Tony Hawks Underground 2: Remix
Tony Hawk's Underground 2: Remix (also referred to as THUG2) is a handheld port of the cross-console version of Tony Hawk's Underground 2. THUG2 was one of the very few launch titles for the relatively new handheld gaming unit Sony PlayStation Portable. THUG2 is similar to the console based releases, except there are four more levels incorporated into the game and a few other changes. Overall, I found this game to be exciting and I think there is more than enough to this game to keep you busy for hours at end. The story behind this game is pretty dry. You are on Tony Hawk's skate team on the World Destruction tour. The enemy is Bam Magera's skate team and you've got to make sure you beat them.
Gameplay:
If you are familiar with any of the other games from the Tony Hawk series, then the fundamental game play of THUG2 should not be anything new. In this game (and just about all others under the Tony banner), you control a character who skates around a map on a skateboard. The challenge is performing tricks and accomplishing goals. I have found games in this series to be fun and I was quite happy to find THUG2 delivered so many levels. Although I am referring to the games from the Pro Skater line and not Underground.
In THUG2, there are two main single player modes. The first is story mode, which sets you and Tony's merry band of skaters competing against Bam's skate team around the world. In each stage, you can control up to four different characters: your character, a pro skater, a special guest, and a hidden character. Each individual has different strengths and weaknesses and one can perform certain tricks or is better suited to accomplish feats than others. You can switch characters in game as you wish. In the early portions of the game, using the other characters can be very helpful, because as a green skater, you're stats start off pretty slim, and quite frankly, some people are just better suited for certain tasks. Fortunately, as you perform more tricks, combos, and feats, you're stats will grow. The story itself is not that exciting. I thought the in-game videos looked great and the voice-overs sounded good, but the story is basically "hey we need to do more cool stuff than they do".
The other single player mode is called classic mode. Fans of the original Tony Hawk: Pro Skater should be pleased with this mode. In it, you'll travel the world and compete in various stages accomplishing goals you're used to (if you're to classic mode game play), like collect the tapes, get S-K-A-T-E, High Score, and more. In addition, the game offers free skate mode, where you can visit any stage that you've already been to and just have fun. In the free skate mode, you can go on two minute high score runs and rack up as many points as you can in that time frame!
The multiplayer options also offer a lot of fun. The first multiplayer mode is "Horse", where 2 to 4 players can play on the same PSP unit. Each player gets a chance to do a single combo and the resulting score from the first player sets the bar. The subsequent players try to do as good or better. If you fall below the bar, you get a letter. Last person standing wins! The other multiplayer modes require multiple PSP (supports up to 4) units connected via WiFi. The WiFi game play includes a variety of modes.
The final key component to THUG2 are the Create-A-Modes. This game offers a lot of customization. In Create-A-Skater, you can personalize your very own pro skater using a variety of options. If you want to have body parts of an alien, a robot, the devil, boy, or girl, you'll be able to pick what you want! You can even pick out your shoes, pants, top, and most importantly, your skateboard. There are also several pre-made characters you can use. Create-A-Graphic let's you build create your own graphics for use in the game (graffiti tag, skateboard logo, or clothing logo). Create-A-Goal let's you create your own skate maps (by using a variety of built-in goals) to play in WiFi mode against your friends or in free skate mode. Create-A-Trick allows you to make up your own tricks by reusing the games' animations and customizing duration, start/stop, hold time & holdable (grab tricks only), backward, points, and rotation. Wow. This game gives you a lot to do.
While the game has a lot of options, it can also get very frustrating. Some of the tricks and feats requiring a lot of patience. One of the problems is due to the game's controls and not the actual difficulty level. When in skate mode, the D-pad is used to move your character's direction, while the analog button is used to control the camera. It gets very difficult to control both at once and sometimes you'll really need to move the camera to complete whatever it is you are doing. I also found that after hours of playing, the D-pad can leave your thumb a little sore. I was disappointed to find there is no option to switch the role of the D-pad and analog pad.
Despite my disappointment with the controls, I was still quite happy with THUG2. While I found the underlying story to the single player story mode to be dry and bland, the game play was still fun. The inclusion of the classic single player mode, a variety of customization options, and extensive multiplayer modes promise hours of fun (and frustration, some of those tricks/feats can take some time to accomplish!) and with three difficulty levels, you'll be coming back for even more. As a PSP launch title, I think THUG2 was done well and is a game worth picking up. Considering it also has four levels not found on the cross-console versions, fans of the series will definitely want to pick this game. The bottom line, THUG2 is definitely worth picking up.
