A step forward from THUG 1? Or perhaps a step back? It is in my intensive reflections regarding this game that this questions has rattled back and forth.

What is THUG 2, really? A mere sequel? Eric Sparrow makes an appearance, but there seems to be no connection to the story of THUG 1 other than the sudden appearance of Jersey in the very beginning. So just what is THUG 2? It appears to exist in a weird limbo of reboot/retelling of THUG 1. But why? Why is this the direction they took for an installment a meager one year after the previous? Their execution is well-done, yet I cannot help but question this decision.

Story is not thrown out the window, but rather pushed to the side. There is no narrative, merely reasons to move to the next level, and cutscenes in between to watch someone get hit in the nuts. In a Tony Hawk game, I don't consider this an inherent negative, but it is a sure disappointment compared to the what was offered in THUG 1.

Gameplay has it's subtle improvements, just like every sequel before it, so can this even be considered a positive anymore? Is this now the norm? Regardless, the gameplay is it's best it's ever been. That is, when you're not playing as a secret character. It is amusing to see Steve-O ride the bull... for about 15 seconds. After that is a mess to control and a bore to complete goals in with such a lack of tricks at your disposal. This criticism remains true for all the special "skaters" in the game. A useless gimmick that serves to pad out runtime. I would have preferred these characters on skateboards, just like every other guest character. But alas, this is still the best gameplay in the series yet, but that has come to be expected of this franchise at this point, a privilege afforded to few video games.

But what is a Tony Hawk game without it's soundtrack? Let me start by saying this: this is my favorite soundtrack in any of the Tony Hawk games. it is a very rare occurrence that you are skating around in this game and a musically orgasmic song is not playing in your ears. With that being said, I do not understand some of the choices made in this regard. In previous Tony Hawk games, the soundtrack was adjacent to skating culture. Classic hip-hop and punk rock oozed from the games character, and it felt like a peek behind the curtain of music popular with skating culture at its peak. In THUG 2, we have... Frank Sinatra? Johnny Cash (I get why this one is in the game, but my upcoming point still stands)? There's probably a few others that I'm forgetting as well. The Tony Hawk series is not exactly known for it's ground breaking immersion, but still, the little immersion it had was in it's soundtrack. Was this put to the side in order to get recognizable songs on the track list? Perhaps, but I still do not think it makes it any worse of a game, just less of a classic Tony Hawk experience. Which, perhaps, may have been best for the series at this point.

As for the level design, it is good. Very good. Removing the "go and talk to that guy over there" was an advancement I did not know I needed, and the new checklist system without a timer is probably the best way to go about a Tony Hawk game. Each level is more fun than the last, and there has not been this much character in Tony Hawk levels since THPS3, there may be even more. Absolutely no complaints in this department. Except for the Mountain Top Manual. Fuck the Mountain Top Manual.

And so the question that arises to the mind, is THUG 2 a step up, or a step down from THUG 1? This question is monumentous in size and consequence. If it is, it is the best of a legendary series and a pinnacle in not only the PS2 era of gaming, but sports games as well as gaming as a whole. If not, it is the beginning of a downhill spiral that leads down a path of some of the worst video games ever put on shelves. This question is a clashing of titans whose strengths and weaknesses correlate and play off of each other in such a way that their gigantic collision would shake even mountains. Do you prefer the grittier and higher stakes story of a skater rising and falling into fame, or the sillier balls to the wall competition between Tony and Bam that ends in a cinematic finale? Do you like a more immersive or more diverse soundtrack? More serious level design or wackier "arcadey" level design? Does the existence of the special characters throw you off or charm you even further? These are questions I cannot even answer myself. So which is it? The golden statue that still stands tall in a wildly popular and influential franchise and gaming industry giant, or the first mis-step in a tragic and continuous fall from grace that left a legendary series at the bottom of the clearance bin?

Classic mode is pretty cool too I guess, but I avoided that shit like the plague.

This is the Tony Hawks game that I played the most by far. I never played Underground 1 and was very impressed by the new features that this sub-series introduced. I thought it was a cool idea to be able to get off the board and walk around the world. I also thought some of the missions that required you to climb scaffolding to spray graffiti, for example, were quite innovative. Overall, the structure of the Tony Hawks series became quite formulaic and almost monotonous from game 1 to 4. Underground recognized this and developed the series in a new, interesting direction.

Another fundamental change was to completely remove the time limit for completing a level. I remember that this design decision was received very ambivalently at the time, both by players and critics. I found it very pleasant to no longer be stressed by the time limit and to be able to really take my time when solving the tasks. The mission design was adapted to reflect this change, so that you sometimes had to think for quite a long time about how to solve a task.

What really got on my nerves back then and is probably received even more negatively today is the story and the general writing of the game. At the time, the writers decided to integrate a kind of Jackass-inspired story into the game, which could also have been shown in an episode of Viva La Bam on MTV. In the game's story, 2 teams, each led by Tony Hawk and Bam Margera, compete against each in skate challenges. The more stupid and dangerous a challenge is, the more points the team gets. You can imagine what kind of humor to expect here. Stupid shit jokes are the most harmless. What's more problematic is when there are derogatory, sexist or racist-adjacent jokes, which were already unacceptable at the time.

Nevertheless, I really liked the game as a whole back then. Probably also because I didn't have the necessary sensitivity for these topics as a child and simply enjoyed playing this game time and time again with my buddy. The soundtrack was absolutely fantastic and, as I said, the gameplay was an absolute delight. As a whole, I can't really recommend the game though due to the problematic aspects of its narrative.