Jump to content

Tony Hawk's Underground

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Louis Wilkerson (talk | contribs) at 15:44, 26 March 2007. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Tony Hawk's Underground
Tony Hawk's Underground cover (PlayStation 2)
Tony Hawk's Underground cover (PlayStation 2)
Developer(s)Neversoft
Publisher(s)Activision
EngineRenderWare
Platform(s)Xbox, GameCube, PS2, Windows(Australia only), Game Boy Advance, Mobile Phone
ReleaseOctober 27, 2003
Genre(s)Extreme sports
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer

Tony Hawk's Underground, also called THUG, is a skateboarding video game available for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, GBA and Xbox platforms released in 2003. A Windows PC version was released exclusively in Australia as a budget release in 2005. This version was ported by Beenox. It is the fifth game in the Tony Hawk's series. It features the ability to create a custom character, and supports face mapping and online play on the PS2 and Windows versions. Unlike its predecessors, Underground focuses heavily on its story mode, and to this extent includes a large number of in-game cutscenes. THUG was also the first game in the series to introduce the ability to travel around levels on foot.

Game mechanics

File:Grind over McDonalds.jpg
Getting some air

A constantly changing mechanic in the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series is the gaining of skill. In other games, this was accomplished by either earning money which went toward unlocking levels, buying skateboard gear, and improving skills; or by finding floating tokens in each level which were worth one skill point each. In THUG, specific (usually skill-related) achievements increase the player's skill in each of 10 categories. For example, doing at least a certain number of tricks while in the air after launching off a quarter- or half-pipe can increase the player's Air rating, giving them more airtime. Holding a rail grind or slide (or manual) for a length of time increases the player's balance on those moves. The set of moves is harder in higher difficulty settings; a rail grind of twenty seconds is one of the final accomplishments in normal difficulty, but one of the first in sick difficulty.

For the first time in the series, the player can walk around, rather than skateboard. This is necessary to reach some locations and challenges. This is linked to the Caveman move; the player is now able to leave his skateboard in the middle of a combo of moves, and continue his combo elsewhere, as long as he or she continues within a time limit. This time limit is another skill that can be improved. Added to the moves in THUG is the wall push (skating toward, then pushing off of a wall).

Game plot

Template:Spoiler

In the "career mode" setting of THUG, the player must choose a character created in the in-game Skater editor. Professional skaters (including Tony Hawk, the game series' eponym) and unlockable skaters are only available for play in the other modes of the game. The player takes the role of a largely nameless skater from a New Jersey town (probably Edsion because Mike V is there and when you talk to him before he teaches you the flamingo, he says Just skatin the old neighbor hood,), who aspires to make a name for himself (or if one chose to make one's avatar female, herself) in the world of professional skateboarding.

File:Primo Gap NJ.jpg
Performing a special move in New Jersey

To this end, he receives some help from childhood friend Eric Sparrow and skateshop owner Stacy Peralta, as well as a skateboard from skateboard pro Chad Muska, whom the character impresses during his time in New Jersey. As the game progresses, the character gains recognition, first as an amateur team skater, then as a professional. However, Sparrow's selfishness gets the better of him time and again, and he always seems to steal the spotlight...

The initial culmination of the player's efforts results in one of the most memorable cutscenes in the game; the player must jump off of one building in Hawaii, perform a grab trick (specifically, a McTwist) over the spinning blades of a helicopter, and land in (or near) a half-pipe a number of stories down on another building. Note: Even if the player does not land the trick correctly in game, the cutscene will show the player landing perfectly on the hotel roof. During the premiere of your team's skate movie, Eric has given the producers his own tricks over the roofs of Hawaii instead of yours, gaining pro status unrightfully before the player himself.

The game takes place in a number of levels based on various real cities, most in North America. These levels include:

The game also has four unlockable levels:

In THUG after getting out of Moscow one must make one's own team and complete a series of difficult stunts. For one's last challenge one faces Eric where one must hit all of his lines within a set time limit.

Because it is considered to a be a frustrating and tiresome goal no matter the difficulty setting, players only need to complete the goal once. On any subsequent plays through the game, the player will punch Eric when he challenges one to the goal, knocking him out and catching the tape in one motion.

Pro skaters


Secret characters

If all Gaps are collected one can also unlock:

File:THUG hotter than hell.jpg
Iron Man on stage as KISS play in the 'Hotter Than Hell' level

Unlockable levels

There are a few unlockable levels hidden as "tokens" in game. In New Jersey, behind the Train Station, there is token to unlock "School II" from Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2. In Hawaii, there is a token to unlock another level in a tiki head's mouth on the street. A third token is located inside the main building in Moscow.

Also, if one beats any mode of story, one can unlock Hotter Than Hell, a level that features a KISS concert. This level contains lots of fire. Hence the name "Hotter than hell". If you collect the KISS letters at least twice, an animated version of the KISS band will come out on stage and sing.

Soundtrack

There is a total of 77 songs in the game. They are listed below, alphabetically by Artist and with the track names and the groups into which the tracks are sorted; Punk, Hip-Hop and Rock/Other.

Trivia

  • Tony Hawk's Underground is the only Tony Hawk game not to feature Tony Hawk on its game cover.
  • In the New Jersey level, the modified car that Johnny Turbo lets one drive is a Honda CRX.
  • In the New York City level, near the police station, there is a Leeds United logo in graffiti on the wall.
  • When one's newly created character slams the drawer shut at the beginning of the game, a copy of the previous Tony Hawk game, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, can be seen lying on the desk.
  • When creating one's character, Daisy, a character from Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, can be seen on a poster. She is also available as a template when creating one's character.
  • The costume worn by the chef in front of the McDonalds on the New York level is somewhat similar to the uniform worn by Hiroyuki Sakai as Iron Chef French on the Japanese TV show Iron Chef.
  • In the Venice level where the "VB skinny gap" is, if one goes to the other side there is a wall that has the Club América Mexican team on it.
  • The difficulty level "hard" is replaced by "SICK" in this game.
  • T.H.U.G. is the only Tony Hawk game to use "shit" uncensored. It is possible there was controversy over it, as it is not heard unless censored in future games. It is used by both Element members, Mike Vallely and Bam Margera. Strangely, the word "bitch" is both censored and uncensored on different occasions. It is uncensored when Johnny Turbo refers to drug dealers escaping ("Whoah, he's flippin' a bitch!"); and by the player when he/she realises the bus is leaving without him/her ("Son of a bitch!")
  • In the Manhattan level, there are four different subway entrance locations. These entrances have signs identical to ones in New York. They also feature subway trains that exist in reality (J, M, Z, 4, 5, 6), and the name of the station is an actual subway station in lower Manhattan (Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall Station).

A reference is made to former Florida Governer Jeb Bush in the Tampa level. He appears as Mayor Jed

Awards

E3 2003 Game Critics Awards: Best Sports Game

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Tony_Hawk%27s_Underground&oldid=118019275"