Tony Hawks Underground 2

Tony Hawks Underground 2 kicks ass. I won’t beat around the bush with fancy intros or history lessons – what THUG 2 lacks in innovation it makes up with its endless quality and sheer fun.

What makes THUG 2 so delicious is the reality of a world with no wrong answers, no wrong turns, no game overs, and no sense of time. This is the closest thing to skateboard heaven. It’s not perfect though, as all things have a weak side. Underground 2 doesn’t have any major flaws, some nitpicking can bring out minor ones though. One of those little things is the games level design. The levels aesthetic beauty can sometimes overrun its technical playability. I often find nice sets of stairs that look architecturally stimulating but never fit into the level design. The ability to walk around, slow down time in focus mode, and simply get up after the many glorious bails often cut around this though

In the second generation of GameCube games, this is one of the leading third party titles. Environments are as technically marvelous as they are playful. Everything flows smoothly for the most part, and you’ll enjoy soaking up the vibrant life as dusk turns to dawn and the streets lit up. The artistic direction is somewhat distinct and blends skateboard culture with modern realism. The sound – more notably the soundtrack – is just as fantastic as the visuals and help bring life into the hawk universe. The soundtrack is also incredibly diverse and offers boarders a chance to absorb some skateboard culture.

Hovering above the competition, including the original THUG – THUG 2 offers Classic Mode which brings back the two minute timer, and classic goals. You’ll begin the game on familiar groun, the first level from the first game acts as a tutorial stage and is a nice welcoming sign to skateboard veterans. There’s also a story mode that follows Bam Margera and Tony Hawk on their world destruction tour and plays out through cinematics which are both enlightening and funny. None of the core mechanics have changed since day one, you’ll still punch out ridiculous combos as the points and trick names play out below the screen. You’ll still have to complete the objectives to progress through each of the nine levels. It’s fundamentally still the same game – it just looks a lot better; its technical merit is equal to its graphical power.

On a metaphysical note – the “World Destruction” theme is a metaphor for what the game does to a persons mind if you play it a certain way. Every ollie, every set of stairs, gets destroyed once you grind it – in a poetic sense. You destroy gravity, and gravity often destroys you. It’s all just a vicious cycle that gives the game a meaningless funky vibe to it the minute to get comfortable with the controls. It also helps you suck it up when you bail your ass and bust your nuts on a rail. The bails now look more organic and are vital to anyone if they plan to succeed in this game. Suck it up girls.

Newbies to the Hawk series will be blown away at the sheer quality packed in this sucker, you can create; graphics to slap on walls, parks to destroy, people to destroy those parks, and moves to destroy the people destroying the parks. New comers may also find the layout of the levels a bit overwhelming, they often require zen-like concentration skills to navigate properly. There’s no real secret how you obtain that skill, you just need to go with the games flow and see where it takes you. That’s the wonder of this baby, it’s just so easy to play and fun to watch. The Cube really suffers from a lack of a customizable soundtrack, which I’m really enjoying on my Xbox version – but apart from that the versions are identical. They look great, they play great, they sound great, and their probably worth your fifty dollars.

If you’re into games, get this now. You will enjoy every minute of it