‘Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4' Review: Get On Board

Forbes

3 days ago

'Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 takes a few minor missteps, but it's still among the most faithful ... More remakes ever made.
It's been a five-year wait for the inevitable follow-up to the superb Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2, and it's been worth it: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 has replicated the PS2 era of the franchise with aplomb, even with an all-new dev team at the helm.
The half-decade between releases also provides a fantastic way for original fans of the Tony Hawk series to measure their own physical and cognitive decline. The Foundry demo, released last month, was one of the most punishing things I've played in a while; I thought I'd rack up seven-digit scores on my second or third go, but instead smashed my face in repeatedly. Surely, new developer Iron Galaxy has broken something? Nope, quite the opposite — I'm the thing that's crumbling.
Personal crises aside, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 doesn't just do the original games justice — it adds some truly special touches that go beyond a careful and respectful rebuild. In keeping with the source material, it's not perfect, but it's bloody good fun.
Superstar newcomers
Three new levels come to THPS 3+4: Waterpark, as announced earlier this year, which is frankly the star of the show and is among the best parks in the series, period; Movie Studio, a brilliant little excursion that favors grinding; and Pinball, the oddball unlockable level at the end that's reminiscent of the PS1 version of THPS3's Little Big World, and is probably better to look at than to play.
FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™
Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase
Pinpoint By Linkedin
Guess The Category
Queens By Linkedin
Crown Each Region
Crossclimb By Linkedin
Unlock A Trivia Ladder
A couple of levels from the originals have been axed, namely Carnival — a real shame — and Chicago, which was an imported stage from Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2. Still, the glow-up given to other parks and areas is insane. The work done on 3's Airport, my favorite stage of all, is nothing short of incredible. Past also-rans feel much more enjoyable now, too, like Kona, Skater's Island, and London.
Still, other creative decisions seem strange, most notably with Zoo, easily one of my favorite levels from the original. It's now abandoned and without animals, and it's hard to understand why; it's not like you could 50-50 a giraffe's neck in the original, and the occasional dodgy challenge (specifically, 'Skitch the Elephant') could be replaced. That doesn't stop it from being a lot of fun to play, though, as the core of the park is still there.
The Pinball level is a new height of insanity.
Collectathon
On top of each zone's ten goals, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 carries over its predecessor's other collectables like cash, stat points, and the developer logo. These are a lot more fiendish to get this time around — specifically the effing money on a plane in Suburbia. Still, you battle on, stacking stats into air, speed, and hangtime.
A few other things have been shaken up for this outing, so you can't rely on muscle memory to, say, collect S-K-A-T-E or complete one-off challenges. Most of the time, it's done well, but others, such as the Cruise Ship's missing toolbox, add a whole new level of mystery and luck that may see you checking guides just to get them over and done with. Sometimes, it's just a modern tweak; no longer are you impressing the Neversoft Girls on the Cruise Ship, but fellow pro skaters.
Luckily, you can adjust the in-level timer for up to 60 minutes, so you don't have to stress yourself out when mopping up what's missing or exploring — unless it's a competition stage, which remains at one minute for obvious reasons. You can even go full cheat mode to make sure you don't flub a long-grind stat point.
Simple mistakes
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 has some niggles, and we may as well get the most obvious one out of the way: the soundtrack is severely lacking. I'm not even kidding when I say that four songs from my wedding daytime playlist haven't returned to this remake.
You get a small selection of ten or so favorites, including CKY's '96 Quite Bitter Beings', Agent Orange's 'Everything Turns Grey' and 'Amoeba' by Adolescents, but there are some huge omissions: 'Not the Same' by Bodyjar, 'TNT' by AC/DC, and Public Enemy's 'By the Time I Get to Arizona' are the most egregious.
Gameplay-wise, this remake isn't too dependable with transitions, gaps, and off-ramp maneuvers. Getting a handful of collectables felt way more about luck than skill. There's also an odd recurring glitch where going straight from an ollie into a grind sees you eating asphalt — something the originals were surprisingly forgiving with.
On a wider level, the amount of time and effort to max out just one skater's stats will likely put you off repeating the feat with more than two or three members of the roster. Having the option to max out stats globally would be great, but it's a personal preference.
Then, of course, the omission of the OG career mode from THPS4 is massive, but really, I get it. Purists will hate me for saying it, but I prefer the old ways, and the consistency works when both games directly contribute to skater development and unlockables.
And Bam Margera's back!
Don't think, just play
Despite its minor annoyances, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 lives up to the hype and should be a day-one treat for gamers worldwide. For Xbox Game Pass subscribers, it's an absolute no-brainer. Even if you don't, you get a lot of bang for your buck for $50, especially if you're a dedicated completionist. As remakes go, it's one of the most faithful you'll ever play.
Still, it's hard to shake the feeling that it doesn't hit the same high as the THPS 1+2 remake. This isn't Iron Galaxy's fault, either — the team has taken over Vicarious Visions' work seamlessly and done a spectacular job, particularly with those new levels — but the source material itself is a little lacking when compared to the original duo.
It'll be nostalgia's fault to a certain extent — and the fact that the first two games needed a much more dramatic overhaul to get them up to modern standards — but certain levels feel a little dull or, at the very least, immediately forgettable. Perhaps THPS and THPS 2 were too iconic for their own good.
So, what's next? Presuming we're going by canon, we can safely rule out the travesty that was Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 — but a Tony Hawk's Underground 1 + 2 would be a natural third outing. Hell, throw American Wasteland in there too while we're at it, because no-one wants Project 8 or Proving Ground.
Oh, and maybe consider Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX while you're there.