Tony Hawk's Project 8 (Xbox360)
- Publisher:
- Activision
- Developer:
- Neversoft Ent.
- Release Date:
- 07.11.2006
- Number of players:
- n/a
- Type:
- Skateboarding
- Sport Type:
- Traditional
- Extra:
- Streets
1 movie
We play Tony Hawk's Project 8...
Strap your kneepads on, buckle your helmet and stick some angst-grudge rock on. Tony Hawks is back once again, this time recruiting eight of the most capable skaters on the block for the new ‘Project 8’ event. It’s interesting; as I’m sitting here reviewing a game in a series that, up until now, I’d never laid hands on. Well, free of all those pre-conceptions a fan would have, there’s still no doubt in my mind that Project 8 is among the most accomplished games I’ve played this generation.
Unlike other games in the series, which supposedly incorporated some rather vain attempts at a storyline, this one keeps things clean and simple; Hawks is in town talent scouting for potential skaters to join up for his latest venture; Project 8. The main attraction here is the ‘Career’ mode, although players may want to take the time to tinker with the gameplay in the ‘Free Skate’ option, allowing you to get to grips with things in general. Hawk veterans will no doubt have no need for this, however. The principle of the game couldn’t be more straightforward. You create a skater, utilizing a basic character creator (changing hair, eye colour, clothes, the usual) and then take him/her into a free-roaming city, in an attempt to increase your rank to make Project 8. You start off at the bottom of the pack, placed at 200, so needless to say it’s fairly time consuming. Along the way, you’ll increase your skills from a list of abilities fundamental to skating tricks, including airtime and other dexterous abilities, and eventually earn yourself a half decent reputation as a performer.
The world in which you start is limited at first, with more areas unlockable as you progress through. Following your compass, you can determine where all the hotspots are where you can then take part in various tasks to increase your skills and rank. Events themselves are hugely varied; in some areas, you’ll perform and subsequently learn various new tricks of the trade, while others will have you taking part in more obscure tasks, such as pasting posters around the town, or having an eager photographer take snap shots of you performing. It’s inevitable you’ll fail some of these tasks from time to time, although its simple a case of hitting the restart option to restart the goal and try again. Likewise, tripping up or generally falling on your ass instead of your feet will cost deduct points from your overall score you’ve accumulated, so needless to say the game ensures you remain ever confident in your abilities, or it can be a risk doing so. Similarly, certain goals can’t be completed until you’ve increased in abilities; at the start, you’ll be awarded with the AM achievement, but there will be occasions when you lack the trick of the trade, making accomplishing the Pro or Sick skills virtually impossible. Due to this, there’s plenty to come back to even after you’ve passed the first ‘stage’ of each event.
And so we come to the most talked about feature of Project 8, namely the much published Nail the Trick skill. This gem of a feature allows you to slow the action down to a bullet-time style formula, giving you ample direction of your players feet, allowing you to complete a series of exceptional tricks, racking up your score to gigantic proportions in the process. It’s a great little touch that, if used correctly, can open up a wide variety of different tricks and combs for you to try out. Speaking of combos, you’ll get used to linking tricks together, along with the seemingly endless array of stunts to perform, such as grinding, balancing, kick flips, grabs and the usual gibbons. Take a butchers at your moves list and discover just how much there is to try out, and that’s not including the amount of stuff you can unlock as you progress. Its also possible to gain what’s known as ‘Stokens’, which are kudos points for impressing the locals, providing you successfully pull of a fancy trick next to them. If you look hard enough, there are a number of hidden objects around for you to collect, awarding you with an achievement to boot. The Xbox 360 version of the game, unlike its PS3 counterpart, also includes an eight player online mode via Xbox Live, allowing you to pit your skills against a group of friends. The game isn’t without its set backs though; there’s a noticeable amount of slow down and glitches that happen from time to time, although thankfully, they’re not too extreme. Project 8 will last you a fair bit of time though, so be prepared to stick it out for as long as it takes to get your name recognised.
In terms of visuals, the game looks better than any others in the series. Environments stretch a far distance without much pop-up, and there’s a fine level of detail coated throughout the town. Even subtle details, such as the wood being chipped off the surface as you grind by, or the ripple of water are rendered rather impressively. Those of you who are faint of heart can even opt to turn the blood off, if you wish. Tony and the boys look better than ever, although it has to be said you’ll find more personality in a picket fence. The games soundtrack is mixture of grudge, hip-hop, rock and various other genres, which are all suited perfectly to the theme of the game, and there’s a fair amount to choose from. The remainder of the game sound effects are great too, and the animations are spot on, having been built from the ground up.
Overall, Project 8 is an incredibly diverse, challenging and accomplished skating romp that should appeal to fans and newcomers alike; lets face it, it enticed me, a relative newcomer to the series. There’s a couple of niggles related to the frame rate and visuals, although on the whole, it’s nothing to warrant losing any sleep over. Buckle up champ, its time to make a name for yourself. Skate on.
