Stop me if you
heard this one: You’re showing off at a skateboarding tournament and receiving
much deserved props for pulling off some sweet moves when none other than skate
god Tony Hawk suddenly appears and offers to take you with him to the ultimate
skating competition. Many a great Tony Hawk Pro Skater and Underground
game has started this way and the result were skating games worthy of the
extreme sport itself. We’ve also seen the series make a jump to the handheld
gaming crowd but for Tony Hawk’s American Sk8land for the Nintendo DS
this is the first time we’re seeing portable online action. Grab a board because
this is skating at its most awesome.
It seems that
Tony Hawk likes what he sees and as you’re thrashing your way to glory at this
year’s Mid-West skate competition he comes up to you and taps you for a skate
tournament that will take place in sunny Los Angeles, California. Stepping off
the bus you meet a local artist named Mindy who will not only offers advice but
also points you to some challenges you’ll need to complete. Los Angeles then
becomes a wide-open skater’s playground, a surprisingly huge skate land with
enough ramps, grind-worthy spots and skater challenges. This is the situation
you’ll find yourself in the game’s main Story mode.
When I refer to
Los Angeles as a playground I mean a city complete with five recognizable areas
within the city as well as Alcatraz and a warehouse. Broken up in sections,
you’ll start off in the city of Hollywood and work your way to Beverly Hills,
the Downtown area, East LA and an area the game calls Vans. The best part is
that you don’t have to stop the game to pick another area to play in because
you’ll be able to skate from Hollywood to Beverly Hills or Downtown with the
blink of an eye. You’ll not only see these locales in the game’s Story mode but
also in Classic mode (a mode that brings back the days of the old Tony Hawk
Pro Skater games).
You’ll start
Story mode by creating your skater, be it girl or boy. After selecting
everything from skin color, clothing options and even different hairstyles
you’ll jump into the game’s version of Hollywood. You’ll be grinding on benches
outside the Chinese Theater, riding up ramps along the Walk of Fame and do flip
tricks in the halls of the Kodak Theater. From there you’ll unlock Beverly Hills
where you’ll be skating near the famed Beverly Hills High and, of course,
through the various trendy shops on Rodeo Drive. All the while you’ll get
challenges from Tony Hawk regulars Bam Margera, Bob Burnquist or Rodney Mullen.
You’ll be completing goals like earning a certain amount of points, pulling off
successful combos or, for example, pull of some neat aerial tricks for a local
photographer. The tasks aren’t incredibly hard like the console games, which
will be a big break for new Tony Hawk gamers.
Control-wise the
game plays smoothly and pulling off tricks is not difficult once you get the
hang of the control scheme. American Sk8land does away with the on-foot
segments of recent games but you’ll still be able to tag walls and slap a
sticker on the walls. As this is a Nintendo DS game the touch screen is utilized
and utilized well. The bottom screen not only acts as a map in-game but you can
also press any of the pre-set special moves with ease. Want to design a deck
with your own drawing; well you can draw your own design with the Stylus. You
can even design your own graffiti tags the same way.
As I mentioned
above, the game also includes Classic mode. This mode brings back the classic
ten goals per level skating action that, of course, is timed. With only two
minutes to complete each goal, you’ll be collecting SKATE or COMBO letters, earn
an incredibly high sick combo score and find the Secret Tapes scattered
throughout the environment. The best addition, though, happens to be online play
using the handhold’s Wi-Fi connection. There are a small number of ways to set
up online action and much like Mario Kart DS; you’ll get a smooth multiplayer
experience for your troubles. I highly suggest you read the manual before
deciding on a Nintendo WFC setting. When you do manage to get online there five
multiplayer modes (Free Skate, Trick Attack, Score Challenge, Combo Mambo and
The Price is Wrong). It’s fun stuff to share with a friend or a stranger.
Visually,
American Sk8land sports a unique cel-shaded look that is a departure for the
series. It actually does work nicely and makes for a colorful game with nicely
detailed environments. The game’s familiar landmarks look good and if you’ve
lived in LA long enough you’ll come to recognize a number of distinguishing
areas. Of course, Hollywood isn’t composed of ramps but the areas look great.
The character models look decent enough as well and watching your skater pull
off some cool trick or throwing a temper tantrum is a real treat.
On the sound
front, though, the game surprises with some good voice clips from Tony Hawk
himself as well as a number of other notable skating stars. There’s also an
impressive soundtrack with licensed tunes like Green Day’s “Holiday” as well as
music by Saved the Day, Frank Black, Dead Kennedys and Black Flag to name a few.
The game’s sound effects are also amazingly well detailed. You’ll hear vehicles
before you see them and smacking the pavement never sounded so painful.
Tony Hawk’s
American Sk8land
for the Nintendo DS will be destined to become a true portable
skateboarding classic and the game to buy if you like your skating game nearly
perfect. I wish it were a bit easier to hook up online but once you get it
started the multiplayer is as good as the single-player greatness. Really,
you’ll want to pick this one up right away, Nintendo DS fans.
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Gameplay: 8.7
Its classic
Tony Hawk Pro Skater style doesn’t take away from the game’s freshly modern
free-roaming skating action filled to the brim with good challenges. The seven
areas offer plenty of goals and you’ll upgrade your created skater’s skills. If
that wasn’t enough the game also tosses in the old-school Classic mode.
Graphics: 8.5
The cel-shaded
look actually works well for this game and its one of the sharpest-looking
Nintendo DS games around. The environments are easy on the eyes and filled to
the brim with detail that you’ll recognize the landmarks right away. Even the
characters look great while pulling off neat air tricks and grinds.
Sound: 9.0
Surprisingly
enough the game has a nice collection of licensed tunes from the likes of Green
Day as well as Oingo Boingo. There are some voice clips from Tony Hawk and a
number of other skaters so the game feels a bit like the console games. The rest
of the game is composed of some really decent sound effects.
Difficulty:
Medium
A tad easy at
times, American Sk8land isn’t incredibly hard but don’t worry because
there are challenges that will give your fingers a good workout. The timed
Classic mode goals offer objectives that will have you attempting to make big
points to unlock the next area.
Concept: 9.0
The Los
Angeles area is one massive playground and much like Tony Hawk’s American
Wasteland for all the major consoles it makes for an interesting local with
a lot to see and do. You can create your character and even go as far as design
their deck or graffiti tag. There’s even a Skate Shop to purchase better boards
and the like. There’s even fun multiplayer modes and you can play online.
Multiplayer:
9.0
Yes you can
play the game wirelessly with a buddy but the main attraction here is the fact
that you can play the game online through a Wi-Fi connection setup and a good
wireless router and an active Broadband account. Setup can be a bit complex but
following the direction on the manual and with a little guidance from the game
itself, you’ll be thrashing against other gamers in no time. You can even upload
your replays to the Internet for bragging rights.
Overall: 8.9
One of the
most impressive handheld versions of the Tony Hawk series to come to the
portable gaming format, Tony Hawk’s American Sk8land is a true thrasher
classic. It possesses all the things we enjoy about the console games and the
best feature yet is that you can take it with you wherever you go. Whatever you
do, don’t miss this game.
