TONY HAWK'S PRO SKATER 3 (GBA)


Tony Hawk evolves on the GBA

By WILL BARKER

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater is all about the moves, doing them well and the freedom to have fun at the same time. Tony Hawk 3 on the Gameboy Advance is no different and gives players an instant fix of Tony goodness wherever they may be.

For starters, the skaters are all in there - there's Kareem, Buckey, Rune, Chad and who would be so cruel as to omit Tony from that list? You can take any one of these skaters through the career mode, which spans seven levels, all of which offer a good amount of creativity and fun.

The graphics? Undeniably convincing for a handheld effort, with the sound not far behind. The gameplay is the same Tony we all love and know - you can perform all the grabs, grinds, manuals and stalls from the original console versions.

But for me, the best feature of Tony would have to be the graphcis. The framerate is remarkable, which, when you think about it, will allow you to more smoothly and quickly (and realistically) pull off more moves in any given space of time. For a hand-held effort, this goes above and beyond the call of duty.

New additions to number three on the GBA include the venerable revert, allowing you to link air tricks to ground tricks. The graphics are slightly more impressive over Tony 2 on the GBA, which is an amazing feat, considering the unique blend of polygon-based riders and rendered backgrounds.

There are seven levels in Tony 3 GBA and this is more than enough for months of protracted gaming. In order, you'll tackle the Foundry, Suburbia, Rio (comp #1), Airport, Los Angeles, Tokyo (comp #2) and a secret level, which - without giving anything away - absolutely rocks. Completing the career mode will gradually unlock all of these levels, as well as allow you increase your chosen skater stats.

The multiplayer options make Tony 3 an even more worthwile title, where like-minded friends can either take turns in the 'hot-seat' version of Horse, or can link two to four GBAs together. The link multiplayer modes are Trick Attack, Tag, King of the Hill and Freeskate; in addition, you can play Horse as well.

The only real gripe with the game is more a fault of Nintendo than of the games coders - Team Baisoku. The simple act of pummelling countless buttons in very quick succession isn't the easiest on the GBA, as the buttons aren't exactly what we'd call 'ergonomically' positioned. If you have big hands, you may have difficulty pulling off the tougher combos, however those who use their GBAs regularly should have no problems.

Team Baisoku has done an amazing job with this scaled-down coversion of one history's most popular videogames, and if you need a reason to buy a GBA, this would surely be it.

ORIGINALITY 70%
SOUND/GRAPHICS 90%
PLAYABILITY 85%
ADDICTION 80%
ENJOYMENT 95%