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Metro
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 review
Activision remake two more of the original PS1 and PS2 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games, adding in new content and taking away some of the original music. Tony Hawk is easily one of the planet's most affable and unassuming celebrities, regularly recounting tales of his own failure to be recognised in public places and gently refusing to take part in any form of social media outrage. However, despite illustrious early outings, the skateboarding video game franchise that bears his name hasn't had quite such a mellow ride. The first Tony Hawk's Pro Skater came out in 1999 and up to 2012 received annual sequels that gradually got less and less inspiring. The series' nadir arrived with the unmitigated disaster that was Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5, after which things went quiet until 2020's excellent remake of Pro Skater 1 + 2. That was made by Vicarious Visions, who also worked on several of the earliest and greatest Tony Hawk games. Unfortunately, and despite the critical and commercial success of 1 + 2, Vicarious Visions 'merged' with Blizzard and effectively disappeared forever, leaving development work on Pro Skater 3 + 4 to Iron Galaxy. Very sensibly they retained the structure and mechanics of 1 + 2, which means you get a broad roster of skaters, both old school and new, along with the ability to play either of the games whenever you like. As in the originals, you start with a single skate park, unlocking the others by completing goals. These goals are warmly familiar and involve hitting high scores, finding the letters S-K-A-T-E, grinding your way to a hidden VHS tape, and a clutch of other nostalgia-triggering area specific objectives. Once you've completed all the missions in a park, a fresh set of Pro Goals becomes available, which will stretch even the most finely honed virtual skating skills. This is a remake, so technically it's a completely new game and not just a remaster, but thankfully the finely judged controls and difficulty remain the same. Getting to know how to grind, ollie, and do tricks is just the beginning. Those moves and their button combinations have to be committed to muscle memory before each park's more esoteric goals become accessible. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. Every area has been lovingly recreated to create as many lines as possible. This encourages you to combo tricks together, linking them using manuals – the skateboard equivalent of a wheelie – and reverts, which let you continue a combo when you land from a half-pipe or ramp. With the addition of those two moves you can effectively extend combos indefinitely, provided you have the balance and dexterity to continue chaining further tricks. That introduces a knife edge risk vs. reward mechanic to gameplay, in that longer combos rack up far larger point totals, but a single bail loses everything you've accumulated. While it's tempting to keep combos going, there's an enduring counter pull to bank your points before a momentary lapse of concentration makes you lose the lot. By default, you have two minutes to play each level, nailing as many of its goals as you can within that time, and while you can now extend the countdown to a finger-bleeding hour the games make more sense with the original limit in place. That now applies to Pro Skater 4 as well. It originally shipped with a more open world approach, with new goals acquired by tooling around and engaging fellow skaters in conversation. All that's been removed in favour of more traditional upfront goals against a two-minute clock, and the experience is tighter and more consistent for it. There are also a couple of new levels that weren't in the original, including the memorable Waterpark, which presents you with a network of drained pools and winding old waterslides to grind your way around. Along with the pre-made line-up you'll be able to customise your own competitors and levels with create-a-skater and create-a-park. The latter now also lets you add our own goals, giving player-created levels more focus and direction than simply cruising around them, something that left them feeling a little redundant in Pro Skater 1 + 2. More Trending Veterans of the original games may bemoan changes to the games' music playlists. Song licensing is notoriously tough and litigious, and the fact that there's still a scattering of tunes from the early 2000 versions – including the iconic introduction accompanied by Motörhead's Ace of Spades – is testament to Activision's persistence. And anyway, the additional songs are perfectly in keeping with the feel of the originals. Nostalgia is fickle and highly personal, making it impossible to please everyone all of the time, as the current owners of the Star Wars franchise have repeatedly discovered. In Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4, you'll find a technically adept and atmospherically well-tuned remake, that requires the same dedication to skill learning and tactical exploration as the originals did, while adding a sprinkling of modern extras. In Short: Another excellent remake, in the vein of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2, this retains the glorious character of the original games, while adding a coat of modern polish and a smattering of new content. Pros: Tight controls that demand practise to perfect. Pro Skater 4 works better without its tacked-on open world elements and the new levels are so well designed that a new player would never guess they weren't originals. Cons: The changes to the musical line-up might upset some purists and the absence of H-O-R-S-E mode in multiplayer is an unfortunate omission. Score: 8/10 Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PCPrice: £39.99*Publisher: ActivisionDeveloper: Iron Galaxy (originals: Neversoft)Release Date: 11th July 2025 Age Rating: 12 *available on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass from day one Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: PS1 classic WipEout gets unofficial Xbox release MORE: Donkey Kong Bananza director is a Nintendo newbie MORE: Subnautica 2 delayed so publisher can avoid paying devs a bonus claims report


Time of India
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4: Everything you need to know before launch
Image via Iron Galaxy Tony Hawk is bringing back one of the most well-known skateboarding games in history, the Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4 game, this time a revival of the long-awaited version. Being a remastered set, this version is once again the successor of a remake of Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 + 2, which promises to bring a fresh visual and modern system, mechanics, and the old content. The remaster will feature new features, Online multiplayer improvements, and fan-favorite levels back in high definition to do just that. Before the jump, the following is a complete overview of what to anticipate in Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 +4 when it arrives. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 Remastered: Launch details and features Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 - 15 Things You NEED TO KNOW Before You Buy Confirmed features and improvements Vicarious Visions (now Blizzard Albany) is working on the remastered Pro Skater 3 + 4 package, following their tradition of a close recreation with additional contemporary enhancements. Key highlights include: Visual upgrades: Crisp High-definition textures, dynamic lighting, and improved smooth animations that the modern consoles can handle without any lag. Classic + Skater roster: Original skaters Tony Hawk and Rodney Mullen return, joined by new faces from the current generation skate scene. Expanded soundtrack: All the Classic banger songs from the originals, along with new licensed tracks to keep your session alive. Online multiplayer : Competitive modes, public lobbies, party play, and ranked leaderboards let you show your skills worldwide. Create-a-park and create-a-skate r : Improved customization and sharing content tools. Trick system enhancements : Revert, combos, manuals, and spine transfers make for endless combo potential. Release information Platforms : PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC (Steam and Epic Games Store). Release date : Expected later in 2025 (the date will be published). Editions : Standard Edition – Base game with in-depth content. Deluxe Edition – It comes with some additional gear, exclusive designs, and skaters. Collector's Edition – Physical items, including a mini skate deck and collector's artbook. What to watch out for Fans should keep an eye on the following: Pre-order perks such as early access and unique in-game gear. Possible beta tests or early demo announcements, especially for multiplayer. Ongoing developer updates and sneak peeks on social media and official blogs. The legacy is continued with Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4, but it has better graphics and even more detailed gameplay. It is a party of all that made the fans love the originals, remodeled to fit the current hardware. Whether flying down memory lane on that skateboarding trick you love, or trying it out with the world of skateboarding all over the place, this remaster is gathering steam and is going to be a highly recommended game to play! For real-time updates, scores, and highlights, follow our live coverage of the India vs England Test match here. Catch Manika Batra's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 3. Watch Here!


