Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 is a masterclass in casual gaming. The key part of that sentence is "casual". There is nothing casual about this game, in fact, it's hard as shit to master, let alone even gather all of your achievements/trophies.
For the first 3-5 hours of this game, I sat basically throwing myself around the first few maps. I had absolutely no clue how to work the game, do complex tricks, or string together a combo. I went to the lab for the game, along with a few YouTube videos, and came back a bit more confident. I failed, yet again. Yet this time, I got a trophy for bailing or failing a combo over 100k. Hey, I mean, if I could land it, that would be pretty sick right? I had no idea top scores for this game were in the tens of millions, most of those being achieved in under two minutes. However, the small victory tided me over all the same.
Hours later, I completed all the challenges for the first map. I tried to collect the secret tape for way too long before realizing how great wall riding is at propelling your character higher. I was able to unlock more maps, as I tried out the mall and a few others from THPS one. I set new special moves, invested the skill points, and I was starting to get the hang of it.
Twenty hours in, I had completed the game but left many challenges, points, and everything else uncompleted. I had to go back, and some challenges were way too tough for their own good. It wasn't about the points anymore, as much as it was hitting certain gaps, and dealing with gold medaling in freestyle, in which I had no idea how to make a line in. I continued to pursue this time and time again thanks to the addictive gameplay that always, and I mean always, makes it your fault for not landing the trick.
Then, after completing all of the game, I went back for more. I was throwing up one million points per combo, unlocking insane boards that move as you skate on them. Even heading into the multiplayer for a bit to flex on some people who hadn't hit my threshold yet, while doing every gap in the game and all of the "get-there's", one of the toughest challenges in gaming I've ever attempted.
I put it down after grabbing every trophy, but THPS 1+2 Remastered feels like what I should be getting out of more games. The feel of climbing the mountaintop in the most progressive way possible, anticipating every turn but never feeling a spike. I suppose this is the same appeal of Soulslikes and games like Bennett Foddy or Jump King, but THPS 1+2 just does it better in every way when it comes to learning what makes this game tick. Not like those other games are bad, but I see this game as a boundary-pushing piece of media that consistently delivers on great sound design, soundtrack, and going from 100 point combos, to 10,000,000 point combos within the 60-80 hours I played.
It's a damn fine skateboarding game, but it's so much more than a skateboarding game.
For the first 3-5 hours of this game, I sat basically throwing myself around the first few maps. I had absolutely no clue how to work the game, do complex tricks, or string together a combo. I went to the lab for the game, along with a few YouTube videos, and came back a bit more confident. I failed, yet again. Yet this time, I got a trophy for bailing or failing a combo over 100k. Hey, I mean, if I could land it, that would be pretty sick right? I had no idea top scores for this game were in the tens of millions, most of those being achieved in under two minutes. However, the small victory tided me over all the same.
Hours later, I completed all the challenges for the first map. I tried to collect the secret tape for way too long before realizing how great wall riding is at propelling your character higher. I was able to unlock more maps, as I tried out the mall and a few others from THPS one. I set new special moves, invested the skill points, and I was starting to get the hang of it.
Twenty hours in, I had completed the game but left many challenges, points, and everything else uncompleted. I had to go back, and some challenges were way too tough for their own good. It wasn't about the points anymore, as much as it was hitting certain gaps, and dealing with gold medaling in freestyle, in which I had no idea how to make a line in. I continued to pursue this time and time again thanks to the addictive gameplay that always, and I mean always, makes it your fault for not landing the trick.
Then, after completing all of the game, I went back for more. I was throwing up one million points per combo, unlocking insane boards that move as you skate on them. Even heading into the multiplayer for a bit to flex on some people who hadn't hit my threshold yet, while doing every gap in the game and all of the "get-there's", one of the toughest challenges in gaming I've ever attempted.
I put it down after grabbing every trophy, but THPS 1+2 Remastered feels like what I should be getting out of more games. The feel of climbing the mountaintop in the most progressive way possible, anticipating every turn but never feeling a spike. I suppose this is the same appeal of Soulslikes and games like Bennett Foddy or Jump King, but THPS 1+2 just does it better in every way when it comes to learning what makes this game tick. Not like those other games are bad, but I see this game as a boundary-pushing piece of media that consistently delivers on great sound design, soundtrack, and going from 100 point combos, to 10,000,000 point combos within the 60-80 hours I played.
It's a damn fine skateboarding game, but it's so much more than a skateboarding game.