Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, released as Tony Hawk's Skateboarding in Europe, is a skateboarding video game. It is the first of the Tony Hawk video game series. It was originally released for the PlayStation on September 29, 1999 and was later ported to the N64, Dreamcast, and N-Gage and also received a Game Boy Color (THVS) adaptation.
A remastered version of this game and its sequel, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, was released as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2.
Contents
Gameplay[edit | edit source]
The goal of the game is to successfully perform and combine aerials, flips, and grinds, with successful executions adding to the player's score. The point value of the trick is based on time maintained, degrees rotated, number of tricks performed in sequence, and the amount of times the tricks have been used (the more often a trick is used, the less it's worth). Successful tricks also add to the player's special meter, which, once full, allows for the execution of signature moves better known as special tricks which are worth a great deal more than normal tricks. Bails (falling off the skateboard due to poor landing) cause for no points to be awarded for the attempted trick and resets the special bar to empty.
In Career Mode, the player has five tapes (i.e. objectives) to obtain in six of the nine levels. The player has only two minutes in which to obtain a tape after which their run ends. It is not necessary to get every given tape in a level in one run though, as individual objectives are marked off once completed. In each level, two of the tapes are acquired by reaching set scores (with the second score being two to three times the amount require for the first), one is obtained by collecting the five letters to spell "SKATE", and one is a hidden tape which the player must find by looking in secluded areas, and the last tape's requirement varies from level to level, but always involves doing something to five objects (e.g. "grind five tables"). The other three levels are competitions, where the goal is to receive a gold, silver, or bronze medal by ranking higher than the other skaters. In these levels, the basis for ranking is not the player's score, but the mean number of points given on a scale of one to ten by three computer judges after three sets.
The player can also play levels they have unlocked in Career Mode in Single Session, where the object is to simply to get as high of a score as possible in two minutes, or Free Skate, where there is no time limit.
There are also three multiplayer modes playable between two people: Graffiti, Trick Attack, and Horse.
GBC Version[edit | edit source]
The Game Boy Color version, being not a port of the original game but an adaptation of its elements, has different and more limited gameplay from the other versions. Only nine tricks are possible, with all of the grinds removed and the ability to rotate only for ollie. This is down from an average of twenty-five tricks per skater in the main games.
There are three gameplay modes. In "Half Pipe Mode", the goal is to get as many points as possible in one minute by performing tricks on one of three half pipes. In "Tournament Mode", the player races against three computer skaters through five stages, attempting to rank the highest in each race. "Versus Mode" is the same as "Tournament Mode", players get to charge people by paying them money; except the player only races against one other skater (human or computer) and only through one stage.
Available Characters[edit | edit source]
- Tony Hawk
- Bob Burnquist
- Kareem Campbell
- Rune Glifberg
- Bucky Lasek
- Chad Muska
- Andrew Reynolds
- Geoff Rowley
- Elissa Steamer
- Jamie Thomas
- Officer Dick (unlockable)
- Private Carrera (unlockable with cheats)
Levels[edit | edit source]
Main
- Warehouse (Woodland Hills, CA) (not included in the GBC version)
- School (Miami, FL) (not included in the GBC version)
- Mall (New York City, NY) (not included in the GBC version)
- Skate Park (Chicago, IL)
- Downtown (Minneapolis, MN)
- Downhill Jam (Phoenix, AZ)
- Burnside (Portland, OR)
- Streets (San Francisco, CA)
- Roswell, NM (not included in the GBC version)
GBC only, cancelled for other platforms
Soundtrack[edit | edit source]
Full article: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Soundtrack
THPS1 features a underground punk rock and ska soundtrack.
Development[edit | edit source]
In 1999, Activision signed professional skateboarder Tony Hawk to star in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. Mitch Lasky, senior vice president of Activision, stated in an interview with GameSpot that the character was meant "to reflect Tony's signature style – an intense mix of acrobatics and hard-core technical skating". Hawk himself was involved in the development of the game and his in-game persona, remarking that "[he had] always wanted to help create a video game that represented the reality and excitement of professional skateboarding". Hawk, along with other skaters featured in the game, was motion captured for the game, and voiced his character.
Reception[edit | edit source]
The game was generally well-received by most critics, scoring a 92 on Metacritic based on 18 reviews for the PS1 version. IGN gave the N64 version of the game an outstanding 9.1 out of 10 praising the gameplay for "genius control, combo system and design" despite little criticism with sound stating "the punk tracks are dumbed down and looped". They also gave the PlayStation an outstanding rating (9.4 out of 10) again praising the gameplay and the graphics stating it is "simple but amazing in terms of animations, physics, and size of levels".
External links[edit | edit source]
- THPS at Neversoft.com (archived)
- THPS Flash site (archived)
- The earliest THPS gameplay trailer
- THPS E3 1999 gameplay extended trailer
- THPS N64 TV Spot #1
- THPS N64 TV Spot #2
- THPS N64 Promo
Gallery[edit | edit source]
| Tony Hawk's Pro Skater levels |
|---|
| Warehouse • School • Mall • Chicago • Downtown • Downhill Jam • Burnside • Streets • Roswell |