Digital Trends
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
Tony Hawk says that more Pro Skater remasters are on the table
If the impending remaster of Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4 has you itching to see other classic skateboard games, you aren't alone: the legend himself says he has 'aspirations' to see more games, like Tony Hawk's Underground, remastered for modern consoles, but the final decision isn't up to him. Hawk spoke with Screen Rant at THPS Fest, and when asked if he wanted to see more games, Hawk replied in his usual, humble way: 'I always have aspirations. It's not up to me generally. I'll campaign all I can, but I'm working with a much bigger company that's a lot smarter than me.' He did clarify that there were not any discussions about a remaster of Tony Hawk's Underground, but that the success of THPS 3 + 4 would influence the release of future titles. Recommended Videos The remake of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 launched in 2020, and THPS 3 + 4 was reported to have been cancelled in 2022 after Vicarious Vision's merger with Blizzard. It has since been revived (with a release date of July 11), but it shows the franchise is not set in stone. According to Screen Rant's interview, the THPS remasters are determined on a case-by-case basis. While there's no guarantee, a successful launch of THPS 3 + 4 could make a remaster of Underground much more likely. While the two existing remasters are essentially straightforward skating games, Underground took a different approach and presented a career mode that let players step into the shoes of a customer skater and build their fame up through competitions. In that way, the game is more of an adventure title than a skating sim, but it's still a Tony Hawk game at its core. The gaming landscape is somewhat devoid of skating games at the moment. The Tony Hawk series is by far the most popular option, although EA's Skate franchise is expected to receive a new entry sometime in 2025. Outside of these, however, choices are limited to smaller-scale titles like OlliOlli World or the quirky Skatebird.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 arrives on July 11
After weeks of teasers from Activision and Tony Hawk, the video game publisher has officially announced that Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 will be available on July 11. Iron Galaxy Studios remade the old skateboarding games from the ground up to create an updated version of the classics. The remake includes the original games' content, along with cross-platform online multiplayer for up to eight skaters. Activision says it picks up from where Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 left off, but it didn't mention whether the new title would also come with local multiplayer like its predecessor does. The new game was developed by a different studio than the one that remade the first two games even though Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 was pretty well-received. Hawk previously revealed that Vicarious Visions, the studio that developed the first remake, was supposed to work on the third and fourth installments, as well. However, that plan was scrapped after the studio got absorbed into Blizzard. The new game will feature new skaters, tricks and brand-new parks. Its skater selection will include legends in the sport — though Bam Margera was notably absent in the roster we were given — as well as newer names, like two-time Olympics champion Yuto Horigome. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 will be available for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch. For the PC, it can be purchased through Steam, and Microsoft Store. Finally, Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers will be able to play it at launch through the game streaming service. Pre-orders will be available starting today, and those who do purchase in advance will be able to access the Foundry Demo in June. Those willing to pay extra and pre-order the Digital Deluxe and Collector's Editions will be able to access the game earlier on July 8. The Digital Deluxe Edition comes with extra content, while the Collector's Edition comes with a full-size Birdhouse skateboard deck and a printed Tony Hawk autograph.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tony Hawk 3+4 Will Be Shadow Dropped Soon
Rumor has it that is indeed in the works, and it'll be shadow dropped very, very soon. The claim follows comments made by professional skateboarder Tyshawn Jones, who recently said that he's in the 'new Tony Hawk remaster that's about to come out.' Following Jones' viral comments in the Breakfast Club podcast, known leaker eXtas1s claimed Pro Skater 3 and 4 remasters will be shadow dropped for the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC during an Xbox Games Showcase scheduled to take place in June 2025. EXtas1s didn't mention last-gen platforms, so those who enjoyed the 1+2 remasters on the PS4 might have to make the jump to current-gen, if they haven't already. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and 4 originally released in 2001 and 2002, respectively. Vicarious Visions, who worked on the 1+2 remaster, co-developed the original games. Activision, which is now part of Microsoft, continues to own the IP. As usual, take all rumors with a grain of salt until official confirmation. However, given that Jones outright mentioned being in a new Tony Hawk remaster, we think this rumor is at least partially true. One ResetEra user added weight to the rumor, revealing that their friend pitched an ad for the game that was subsequently turned down. The post Tony Hawk 3+4 Will Be Shadow Dropped Soon – Report appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.