Tony Hawk finally flies onto the Xbox with impressive results.
By now, most gamers have probably either seen or played Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 for the PlayStation 2 or GameCube. The Xbox version has finally hit store shelves, but was it worth the extra few months wait? Read on.
The reason why so many gamers love the Tony Hawk series is the tight, responsive controls and intuitive control scheme, and the Xbox version is no different. Assuming you've used an Xbox controller before, there should be no problem cranking out even the most complicated of tricks in no time. Both the analog stick and digital pad work equally well, although I personally prefer the feel of the digital in the THPS series. Single and double taps come out perfectly, and never had any real issue consistently pulling off any tricks at any time.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 is an amazing looking game, with detailed, interactive environments, great effects, and realistic animation. Visually, the Xbox version is the best of the bunch, although differences are extremely minor. The video display as a whole is cleaner and the framerate is more consistent, but the textures, lighting and models all appear to be close to identical.
The audio in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 for the Xbox seems to have either been given an upgrade or had it's sound levels remixed. Regardless the game sounds even better than before, with seemingly more surround sound effects and bass.
The Xbox version of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 features an exclusive new level, the Oil Rig, which can be accessed in all non-career modes. Another additional feature is the ability to listen to user-created soundtracks in lieu of the good, although somewhat repetitive, THPS3 music selection. Oddly enough the ability to play online has been stripped out of the Xbox version entirely. Assuming the opportunity arises, it is thankfully possible to link 4 Xbox consoles together for some full screen multiplayer skating action. More is always better, although overall, there are really not many Xbox exclusive features that push it way above and beyond other versions of the game.
If you purposely waited those extra months in hope that Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 for the Xbox would be the definitive version, you made the right choice. While the differences were not worth the extra time it took Activision to bring this version out, the game and series still has no problem withstanding the test of time. Gamers who have already put many hours into the PlayStation 2 or GameCube version will not find anything else of interest. New Xbox owners, however, who have yet to skate with the birdman for the third time, are in for a treat.
