I have always loved the Tony Hawk games. They really brought the genre to a whole new level. I remember back in the days of the NES, playing Skate Or Die. And yes, skateboarding was cool back in the "old days" when I was in middle school and high school. It seems now that it is even more popular thanks to skaters like Tony Hawk. Since the first Tony Hawk game came out for the PlayStation, things have been great in Tony Hawk Land. We have had some great titles. But after a while, things started to seem the same. That was when they made some dramatic changes to the game. That was when Tony Hawk’s Underground was born. The game had a new twist in terms of the gameplay. You could not only get off of your skateboard, but you could also control other vehicles. THUG was a hit. So, it only seemed natural for Activision to expand on that. I was happy to see a few months ago at E3 that THUG2 was well on its way to all platforms. I loved THUG, and I was eager to get my hands on the next game of the series. The day has finally arrived. And now, I am happy to say that is has been worth the wait.

As with all Tony Hawk titles, Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 continues the streak of awesome gameplay and mechanics. You will take off on an all-out skating blitzkrieg where two teams led by Tony Hawk and Bam Margera conquer sick terrain, pull off mischievous pranks, and make six international cities their personal stomping grounds. The all-new Team Play has Team Hawk versus Team Bam. Now, players can play as themselves or one of over 20 pro teammates and special guest skaters. You can even be Ben Franklin (complete with kite). You can now actually become one of the other skaters during the game. You can also do little things like throw objects at characters within the levels.

Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 also builds upon the series’ unparalleled level of customization. With the all-new Create-a-Graphic feature, you can now create your own designs to use as graffiti tags, shirt logos or deck graphics. This is basically like a paint shop where you can make cool logos. In addition, you can create your own skaters, skate parks, tricks and goals. Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 also has new player controls both on and off the board, including sticker slaps, slow motion focus control, hilarious tantrums, rideable objects, projectiles and graffiti tagging. As you can see, there are many new things to do in Tony Hawk’s Underground 2. You know that the developers have taken the game to a new level when you can ride a Mechanical Bull on four wheels. There are also many other vehicles that you can ride in this game, but the Mechanical Bull takes the cake. It is pretty funny to watch, seeing the guy move back and forth like he is Urban Cowboy or something.

As with previous Tony Hawk games, your skater moves with ease. The moves are very simple to pull off. You can ride rails or jump across ramps. There are also many things you can do in this game! The two big features of THUG2 lie in the Story Mode and the Classic Mode. This mode is basically like going back to school Tony Hawk style. Like in the first Tony Hawk games, you will go up against a two-minute timer to complete all-time favorite goals like S-K-A-T-E, "Secret Tape," and "High Score." As you complete these tasks, you will be able to move on to the next level. But besides the great gameplay of Tony Hawk’s Underground 2, Activision and Neversoft have continued the tradition of stuffing a boatload of options onto this disc. And when I say boatload, I damn well mean boatload. We are talking options to the core. Besides the create-a-level and create-a-player options, you can adjust pretty much anything else you want about the game in the options section. You can set your screen size from normal to widescreen. You can edit and select your songs during gameplay (more on this below in the music breakdown). You can adjust the music and the sound volumes. There are also hidden goodies that you can unlock. This game is filled to the rim with options and stuff to do.

Now, we get to the various differences between the PlayStation 2 and the Xbox game console versions. The PlayStation 2 version lets you use the Sony EyeToy to plant your own face photo onto one of the characters that you make. So now, you can put your mug on a skater and bleed like the rest of them. All of your creations can be shared with friends online or via a memory card. With the PlayStation 2 system, you can go online and experience new games, downloadable content and a robust in-game messaging feature, in addition to improved stat tracking and online rankings.

Unfortunately, this is the second year there is PlayStation 2 online support, but no Xbox Live support. This is very disappointing. But for years now, the Xbox version has always looked the best, and it has also had the best sound options. The Xbox version is Full 720p HDTV (for all of you High Definition television junkies out there). It looks beautiful. I think the Xbox version has a slight edge on looks. But the PlayStation 2 version puts up a good fight against it. They both look very good.

The graphics in Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 look so much better then in the first THUG. I really like the presentation of the game as well. The menu is like a fortune wheel (called the Wheel of Loogies) that spins around. Once again, your character moves like silk and animates beautifully. They also still have the same cartoon quality to each of them. You have some characters from the MTV show Jackass; even the midget from the show is in the game. And you can choose from a variety of other characters this time around as well, various real skaters and whatnot.