Top Gaming Moment: Executing the perfect combo in bullet-time, and landing feet firmly on the ground. On lookers applause your excellence, and so do you.
Unlike other games in the series, which supposedly incorporated some rather vain attempts at a storyline, this one keeps things clean and simple; Hawks is in town talent scouting for potential skaters to join up for his latest venture; Project 8. The main attraction here is the ‘Career’ mode, although players may want to take the time to tinker with the gameplay in the ‘Free Skate’ option, allowing you to get to grips with things in general. Hawk veterans will no doubt have no need for this, however. The principle of the game couldn’t be more straightforward. You create a skater, utilizing a basic character creator (changing hair, eye colour, clothes, the usual) and then take him/her into a free-roaming city, in an attempt to increase your rank to make Project 8. You start off at the bottom of the pack, placed at 200, so needless to say it’s fairly time consuming. Along the way, you’ll increase your skills from a list of abilities fundamental to skating tricks, including airtime and other dexterous abilities, and eventually earn yourself a half decent reputation as a performer.
 |
 |
|
| Project 8 lets you roam freely around the city | Master your tricks to impress the crowd |
The world in which you start is limited at first, with more areas unlockable as you progress through. Following your compass, you can determine where all the hotspots are where you can then take part in various tasks to increase your skills and rank. Events themselves are hugely varied; in some areas, you’ll perform and subsequently learn various new tricks of the trade, while others will have you taking part in more obscure tasks, such as pasting posters around the town, or having an eager photographer take snap shots of you performing. It’s inevitable you’ll fail some of these tasks from time to time, although its simple a case of hitting the restart option to restart the goal and try again. Likewise, tripping up or generally falling on your ass instead of your feet will cost deduct points from your overall score you’ve accumulated, so needless to say the game ensures you remain ever confident in your abilities, or it can be a risk doing so. Similarly, certain goals can’t be completed until you’ve increased in abilities; at the start, you’ll be awarded with the AM achievement, but there will be occasions when you lack the trick of the trade, making accomplishing the Pro or Sick skills virtually impossible. Due to this, there’s plenty to come back to even after you’ve passed the first ‘stage’ of each event.
 |
 |
|
| All the games animation has been completely re-recorded | Heights like this are a walk in the park for a Pro Skater; can you better yourself to this level? |
And so we come to the most talked about feature of Project 8, namely the much published Nail the Trick skill. This gem of a feature allows you to slow the action down to a bullet-time style formula, giving you ample direction of your players feet, allowing you to complete a series of exceptional tricks, racking up your score to gigantic proportions in the process. It’s a great little touch that, if used correctly, can open up a wide variety of different tricks and combs for you to try out. Speaking of combos, you’ll get used to linking tricks together, along with the seemingly endless array of stunts to perform, such as grinding, balancing, kick flips, grabs and the usual gibbons. Take a butchers at your moves list and discover just how much there is to try out, and that’s not including the amount of stuff you can unlock as you progress. Its also possible to gain what’s known as ‘Stokens’, which are kudos points for impressing the locals, providing you successfully pull of a fancy trick next to them. If you look hard enough, there are a number of hidden objects around for you to collect, awarding you with an achievement to boot. The Xbox 360 version of the game, unlike its PS3 counterpart, also includes an eight player online mode via Xbox Live, allowing you to pit your skills against a group of friends. The game isn’t without its set backs though; there’s a noticeable amount of slow down and glitches that happen from time to time, although thankfully, they’re not too extreme. Project 8 will last you a fair bit of time though, so be prepared to stick it out for as long as it takes to get your name recognised.
In terms of visuals, the game looks better than any others in the series. Environments stretch a far distance without much pop-up, and there’s a fine level of detail coated throughout the town. Even subtle details, such as the wood being chipped off the surface as you grind by, or the ripple of water are rendered rather impressively. Those of you who are faint of heart can even opt to turn the blood off, if you wish. Tony and the boys look better than ever, although it has to be said you’ll find more personality in a picket fence. The games soundtrack is mixture of grudge, hip-hop, rock and various other genres, which are all suited perfectly to the theme of the game, and there’s a fair amount to choose from. The remainder of the game sound effects are great too, and the animations are spot on, having been built from the ground up.
 |
 |
|
| Gain total control of your characters lower body for cool tricks in the new ‘Nail the Trick’ feature | Pro Skaters and civilians alike will give you goals to complete |
Overall, Project 8 is an incredibly diverse, challenging and accomplished skating romp that should appeal to fans and newcomers alike; lets face it, it enticed me, a relative newcomer to the series. There’s a couple of niggles related to the frame rate and visuals, although on the whole, it’s nothing to warrant losing any sleep over. Buckle up champ, its time to make a name for yourself. Skate on.
Top Gaming Moment: Executing the perfect combo in bullet-time, and landing feet firmly on the ground. On lookers applause your excellence, and so do you.
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Bob Burnquist Video
Posted 29.08.06
Length 01:16 Views 298
