Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 are getting a remaster later this year. MeinMMO author Max Handwerk can hardly believe it – and feels transported back in time.
What has been announced? Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 originally came out in 1999 and 2000 respectively. In both games, players had to score as many points as possible by skateboarding in a short amount of time, collect letters, or find hidden videotapes (videotapes!).
During this time, players pulled off insane tricks on maps like an abandoned schoolyard or made a shabby warehouse unsafe. Randomly scattered everywhere – of course – a few ramps were always around, which combined with all sorts of edges and corners were perfect for skating. This included a fantastic soundtrack and a selection of legendary skaters.
All of this is supposed to be brought back by the remakes. They will be released on September 4, 2020 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. And as for me, I can hardly wait.
Tony Hawk is back – a journey through time
Hoping for a comeback: Admittedly, when Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 came out, I was still a bit too young to play the games. My first Tony Hawk game was “Underground,” rented from a video store for the PS2 in 2003 – you can see, it was a different time.
It was set up a bit differently than the old Pro Skater parts 1 to 4. There was a long story instead of the typical challenges that THPS usually offers. But after Underground, I was hooked and caught up on them all. The slightly outdated look of Pro Skater 1 and 2 didn’t matter at all, as the mix of challenge, tricks, and – of course – the always fantastic soundtrack was so great.
Now the first two parts are coming back as a remaster. According to the developers at Vicarious Visions confirmed by colleagues at Gamepro, Tony Hawk himself was involved in the development of the remake.
It features better graphics, which already look really nice in the trailer. All levels from the originals and 17 skaters that could be selected back then are included.
Features from later games, such as Create-A-Park, are also included. This also applies to some tricks, like the Revert. Thank goodness – without it, some combos would hardly be possible.
In general, it seems that they are returning to the roots of the series, which is probably a good idea given some of the definitely existent slip-ups in recent years.
Especially Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater from 2015 remains in bad memory – it was highly anticipated, but turned out to be a technical crash landing.
Multiplayer on board: The excitement for the remakes is still unbroken. After all, it has been quite a while since I last flew through the air with Tony Hawk doing a McTwist off a ramp. That Vicarious Visions knows how to update old games has been shown with the Crash Bandicoot Trilogy.
The whole thing will also be possible together – or rather against each other. Whether in local split-screen (which means high score wars on the couch, I can already see it coming) or online: The direct competition for the best combos is likely to be exciting. It’s quite possible that Tony Hawk will skate into the list of the best couch co-op games in 2020.