I noticed that there is also a lot more going on in the levels now. You have a larger number of cars passing you by on the street. There are also larger numbers of pedestrians that fill the various stages throughout the whole game. Things look a little more detailed as well. You can still smash through things like glass or knock heads off of statues. While the game does not look perfect, the series has come a long way in terms of looks. I remember you were lucky to get one taxi driving down the street in the first Tony Hawk games. Now, the roads are filled with cars and people on bikes. The sidewalks are lined with people and rollerbladers. The city is now filled with many things like statues and bus stops. I also think that this is the most colorful Tony Hawk game to date, especially on the Xbox, where colors are more detailed and seem to stand out more.

The series has always been known for having a killer soundtrack. Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 continues that great tradition. There is a ton of music tracks in this game. You have a long list of music from Punk to Metal to R&B to Rap. Hell, they even threw in some Ramones, Johnny Cash, The Doors and Frank Sinatra. Yep, they even have old blue eyes on the soundtrack. Here is a list of the music featured in Tony Hawk’s Underground 2:

Frank Sinatra - "That’s Life"
The Doors - "Break On Through (To The Other Side)"
Johnny Cash - "Ring of Fire"
Ramones - "Rock ’N Roll High School"
Sugarhill Gang - "Rappers Delight"
Metallica - "Whiplash"
Red Hot Chili Peppers - "The Power of Equality"
The Stooges - "1970"
X - "Los Angeles"
Violent Femmes - "Add It Up"
The D.O.C. - "Whirlwind Pyramid"
Jimmy Eat World - "Pain"
Rancid - "Fall Back Down"
The Explosion - "Here I Am"
Melvins - "Sweet Willy Rollbar"
Distillers - "Beat Your Heart Out"
Less Than Jake - "That’s Why They Call It A Union"
Faith No More - "Mid Life Crisis"
Ween - "It’s Gonna Be A Long Night"
Joy Division - "Warsaw"
Dead Boys - "Sonic Reducer"
Brand Nubian - "Punks Jump Up To Get Beat Down"
Cut Chemist - "Drums of Fire"
The Germs - "Lexicon Devil"
Disturbed - "Liberate"
The Living End - "End of the World"
Fear - "I Love Livin In The City"
Audio Two - "Top Billin"
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - "Soul Brother #1"
Das Oath - "Awesome R***"
Libretto - "Volume"
Handsome Boy Modeling School - "Holy Calamity"
Zeke - "Long Train Running"
Lamb of God - "Black Label"
3 Inches of Blood - "Deadly Sinners"
The Hiss - "Back On The Radio"
25 Ta Life - "Over the Years"
Nebula - "So It Goes"
Aesop Rock - "No Jumper Cables"
Living Legends - "Night Prowler"
Atmosphere - "Trying To Find A Balance"
Suicide Machines - "High Anxiety"
The Casualties - "Unknown Soldier"
Diverse - "Certified"
Ultramagnetic MC’s - "Ego Trippin"
Camaros - "Cheesecake"
Steele Pulse - "Born Fe Rebel"
Ministry - "No W"
Grand Puba - "I Like It"
Operatic - "Interested In Madness"
Mike V & the Rats - "Never Give Up"
Dead End Road - "Sin City"
Melbeatz feat. Kool Savas - "Grind On"

Once again, you can choose which of these tracks you want to hear by going into the options section and checking them on or off. You can also preview them in this section as well. But who doesn’t know Johnny Cash’s "Ring of Fire?!" You can really get into the game if you are pumping out the music with a kick ass stereo system. If your main beef with games is with the sound department, the best possible version to buy is by far the Xbox version. You can use your own music during the game! This is the reason why I love my Xbox so much. It just feels so damn right when you can play a game with any tune that you want to. I wish the PlayStation 2 and the GameCube had this feature, but once again, nothing!

The sounds in the game are also very good. The grunts and moans of your skater falling and hitting the pavement all sound realistic. Little sounds from each city also add great atmosphere. The voices are also very good. The sound and music departments of Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 are very well rounded. But once again, bravo for keeping the Xbox Custom Soundtrack option in!

Activision and Neversoft deliver another great game with great gameplay and very good graphics. They keep tweaking a great game engine, and it just keeps getting better and better each year. The Tony Hawk series has become the fine wine of gaming; it just keeps getting better with age. And that should tell you something, considering most games start to fizzle after the first few games, and developers start running out of ideas. Now, it’s hard to say which version is the best. With the Xbox version, you have sharper graphics and the Custom Soundtrack feature. But with the PlayStation 2 version, you have online play and the EyeToy feature. Either way, you won’t lose.

[Review by NLGSean (Sean Foster)]