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Tony Hawk's Project 8

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Tony Hawk's Project 8
File:THP8.jpg
Developer(s)Neversoft
(Xbox 360 & PS3)
Shaba
(PlayStation 2 & Xbox)
Page 44 Studios
(PSP)
Publisher(s)Activision
Platform(s)PlayStation 3, Playstation 2, PSP, Xbox 360, Xbox
ReleaseNovember 7, 2006 (PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360)
November 17, 2006 (PS3) (US)
November 21, 2006 (PSP)
March 3, 2007 (Europe and UK)
Genre(s)Extreme sports
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer, online

Tony Hawk's Project 8 is the eighth installment in the Tony Hawk's Series. It was released on last-generation (Playstation 2 & Xbox) and current-generation consoles (Xbox 360 & Playstation 3), and is a completely different game from its Wii counterpart, Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam. The name Project 8 refers to the Project 8 competition featured in the storyline, and because this is the eighth game in the "Tony Hawk" series.

The game has been met with mixed reviews, receiving praise for its "Nail the Trick" mode and graphical enhancements and criticism for the removal of several key features.

Graphics

Since moving to larger premises, Neversoft acquired a complete graphic studio and motion capture stage, allowing for much more realistic animation capabilities to be featured in this title.[1]

File:Rodney-Box-1.jpg
Rodney Mullen in THP8.

Combined with the greater processing power of the current generation of consoles, this presents a big leap in graphical appearance over the rest of the series, which has somewhat stagnated in this area; however, many people criticized the facial animations of the models, calling them unrealistic looking.

In the GameSpot review of the Xbox 360 version, THP8 is criticized for its graphical problems such as an unstable framerate.[2]

Info

Project 8 features one giant streaming city to skate in (only on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360) , which contains various skateparks and "hidden sections". An E3 preview by a member of the PlanetTonyHawk.com staff stated "The levels are massive and an amalgamation of just about every level in the early THPS games. So Suburbia, the Airport and School (I, II and University) are all interconnected and part of the same town." [3] There are about 45 skaters in the game, including unlockable characters, who each have a unique mo-cap style (only on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360), providing a different experience and no recycled animations. One of the new features is the 'nail the trick' option. When a player enters this mode the camera will zoom in on the side to focus on the skateboard and the characters feet. Players will then be able to use the right analog stick to control the right foot and the left analog stick to control the left foot, allowing the player to flip and rotate the board in any such manner; including tapping the underside of the board in the air and merging various techniques to form new moves. Another new ability in the game is to control the characters in the game during crashes, allowing you to obtain a high "Hospital bill", with bonus money awarded for broken bones - this feature is used in numerous challenges across the story mode. Players can also induce a wreck manually in a way very similar to Thrasher: Skate and Destroy on the PlayStation. Lastly, players still have the option to get off their skateboard at any time and run, though it plays a very small role in the game overall, other than avoiding bails and extending combos.

Skaters

Rob Dyrdek

Version differences

Project 8 is available in three distinctly different versions. The first version is the one created by Neversoft for the current generation game consoles, the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360. The second version was created by Shaba Games for the older generation game systems, the Xbox and the Playstation 2. Some features were left out or redesigned to suit the limitations of the older game systems for the Shaba version. Notable changes/exclusions in the Shaba version include isolated levels selected from the menu rather than one large interconnected level, fewer options for create-a-skater, the new stat upgrade system, and skeletal animations are not included in the Shaba version. Also some of the goals are different between the next generation consoles and the older systems. The third version was created by Page 44 Studios for the PlayStation Portable. In the PlayStation Portable version, "nail-the-trick" is used with the face buttons.

The features differences

In the PlayStation 2, PSP, and Xbox versions of Tony Hawk's Project 8 there are features left out.

These are the features the PSP, PS2 and Xbox versions do not have:

  • Motion Captured Tricks
  • Wall-Running
  • "Momentum and Gravity"
  • No Loading Screens.
  • Ragdoll Bails
  • Bail Goals
  • Window-In-Window Gameplay.

Reaction

The game has received mixed reviews from major websites. Most of the criticism stems from the limited character customization and lack of female skaters in the Playstation 2 and Xbox versions. One of the things that has disappointed many fans is not having create-a-park (this is instead implemented into the Career mode, albeit a very watered down version) and almost no story mode or classic mode. It is praised, however, for the new graphics and the "Nail the Trick" feature. Another criticism comes from the soundtrack of the game and a few tricks which are missing from other Tony Hawk's American Wasteland such as the bert slide introduced in American Wasteland. Other features such as "stokens", a form of currency you earn by skating well near people around the city, have been panned by Tony Hawk veterans. Yet praise comes for the A.I. and the new ability to be able to change clothes and decks from the start menu.

