| Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 | |
|---|---|
Nintendo 64 box cover |
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| Developer(s) | Neversoft Edge of Reality (N64) Vicarious Visions (GBA) Treyarch (DC/XBX) Natsume (GBC) Gray Matter Interactive (PC) |
| Publisher(s) | Activision |
| Designer(s) | Neversoft and Tony Hawk |
| Engine | Rewrite of proprietary Apocalypse engine |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation, PC, Game Boy Color, Dreamcast, MAC, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 64, Xbox, iPhone |
| Release date(s) | PlayStation
Game Boy Color Dreamcast MAC
Xbox
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| Genre(s) | Extreme sports |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | |
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, often abbreviated as THPS2, is the second game in the Tony Hawk's series. It was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision in 2000. It was first released for the PlayStation, with subsequent ports to the Nintendo 64 (by Edge of Reality), Dreamcast, Game Boy Advance (by Vicarious Visions), Mac, the PC (By Gray Matter Interactive), Xbox (as THPS2X).
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It features the series' trademark open-ended gameplay, in which the player (playing as a professional skateboarder) completes a number of tasks which result in cash rewards. With money gained, the player can then purchase skill improvements and better skateboards. THPS2 was also the first game in the series to introduce the manual, a skateboarding trick where the performer balances on two wheels. This enables players to string together trick combos. The game also introduced the Noseslide, Tailslide, Bluntslide, Nosebluntside, Feeble, and Overcrook grinds. It was also the first of the Pro Skater games to feature Create-a-Skater and Park Editor features, now staples in the series.
Some levels in Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2 are designed for the player to complete 10 tasks in two minute time frames. Such tasks include "finding S-K-A-T-E", finding 5 of an object specific to the level (hall passes in the school level for example), high score, pro score, sick score, a particular grind, and finding a hidden tape somewhere in the level. Each of the non-competition levels contain ten tasks for a player to do, each task rewarding a player with cash. Cash is also scattered around the levels in order for players to find, increasing the use for replaying a level. Once a player has enough cash, they can continue on to a new level. The maximum amount of money that can be obtained in a single skater career is $150,000.00. The other type of levels are competition levels. The rating by the judges that a player receives is based on how much they score, variation of tricks, bails, and how much of the level they have used. The judges give scores based on these criteria, the highest and lowest are taken away, leaving the average. There are three runs in total, the best two count. Competition levels also contain cash, hidden for a player to collect.
Originally to be released along with the PlayStation version, but delayed to allow further sales of the first THPS for the console. Almost a year later, the game was released by the same company that brought the first Tony Hawk game to Nintendo 64, Edge of Reality. This version includes all of the features from the PlayStation version, including the Create-a-Skater and Park Editor. In addition to visual improvements (less jagged, smooth) like the Nintendo 64 version of the first game, a new level called Bike Headquarters (from Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX) was added. Also added were a few new cheats, such as the 10x Point Multiplier and Max Turbo Mode codes. The number of songs was reduced to six and portions of each one were cut.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2X was released on November 14, 2001 (only in the U.S. and Canada) as a launch title for Microsoft's Xbox. The game contained remade versions of all the levels from the first two games in the Tony Hawk series, five new levels, a 4-player split screen and LAN multi-player feature and the ability to create females in Create-a-skater mode. Other new features include a redesigned main page and grind balance meter. The redesigned Philadelphia level from this version would later be reused in Tony Hawk's Underground 2.
Austin-based Aspyr ported the game to Windows Mobile Professional devices in 2006. The game offered hardware acceleration for some Dell Axim devices.
Through his Twitter account, Tony Hawk announced a port of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 for the iOS. It would be developed by Activision and would launch before the end of March 2010.
The iOS version of the game was released by Activision in the US App Store on April 1, 2010[1] and subsequently into other regions.
Unlike other ports, this game's only playable modes are Career Mode, Single Session, and Free Skate Mode along with options. Create a Skater, and Create a Park were removed in this version of THPS2. The original soundtrack was also removed and replaced with new music. Slight changes were made to the appearances of some of the pro skaters to account for changes of their sponsors since the original game's release. The game is playable on the iPhone, iPod Touch and also the iPad.
The Game Boy Color version (developed by Natsume) was better received than the first installment on the handheld. In spite of that, it still bore little resemblance to the other versions of the game. The Game Boy Advance version (by Vicarious Visions) received particular acclaim for being an accurate translation of the series, translating the 3D gameplay into isometric (2.5D) format.
A version of the game for windows was also released, which was very similar to the iOS edition.
The following songs are from the original North American PlayStation release.[2] Other versions may vary.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Papa Roach - Blood Brothers" | |
| 2. | "Anthrax featuring Chuck D. of Public Enemy - Bring The Noise" | |
| 3. | "Rage Against the Machine - Guerrilla Radio" | |
| 4. | "Naughty by Nature - Pin the Tail on the Donkey" | |
| 5. | "Bad Religion - You" | |
| 6. | "Powerman 5000 - When Worlds Collide" | |
| 7. | "Millencolin - No Cigar" | |
| 8. | "The High and Mighty featuring Mos Def & Mad Skillz - B-Boy Document 99" | |
| 9. | "Dub Pistols - Cyclone" | |
| 10. | "Lagwagon - May 16" | |
| 11. | "Styles of Beyond - Subculture" | |
| 12. | "Consumed - Heavy Metal Winner" | |
| 13. | "Alley Life featuring Black Planet - Out With the Old" | |
| 14. | "Swingin' Utters - Five Lessons Learned" | |
| 15. | "Fu Manchu - Evil Eye" |
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 met with a tremendous amount of critical and commercial success. According to GameRankings, it is the twentieth best scoring video game ever.
The PlayStation version of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 has earned Platinum awards from gaming magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly. Because of this, it is the only game in the magazine's history to ever have earned a Platinum award twice (but is only acknowledged as a single game in EGM's records due to the game receiving a 10 from only one reviewer as opposed to the PlayStation game receiving 10s from all 3 of its reviewers). The PlayStation version of the game received a 10 out of 10 from the magazine Game Informer, while the versions for other consoles received lower scores. In the final issue of the Official UK PlayStation Magazine, the game was chosen as the 7th best game of all time.[3]
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