Tony Hawk's Underground
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| Tony Hawk's Underground | |
| Missing image Thugbox.jpg Tony Hawk's Underground cover (PlayStation 2) | |
| Developer(s) | Neversoft |
| Publisher(s) | Activision |
| Release date(s) | October 27, 2003 |
| Genre | Extreme sports |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen (T) |
| Platform(s) | Xbox, GameCube, PS2, Game Boy Advance |
Tony Hawk's Underground, also called THUG and released in 2003, is a skateboarding video game available for the PlayStation 2, GameCube and Xbox platforms. It is the fifth console game in the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series. It features the ability to create a custom character, and is playable online on the PS2 version. Unlike its predecessors, THUG focuses heavily on its story mode, and to this extent includes a large number of in-game cutscenes.
Game mechanics
A constantly changing mechanic in the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series is the gaining of skill. In other games, this was accomplished by either earning money which went toward unlocking levels, buying skateboard gear, and improving skills; or by finding floating tokens in each level which were worth one skill point each. In THUG, specific (usually skill-related) achievements increase the player's skill in each of 10 categories. For example, doing at least a certain number of tricks while in the air after launching off a quarter- or halfpipe can increase the player's Air rating, giving them more airtime. Holding a rail grind (or manual slide) for a length of time increases the player's balance on those moves. The set of moves is harder in higher difficulty settings; a rail grind of twenty seconds is one of the final accomplishments in Normal difficulty, but one of the first in Sick difficulty.
For the first time in the series, the player can walk around, rather than skateboard. This is necessary to reach some locations and challenges. This is linked to the Caveman move; the player is now able to leave his skateboard in the middle of a combo of moves, and continue his combo elsewhere, as long as he or she continues within a time limit. This time limit is another skill that can be improved.
Two more new moves added to the series in THUG are wall plants (jumping toward, and pushing off, a wall) and wall pushes (skating toward, and pushing off, a wall).
Game plot
In THUG, the player's skater (which must be created; professional skaters (including the seminal Tony Hawk, also the game series' eponym) and unlockable skaters are available, but only in multiplayer modes) is a largely nameless skater from a New Jersey town, who aspires to make a name for himself in the world of professional skateboarding. To this end, he receives some help from childhood friend Eric Sparrow and skateshop owner Stacy Peralta, as well as a skateboard from skateboard pro Chad Muska, whom the character impresses during his time in New Jersey. As the game progresses, the character gains recognition, first as an amateur team skater, then as a professional. However, Sparrow's selfishness gets the better of him time and again, and he always seems to steal the spotlight...
The initial culmination of the player's efforts results in one of the most memorable cutscenes in the game; the player must jump off of one building, perform a grab trick (specifically, a McTwist) over the spinning blades of a helicopter, and land in (or near) a halfpipe a number of stories down on another building. Cities and places are: New Jersey, New York City, Tampa, San Diego, Hawaii, Vancouver, Slam City Jam, Moscow, School, Venice and Hangar. Template:TonyHawk
External links
- Official Tony Hawk's Underground website (http://www.thugonline.com/)
- GameFAQs guides for Tony Hawk's Underground (http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/ps2/game/36862.html)pl:Tony Hawk's Underground