Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 - The Quake of Skating Games?
by MystikaL

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was one of the top selling games of 1999 when it came to consoles. The game is not only still in the top 10 since it's release in September of 1999, but was ranked 1st during October and December. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater gives you hours upon hours of fun filled skating, and the replay value is second to none. Neversoft created one of the best games ever for the Playstation, and the sequel will be no exception.

The only thing I wasn't happy with, was the fact that there was no skate park creator/editor. This would add a lot more replay value, and enable people with the DEX Drive, to create, upload, and download people's skate parks, something that would be ingenious.

Well, we have good news folks. In a press release that was shown to the public on February 22, 2000, Activision announced that Tony Hawk 2, would indeed include a skate park editor. Here is a taste from the press release, which you can also check out here.

With the most comprehensive roster of pro skaters, an intuitive control scheme, and enhanced skating physics, ``Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2'' will deliver the most authentic and cutting-edge skateboarding experience and expands on the groundbreaking features of the original game. The sequel's increased number of tricks and combinations -- including new grabs, grinds, inverts and lip and nollie tricks -- will challenge players to master new skills as they work their way up the skateboarding ranks.

Adding depth and replayability to the game is the most advanced Skatepark editor, allowing players to build their own dream parks from scratch. Players can see exactly how their park will look in the game as they plot out a course using a variety of parts -- ramps, rails, obstacles and quarterpipes -- in the real-time 3D editor. Once a level is laid out it can be saved to a Memory Card and shared with friends. Additionally, a total character customization feature allows gamers to modify the pro skaters' clothing, physical appearance and trick sets, or build an entirely new character from scratch.

Players can ollie and grind in a variety of new international real world settings, including skate parks and locations in New York, Marseille, and Rio de Janeiro. Each environment is littered with secret areas, short cuts, ramps and interactive objects allowing players to trick off of just about everything in sight.

Offering several modes of play, ``Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2's'' two-player split-screen trick attack mode give skaters the ability to interact with other players, allowing them to compete on ramps and in skateparks for style points, race between various obstacles on the tracks or play in graffiti mode in which players ``tag'' different obstacles in the environment by performing tricks off of them. The game also features a variety of multiplayer modes including an all new multiplayer competition mode in which players can compete with and against up to seven opponents in a judged skate competition, new street, vert and best trick modes and an enhanced version of H-O-R-S-E. Additionally, the game also features new mini-games that players can unlock as they advance through the improved career mode as well as a replay mode where players can view the highlights of each run.

If you've played Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, your probably already wondering when the heck it's coming out. Although only a guess, their best guess is that the game will be released sometime in the Fall. Doh, all summer :) No Sweat! You can easily play Tony Hawk's Pro Skater all summer without getting bored.

Oh, don't worry my fellow PC Gamers, your not left out this time. Neversoft and Activision plan on releasing this game for the PC too, as well as Nintendo 64, Playstation, Gameboy Color, and Sega Dreamcast.

With the ability to have multiplayer over the internet, I am guessing they will incorporate some kind of multiplayer service like the Microsoft Gaming Zone, MPlayer.com, or their own. Expect support from Gamespy too. Make sure you send a nice email over to our fine friends over at Gamespy Networks, asking them to make sure they mark a note down in their calendar to add support to Gamespy 3d.

Yes, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 will be the Quake 3 or Unreal Tournament of online skating games. E-mail all questions and comments to me.