Graphics:
The graphics for this game are pretty spectacular. They look great with the 3D rendered models which are very detailed. The in-game detail also looks good and has been given a fair amount of attention. The game also includes some cut scenes, which look really nice. The models are clean and smooth and have very good representations of the various pro skaters they are modeled after.
Audio:
The sound in this game is adequate. The sound effects are fairly generic and get old pretty quick. Fortunately, the music is better. There are a total of 53 different songs you can listen to in game. Or if you want, you can listen to generic dull stage-specific music. While I think it is great they included 53 songs, I would have really liked to be able to play MP3s from the memory stick. Overall, the sound effects offer little to the gaming experience, but the music enhances it! However, the built-in PSP speakers limit the experience and you'll need a good set of headphones to really enjoy the music. Here is a list of the artists and song titles included with the game.
1. 25 Ta Life - "Over the Years"
2. Aesop Rock – "
No Jumper Cables (remix)"
3. Atmosphere – "
Trying to Find a Balance"
4. Audio Two – "
Top Billin"
5. Brand Nubian - "Punks Jump Up To Get Beat Down"
6. Camaros - "Cheesecake"
7. Cut Chemist - "Drums of Fire"
8. Das Oath - "Awesome R***"
9. Dead Boys - "Sonic Reducer"
10. Dead End Road - "Sin City"
11. Disturbed - "Liberate"
12. Diverse - "Certified"
13. Faith No More - "Midlife Crisis"
14. Fear - "I Love Livin' In The City"
15. Frank Sinatra - "That's Life"
16. Grand Putra - "I Like It"
17. Handsome Boy Modeling School - "Holy Calamity"
18. Iggy & The Stooges - "1970"
19. Jimmy Eat World - "Pain"
20. Johnny Cash - "Ring of Fire"
21. Joy Division - "Warsaw"
22. Lamb of God - "Black Label"
23. Less Than Jake - "That's Why They Call It a Union"
24. Librette - "Volume"
25. Living Legends - "Night Prowler"
26. Melbeatz Kool Savas - "Grind On"
27. Melvins - "Sweet Willie Rollbar"
28. Metallica - "Whiplash"
29. Mike U and the Rats - "Never Give Up"
30. Ministry - "No W"
31. Nebula - "So It Goes"
32. Operatic - "Interested In Madness"
33. Pete Rock & Cl Smooth - "Soul Brother #1"
34. Rancid - "Fall Back Down"
35. Red Hot Chili Peppers - "The Power of Equality"
36. Steel Pulse - "Born Fe Rebel"
37. Suicide Machines - "High Anxiety"
38. The Casualties - "Unknown Soldier"
39. The O.O.C. - "Whirlwind Pyramid"
40. The Distillers - "Rent Your Heart Out"
41. The Doors - "Break On Through"
42. The Explosion - "Here I Am"
43. The Germs - "Lexicon Devil"
44. The Hiss - "Back on the Radio"
45. The Living End - "End of the World"
46. The Ramones - "Rock 'n Roll High School"
47. The Sugarcult Gang - "Rapper's Delight"
48. Three Inches of Blood - "Deadly Summer"
49. Ultra Magnetic MC's - "Ego Trippin"
50. Violent Femmes - "Add It Up"
51. Ween - "It's Gonna Be a Long Night"
52. X - "Los Angeles"
53. ZEKE - "Long Train Runnin"
Conclusion:
I was quite impressed with Tony Hawk Underground 2: Remix. While I have not had any experience with the original THUG game (only games from the Pro Skater line), I enjoyed playing this game. THUG2 is challenging and offers a multitude of options to keep you coming back for more. I was also pretty happy with the 53 songs included in the music track. However, I was disappointed there was no option to play MP3s from your memory stick in game. Overall, this is a fun and challenging game that should keep you busy for a while.
All photographs representing screenshots from PSP LCD monitor and related images were taken using 3.2 MP digital camera. The replication and quality of the screen shots are not true representations of the picture/video quality. In fact, the actual LCD is substantially sharper and clearer. As well, the aspect ratios in the screen shots are not true representations. Some images may be cropped and slightly irregular. However, the provided images are intended to only provide a rough example of what picture/video quality.