Legacy: As they define their character, Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground players will learn new tricks and mechanics from their favorite skateboarding stars. Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground features a diverse roster of the sport’s hottest athletes, including Tony Hawk, Ryan Sheckler, Arto Saari, Jereme Rogers, Daewon Song, Jeff King and more.
Greater Variety of Customisation: At any time they want, Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground players have the ability to use the Rig-a-Kit and Environment Altering mechanics to transform any locale into their own personal skate park. They can even personalise their Skate Lounge with items such as furniture, plasma TV’s and more. Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground also delivers a full, ambient world from real-time weather effects to random world events for the most empowered and dynamic experience ever.

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Tony Hawk's Proving Ground Review; Author: Mark Scott ; Published: 09/11/2007

Tony goes for another famous 9'er

Now in its ninth year, you'd expect the Tony Hawk's series to be low on new ideas. So it's a bit of a surprise to see Tony Hawk's Proving Ground carry a list of features nearly longer than Hawk's own career.

On paper, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground appears a huge leap forwards. Proving Ground delivers a skater's paradise that mixes Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington D.C, linked by bridges and free to skate between with zero load times; plus a diverse campaign, enhanced tricks, increased customisation, online play and video editing for a fantastic Hawk package.

In reality, however, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground feels far more familiar than it does revolutionary. Returning fans will perhaps have wanted more, but Tony Hawk's Proving Ground is still an entirely playable skate game with its own unique approach.

Breakdown

Unlike past Tony Hawk's games, Proving Ground breaks its singleplayer down into three different styles. You'll still create and outfit your character as you choose, but from there you'll be taken through different types of gameplay by Proving Ground's pro cast.

Playing as a Career Athlete, different pros will help you unlock many of Proving Ground's trick modes, first the returning slow-mo mid-air Nail the Trick, then the evolution of these, Nail the Grab, and the less accomplished Nail the Manual mode. And, of course, in Pro Skater fashion, you'll be earning sponsorship, making videos and ultimately aspiring to form your own skate team.

In Pro Skater fashion, you'll be earning sponsorship, making videos and ultimately aspiring to form your own skate team.

As a hardcore skater, Proving Ground sees you hitting the streets hard and knocking over anyone who gets in your way. It's here you'll learn to check non-player characters, and pull some of the sicker tricks in order to ply the path of a skating rebel in the more pure boarding focused of the three approaches.

Rigging, however, is the ambitious one – and sadly it falls a little flat. Laying down your own ramps, rails and modding existing terrain with Proving Ground's level editor is a nice idea, but this can be particularly fiddly, and detracts from Proving Ground's otherwise fun skateboard fare.

Rig and ride

And when you do finally get to skate around your creation, you'll be hampered by Proving Ground's photograph objectives. These ask you to capture your moves by tricking at the same time as pressing the right analogue to snap the pic – which just leads to all sorts of uncomfortable pad gymnastics.

Tony Hawks Proving Ground, then, tries to do something new, but doesn't wholeheartedly succeed. It's by no means a spectacular failure, either, however – it's still got great skating gameplay, and the visuals are the best yet in the series – though somewhat of an acquired, darker, grimier taste.

Footage can be chopped, edited and thrown together with a soundtrack in robust, montage-making fashion.

The Skating Lounge and Video Editor are also indicative of Proving Ground's tendancy to deliver a great idea in a haphazard way. They both add to the package, but Proving Ground's Skate Lounge ends up as more of a glorified skate park, and shooting videos doesn't work in the same way as, say, Halo 3's Theatre mode.

Proving Ground doesn't automatically record your footage as you play; you have to manually start a recording, so many of the crazy combos you pull off as you go through the game won't be immortalised. Having said that, the footage you do take can be chopped, edited and thrown together with a soundtrack in a robust, montage-making fashion.

Mixed bag

Music itself is standard Tony Hawk's fare, while Proving Ground's seamless online eight-person multiplayer will appeal to the previous Hawk hardcore. However, the enormity of the game space actually makes playing Proving Ground online a less compelling experience; you'll spend plenty of time skating around without even seeing your competition.

Nice ideas, odd execution, but still brilliant skateboard action and some fancy new features underneath it all, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground is a bit of a mixed bag, but will still offer hours of casual skating fun for more laid back players, while sating followers of the franchise eagerly awaiting their next Hawk hit.