On the Tony Hawk side of things, Crusty Demons inherits trick-based gameplay across maps of varying size. Each map provides the player with various tasks and goals, high scores to attain, objectives to accomplish within a set time limit, that kind of thing.

Burnout's influence is most felt in the slow-mo "see how many bones you can break" wrecks. See, the Crusty Demons, a team of extreme motocross athletes, have made a deal with the devil so they can't die. However, they forgot to read the fine print, meaning they can still get hurt. So when a trick goes bad, players have the option of watching the gory outcome in slow motion. The more bones broken, the more blood lost, the more points a crash is worth, the more boost a player gains. It's a unique and amusing feature, and with a button solely dedicated to bailing off the bike, which then sends a character flying across the screen, that's something the developers obviously realized.

But already, there are several problems. See, Crusty Demons didn't just take the positive aspects of the two series. Instead, the good came with the bad, and in this case, the bad brought a lot more to the party.

Like Tony Hawk's Underground, Crusty Demons allows the player to ditch their default ride for a novelty vehicle. And like Tony Hawk's Underground, this isn't one of the game's highlights. Each level has two of these vehicles, and certain assignments require specific vehicles. But the vehicles and their unique sidequests really don't add that much to the game, they don't control all that well and their objectives aren't very enjoyable.

For example, take this early mission with the Mini-Pimp car. Players are supposed to take the Mini-Pimp car and run down ten pimps in the area within the time limit. Outside of wrestling with the Mini-Pimp car's oversensitive steering, the only challenge is in actually finding the pimps. Though a radar indicates their general position, successfully locating all of them in the cramped and confusing level is something that'll take a few attempts.

This brings up the issue of level design. Tony Hawk worked because the levels were intelligently designed with the trick-based gameplay in mind, but the areas in Crusty Demons don't feel nearly as polished or organic, with even the larger levels seeming crowded and cramped. These levels are also confusing in design and can be especially difficult to navigate when it's unclear how to get from point A to point B, or even where the hell point B is. Finding people, events, and additional vehicles can be a chore, something made all the more frustrating when there's a time limit ticking down.

But by and far the worst aspect of Crusty Demons are the races. Instead of unlocking the next map, completing enough of a level's objectives will unlock a race, and placing first in that race will then unlock the next level. However, placing first in a race is far, far more infuriating than it sounds.

That's because Crusty Demons wasn't designed to be a racer. Turning too sharply or barely scraping against a wall will send characters flying off their bikes, at which point there's almost no chance of regaining first place. The game demands absolute perfection in these racing segments, but with riders flying off the bike so easily and so frequently, it's something that requires numerous attempts and immaculate patience. And with the game forcing the player to sit through a ridiculous 30 second load time for each retry, it doesn't take long for frustration, and ultimately, a sense that time may be better spent elsewhere, to set in.

All told, Crusty Demons doesn't have a lot going for it. The injury system is novel, but that very same feature also causes the mandatory races to be much more trying than they need to be. Meanwhile, the horrible design of the levels, combined with the control issues of the numerous vehicles, mean that even when the game is at its best, it's still not doing all that well. An incredibly lackluster effort, Crusty Demons isn’t a game that warrants playing, let alone any sort of monetary cost.