Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD – It’s a New Coat of Paint

Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD is pretty much exactly what it sounds like.  A faithful recreation of the original Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 and 2.  There are several real life licensed skaters to choose from and there are 7 levels including the Warehouse, Downhill Jam and Venice Beach.  The classic Warehouse is still the starting point in which you have to collect objects and complete objectives to unlock the next map.  Tricks are done in the classic Tony Hawk fashion of using the flip/kick, grab and grind buttons while using directional inputs to modify what kind of trick to do.  I remember spending hours upon hours playing the original Tony Hawk on the PlayStation 1.  I remember doing runs over and over trying to get a higher top score.  I remember how the controls felt so tight and were great at allowing me the ability to pull off insane trick combos.  The problem is, that was 13 years ago and the times, they sure have changed.

I understand nostalgia and all that, I do.  This game though costs 15 dollars and considering what you get, I don’t know if it’s really worth it.  There’s nothing truly wrong with the game outside of some weird and wonky physics moments where my skater bailed and was launched into the air, but aside from some shallow skater upgrade features, this game just feels really stale.  While it’s great that the game doesn’t look like a jagged angular mess that a true port of the original would have looked like, I’m curious as to how many were clamoring for an HD remake of these games.  Also, at the price of $15,  I thought I’d see what else you could get for around the same money in the same genre.  I looked on the XBox Live Marketplace just yesterday and saw Skate 2 for $19.99 and there’s the rub.  I could buy a 13 year old game for $15 or I could spend $5 more and get the sequel to the game, that put the nail in the Tony Hawk coffin…