To be honest, I've played very little of the Underground games. I played through Hawk 1-4 extensively and got a little burnt out on the series. Fortunately for the score of this review, Project 8 came at a time when I was eager to play Tony Hawk again. We're talking about a new engine built from the ground up for next gen systems with graphics and animation that suit the 360, unlike some other suspect Activision titles.

Following the trend of most new 360 sequels in the last year, some of the extra features from past Tony Hawk games are missing. Gone are create-a park, trick, and graphic. The character customization for career mode is also very limited. There's a very slim selection of body types and clothes. The rest of the game is completely in tact, and even improved in a couple of areas.

The newest addition to the plethora of existing game mechanics is Nail a Trick. There are already a ton of ways to link tricks together and add to your combo. Nail a Trick is just another trick in the chain, but the execution is something to talk about. While in the air, you can click in both analog sticks, and the game goes into slow motion. From here, you have total control over your feet with each foot being represented by an analog stick. Move the left stick up and your skater will kick forward, initiating a kick flip. The idea is to get as many trick variations and revolutions before hitting the ground. Extra points are awarded for kicking the board when it's upside down. You land the trick by letting go of the sticks when the grip tape is facing up. It's a very addicting new system and is even factored into some of the challenges.

The career mode progresses as one would expect. You skate around freestyle and talk to people to pick up challenges. As you complete challenges, new areas in the town unlock. The scope of the town is great and all the transitions are seamless. The architecture is nice to look at, but I can't help but feel that the layout isn't as good as past games. There are enough other skaters, onlookers, and other environmental objects to make the world feel alive without getting in the way.

There are some cool challenges laid out in the town that aren't instigated by conversation. There's graffiti sprayed around certain locations, and these hot spots mark the start of another skater's best trick. The idea is to grind, manual, air, or whatever longer, higher, further than the previous mark. The marks are also spray painted on and have three levels to shoot for. Other people ask you to perform some trick or feat for them and you get rated with Amateur, Pro, or Sick. For instance, at the beginning of the game a girl will ask you to trick over some hedges. The number of rotations and kick flips determine your rating.

A lot of the stunts throughout the game are impossible to complete at the highest level due to stats. Stat growth is different in Project 8. Instead of earning points that you spend on increasing stats, they increase on their own through use. So, the more you grind, the better you get at grinding. I really like this approach. It just seems like it takes too long to really reach the high levels, which also means that you have to backtrack to all the early and mid challenges very late in the game to get the highest accomplishments.

Graphics and animation have definitely taken a step up on the new systems. Skaters are highly detailed, and the tricks look better than ever. One thing that's holding the whole show down is the inconsistent frame rate. From beginning to end, there are stutters and hiccups in the game. It's very annoying and somewhat tarnishes an otherwise outstanding visual and playable product. Like all previous Tony Hawk games, the soundtrack is not to be ignored. Once again there's a good mix that anyone can enjoy.

I'm not sure if Neversoft can ever do anything to completely spice up the Tony Hawk franchise. It's almost like a driving game now. What more can you add? Still, that is a drawback not to be ignored. Project 8 is still plays so close to the original game that it gets harder to shell out the money for it every year. But hey, the same can be said about any sports games. Like I said earlier, Project 8 hit at a time when I was really craving some Tony Hawk gameplay, and it felt a little more fresh to me. Still a good game, no matter how you slice it.