video game quotes spacer ripten navigation bar
ripten-logo bubble extender Features
spacer
spacer
spacer
feature 1 feature break feature 2 feature break feature 3 feature break feature 4
An exclusive first look at Vagina Hero Win a limited edition Pepsi Rock Band guitar Sega's Conduit kicks ass on the Nintendo Wii WoW whore plays 36 toons
at once, raids by himself
spacer Returning Riptenner: Login Now

New to Ripten? Join our community
The Ripten Community is an open forum for both hard-core and casual gamers alike. We will never spam you or sell your information.
spacer
360 PS3 Nintendo Wii Reviews Interviews Previews Trailers Events News PC DS PSP Retro Gadgets Film & TV Comics
spacer
bulletWhat's a Ripten?
bulletContact our staff
bulletSubscribe to our RSS
bulletSend us news tips
spacer
Ripten Forum
spacer
Geeked-Out
spacer
Gaming Deals of the Week
spacer
New Game Releases
spacer
spacer
spacer
spacer
Ripten Team
spacer
Founder/Editor-in-Chief
spacer
spacer Chad Lakkis
Bio | Posts | AIM | Email
Reviews Editor
spacer
spacer Dan Landis
Bio | Posts | Email
Host / Editor
spacer
spacer Jonathan Zungre
Bio | Posts
Editor, UK
spacer
spacer Patrick Steen
Bio | Posts
Associate Editor, US
spacer
spacer Dylan Duarte
Bio | Posts
Contributors (US)
Demi Adejuyigbe | Posts
Emily Balistrieri | Posts
Rangebar Merani | Posts
Keane Ng | Posts
Roly Reyes | Posts
Sal Romano | Posts
Beau Rosser | Posts
Contributors (UK)
Kev Lochun | Posts
Sam Naylor | Posts
Contributor (Japan)
Sean Mitchuson | Posts
The extended list of greatness
Write for Ripten
spacer
Our Friends
spacer
BEN
www.helpben.com
Fighting Zero
www.fightingzero.com
Meet In The Lobby
www.meetinthelobby.com
spacer
spacer
spacer

Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground (PS3/360)

by Michael Bencic on November 1, 2007 at 8:02 pm

tony_hawk_proving_ground.jpg

There’s a right and a wrong way to do things. Then there’s a middle of the road. You know, complacent. Boring. Non eventful. Or as I like to call it, Tony Hawk, post Pro Skater 2.

I have a few philosophies in life. Tao of Mike #251. “If a hip and cool spokesperson is almost 10 years older than myself, he is no longer than face of a new generation. He’s just an old man selling out.” Sorry, Tony. There may have been a time where I sought out your tapes, owned several of your boards, and wished I could be as cool as you. That was 1986. I was 11. I am a fan, and I will always look on those days fondly. Like all great things that come to an end, your days of Pro Skater supremacy are over. Some say Skate is the next generation. I say it’s time to leave skateboards underneath my Vans and off of my console.

So, what is the problem with the Hawk series this year? The same virus that seems to be infecting almost all sports games in recent memory — too much complexity. Trying to include the kitchen sink, and thinking that every button on an overcrowded Six-axis has to cramp up my hand and leave it as lifeless as the stump Bob Dole sticks his pen into.

There’s so much going on, so many ways to manipulate a trick, that I found myself staring at the skateboard in my bedroom and thinking how much easier it would actually be to ride in real life than mash buttons in this game.

thprvgnd_1.jpg

There’s plenty here to enjoy, yet it’s all been done before (and more effectively) in previous installments of the Hawk series. Proving Ground is tiresome and repetitive, and I have felt that way since Pro Skater 2 on the Dreamcast, which absolutely kicked ass.

It’s become such a joke that every single year during E3, Activision’s PR/marketing firm, or a Neversoft rep declares the new Hawk incarnation to be THE definitive skating/Tony Hawk experience. That leaves me wondering, ‘So why should we purchase THIS years edition, if in 2009 you’ll just be declaring how much 2008 sucked?’

So, here we are. Different year, with a similar experience. It’s hard to be inspired during a review when a game is so mediocre. A truly phenomenal game gets my juices flowing, and a horrid game will piss me off, instigating a rant. This is neither. It’s just there.

My Uncle Dan use to say that “It doesn’t matter if people love you or hate you, what’s important is that you do something that is memorable.” Although he probably ripped it off of someone else, it’s still cool, because my uncle Dan is a unique fellow who you surely would not forget. Make your mark and don’t settle, good advice in life, and in game design.

thprvgnd_2.jpg

You can add one more to the list, and that would be “know when to retire”. Tony, do you really want to be the 45 year old guy on the cover a video game with hair dye and air-brushed wrinkles? You’ve had a good run, one could even consider you an endearing video game mascot. Even a perennial console veteran like Sonic the Hedgehog, had his reign come to an end (thanks to many sub-par adventures).

Once upon a time, that little blue cliché threatened Mickey Mouse and Super Mario for worldwide recognition, but now, it appears that his time has ended. Maybe you should consider a nice room in the retirement home with Sonic, Bubsy, Knuckles, Aero the Acrobat, and R.O.B. the Robot. I hear they have pudding with their lunch! Do you like pudding, Tony? Okay, calm down grandpa, don’t get too excited. That hip is fragile, and your bed (while it is tilted at an angle) is not a half pipe!

All of this is pointless, of course, if 2008’s Tony Hawk beats Skate to a bloody pulp in sales. Then, by all means, keep ‘em coming Hawk-man. Until then, I’ll let Roxy (my dog) pull me through the park on my board. It’s less cramping on my fingers and much more fun. Who knew? Reality can be enjoyable!

ripten_score_60.jpg

Share This:
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • N4G


Related Posts:
spacer
spacer
Gorilla Nation
spacer
Video Game Rentals Delivered
spacer
Ripten Original Programming
spacer
spacer
spacer
spacer
spacer
spacer
spacer
spacer
spacer
spacer
Advertising  • Privacy Policy  • Copyright © 2007 ripten  • Drop us a line at whatsup@ripten.com

  • Microsoft Xbox 360  • Sony Playstation 3  • Nintendo Wii  • Personal Computers  • Nintendo DS  • Sony Playstation Portable  • Retro  • Comics  • Gadgets  • Film & TV
spacer