Some criticism has been aimed at the PSP, PS3 and PS2 versions of the game, which all lack any online multiplayer functions. Major gaming websites like IGN and GameSpot note that since the Tony Hawk franchise was one of the first game series available to be playable online on the PlayStation 2, the PlayStation 3's omission is strange, especially considering the Xbox 360 version is fully playable on Xbox Live and all prior versions of the series back to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 have been fully supported by online play with the PlayStation 2. This game is rated 9/10 on the PS2 website.

Awards

  • Received the IGN award for Best Licensed Soundtrack on PlayStation 3 in 2006.

Soundtrack

The complete in-game soundtrack was revealed on October 17, 2006 [1]:

  1. +44 – "Lycanthrope"
  2. 76% Uncertain – "I Hate the Radio"
  3. Aurelius - "Hemlock"
  4. Bad Religion - "Social Suicide"
  5. Black Mountain – "Druganaut"
  6. The Channeling – "Frighteners"
  7. Charizma and Peanut Butter Wolf – "Devotion"
  8. Claus Grabke – "Cause I Can"
  9. Cryptic Slaughter – "Lowlife"
  10. The Cure – "Plastic Passion"
  11. Damian Marley – "Move"
  12. The Dead Milkmen – "Punk Rock Girl"
  13. Die Young (TX) – "Anthem of the Prodigal Son"
  14. Eagles of Death Metal – "Chase the Devil"
  15. Funk Face – "Zoo York City"
  16. Gnarls Barkley – "Gone Daddy Gone" (Violent Femmes cover)
  17. Gym Class Heroes – "The Queen and I"
  18. Hieroglyphics – "At the Helm"
  19. The Hold Steady – "Your Little Hoodrat Friend"
  20. Immortal – "One by One"
  21. Jaylib – "The Red"
  22. Joy Division – "Interzone"
  23. Kasabian – "Club Foot"
  24. Klaxons – "Gravity's Rainbow"
  25. Kool and the Gang – "Summer Madness"
  26. Legitimate Business – "80 on 80"
  27. Liquid Liquid – "Optimo"
  28. Living Legends feat. Aesop Rock and Slug – "Moving at the Speed of Life"

29. Ministry – "Stigmata (Remix)"
30. Mogwai – "Glasgow Mega-Snake"
31. Monty Are I – "In This Legacy"
32. Nine Inch Nails – "Getting Smaller"
33. Noise – "Dirty Evil"
34. Oh No – "Chump"
35. Pardon My Extinguisher – "Bitch and Moan"
36. Primus – "American Life"
37. Ramones – "I Wanna Live"
38. Revolution Mother – "Second Thoughts"
39. Slayer – "Angel of Death"
40. Sonic Youth – "Nic Fit"
41. Stasera – "Palisades"
42. Supersuckers – "Goodbye"
43. The Sword – "Iron Swan"
44. Thine Eyes Bleed – "Without Warning"
45. The Throwaways – "You're Not the Only One"
46. The Thunderlords – "Ice Cream Headache"
47. Toots & the Maytals – "Time Tough"
48. Transplants – "Pay Any Price"
49. Typical Cats – "Any Day"
50. Ugly Duckling – "Smack"
51. Van Stone – "Skate Town"
52. Voltera – "Do What Your Daddy Say"
53. The Walkmen – "This Job is Killing Me"
54. Wildchild – "Wonder Years"
55. Wolfmother – "Woman"
56. Zeke – "Kill the King"
57. Lupe Fiasco- "Kick, Push"

Note:

  • The songs "Moving at the Speed of Life", "Second Thoughts", "Goodbye", "I Hate the Radio", "Cause I Can" and "Skatetown" can be listened to on the official site [2].
  • The title song for the game is "Club Foot" by Kasabian.

Trivia

  • In this game, there is a secret area called "downhill". This is a Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 Playstation 2 exclusive level.
  • The phone the player uses is a Nokia N93.
  • Seth Green makes a cameo as the "Nerd".
  • In the game there is the Grim Ripper from Guitar Hero.
  • The Walkmen's "This Job is Killing Me" was originall called "Tenley Town", released on A Hundred Miles Off, but has been renamed in the game, as is common with in the Tony Hawk's series.

References

  1. ^ http://ps2.ign.com/articles/706/706965p1.html
  2. ^ http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/sports/tonyhawksproject8/review.html
  3. ^ http://www.planettonyhawk.com/thp8/info/e3preview/
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