Great mechanics with some new not so great mechanics and a really stupid story. The beginning of the end for the series. It would only get worse from here, especially with how dumb thug 2 was.

I am fully biased in my review as this is probably the game that wins "most replayed singleplayer story game" for me. I would guess at maybe somewhere around low 100s for amount of replays but really i can't know. I played it all the time as a child and got the time down to a few hours for a runthrough.

9/10

The pinnacle of the series, after it really let loose but before it jumped the shark. A silly but eminently charming story mode, a series of more open maps, and the option to get off your board and just relax, all mixed with the Tony Hawk series' trademark over-the-top skating mechanics, tight physics, engaging and varied challenges, and incredible soundtracks makes for the skating game of a lifetime. I may be a little biased, but this game was a formative experience for me, and it's still so goddamn fun. It's also packed with secrets, easter eggs, in-jokes, and love. The clear product of a passionate, talented team. There are some weird non-skating diversions, but most are skippable and frankly they don't bother me in the slightest. The combo timer when you leave your board makes combos a bit too easy to keep going, but it's not like the skill ceiling is suddenly too low for it. It's a cool and idiosyncratic package and I'm not sure I would change any of it. Here's hoping we get a remaster before Vicarious Visions moves on to other things.

Gameplay: 10
Graphics / Scenery: 7
Story: 8
Acting: 8
World: 9
Lore: 9
Immersion: 6

fuck eric sparrow bro all my homies hate eric sparrow

after thps4's carrer mode changes were well recieved, this was bound to happen, and oh boy is it good. story gets a bit cheesy at times but are you really expecting a super hardcore, serious story from a tony hawk game? you can ride a dune buggy during a kiss concert and trick over a helicopter just fuckin enjoy the damn thing. there aren't as many maps in other games but this is more than made up with through the sheer size of them, both horizontally and vertically. create a trick lets you make some ridiculous moves which is both great and awful depending on how you use it. overall a fantastic experience. eric sparrow is the harbringer of death

Oh this was a blast from the past and it really held up in 2020. You immediately notice how much of a time capsule for early 2000s punk culture it is, but it's never as obnoxious about it. The story is fun, and unlike games later in the series the tone of it comes off as funny and endearing. What really stands up though is creativity on display: some of the best laid out levels and most fun level tasks in the series history come from THUG. And controls were solidified and perfected by this point in series history, so campaign works really well as introduction to high level Tony Hawk gameplay gradually introducing new tricks and ramping up the complexity of tasks. This was one of my favorite never finished childhood games and I'm glad I was finally able to complete it and had heck of a good time doing so.

Might be an unfair comparison, but this is the quintessential sports game. Neversoft took another risk with their flagship video game series and, once again, had it come out beautifully. I would have never expected a great narrative on the first Tony Hawk game with a story mode, but you can tell they knew their limits and were able to create the best story that would be featured in a game of this type. As expected, the gameplay is great, and manages to further push an already evolved gameplay engine.