I am a big fan of the Tony Hawk video games. I met Tony Hawk once at a skating competition in Virginia and he signed my copy of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 - I have to admit that I'm interested by skateboarding as a pass-time (maybe not "job") because I realize it's a very hard sport to master.
I own every Tony Hawk game, one for N64, one for computer, one for Game Boy Advance, and now three for my XBox (which I purchased early 2002 if I remember correctly). I like that IMDb has this listed as simply "Underground," and not "Tony Hawk's Underground," because Neversoft's idea to market the game as a sequel to the others is somewhat wrong. Sure, the actual gameplay and concept is fairly continual, with the same controls, etc. But the actual game itself is much different. There are now cut-scenes and a whole story to follow. You play as one character, who you design, and take him through the ranks of pro skating. (The only chance you get at playing as Pro Skaters in this game is in multiplayer mode, where you get to choose from Hawk, Margera, Burnquist, et al.)
Overall this is the dirtiest of the Tony Hawk videogames - far more realistic than its predecessors, if you want to call them that, and heavy on street lingo. It has more swearing and an overall "gritty" feel - hopefully it won't be marketed towards small children, as the lighter gameplay of the original four is lacking.
And unfortunately, so is some of the great style of the first four. I loved each game and how each one seemed to improve upon itself, yet featured memorable levels - the School, the Warehouse, etc.
One of the problems of Underground is its lack of addictive gameplay. I admire and appreciate what Neversoft has tried to do, but I can't say they did so completely successfully. The beginning of the game is a real bore and it takes a while to get "hooked" into it - which is the opposite of the others.
There are new additions to Underground, such as the ability to walk on foot, climb onto objects (ladders, houses, etc.) and drive cars (yes, drive cars). Had this been provided as extra "fun" I would have been appreciative - but some missions require car races. If I wanted a game with car races as a main idea, I'd buy Project Gotham Racing (which I have, incidentally). Besides, the graphics of the cars in THUG are quite poor - hopefully in the next installment they'll realize that skateboarding games should not involve car missions.
It's essentially very original and different from the other Hawk games, with more of a story this time around. It seems they've abandoned the concept of the first four games and started anew. But I hope that Underground 2 is better.
Underground 1 is fun but has some major problems. Many of its options are far improved, and I liked the soundtrack listing and how you have the option to turn off/on rap music/rock music/r & b (I highlighted only rock and have been listening to it - good songs!). However, the levels in Underground are the worst of the Hawk legacy; some of the missions really suck, for lack of a better word; I didn't find myself as addicted and often I wasn't having as much fun as I did in the other games.
I understand what Neversoft was trying to do with this game, but they have room for improvement. This is a good game and miles ahead of others I own. But it's also the worst Tony Hawk videogame I own. I hope they setup a new series of Underground games and start making THPS (Tony Hawk's Pro Skater) videogames again.
