The 12th game in the series, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD is highly polished mash up of the first two games of the Pro Skater franchise. Developer Robomodo promises the updated version will be complete with smoother animations and controls, and players can also expect five different multiplayer modes.
Classic levels like the Hanger, Mall, and Warehouse levels from the first will return, as well as Marseille from the second game. Tony hopes more levels and characters are on the way. In an April interview with IGN, Hawk said, "I want to release all new levels and not just live in the past like this...new skaters, new tricks, things like that, and release them as digital content so they're affordable."
More good news for fans are some familiar faces and songs set to be included in the revamp, with old favorites like You by Bad Religion, Superman by Goldfinger, and Police Truck by the Dead Kennedys returning, with new tunes rounding out the rest of the soundtrack. Skater mainstays like Eric Koston, Andrew Reynolds, and Rodney Mullen will appear, and will be joined by Chris Cole, Nyjah Huston, Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins, and Tony's own son Riley.
The first of the franchise in 1999, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was met with wide fanfare, and helped launch both the extreme sport and skateboarding genres. Its second and third release allowed players to expand already massive combo lines by introducing the manual in 2, and the revert in 3. While gameplay remained more or less the same, the fourth addition allowed players more freedom for level exploration by removing the timer. The series next 2 additions, Underground and Wasteland, had a much larger focus on story. But it was with Ride and Shred that the series began its downfall, due to awkward control for the included skateboard deck controller. The peripheral also added a hefty price tag to the games, both coming in at $120 at the time of their release. All the while, the skateboard genre's newcomer, Skate, burst on the scene, touting an intuitive and much smoother control system.
After the failure of its experimental control system with the skateboard add-on, fans should rejoice at the series return to its roots, in both style and control. Tony Haw's Pro Skater HD is expected to be available for download later this summer.
