Why Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 Still Rocks

So I've been playing these old Playstation 2 games recently, as a result of this nostalgia kick that I've been on this summer. I previously wrote about my look back on the PS2 rhythm game Gitaroo Man and all the joy and weirdness that it brought into my life. Well, tonight I wanted to tackle some Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. The Pro Skater games provided me with countless hours of fun in my younger years, but out of all of 'em number three was totally the best.

Why was it the best? Well, for starters Darth Maul (complete with double-bladed lightsaber) was the first character you unlocked. Now, whatever your feeling on Mr. Lucas, you gotta admit that Darth Maul tearing up a Tokyo skate park is an awesome image/concept. Oh, and that brings me to another thing. The ending competition that takes place in a neon-soaked Tokyo skate park is both incredibly playable and incredibly pretty. Even almost a decade after the game's release this neon wonderland is pretty cool looking and awash in possibilities for high scoring combos.

The goals that the game gives you to complete in each level are pretty solid and inventive as well. You've got the classic "find the S-K-A-T-E letters" and the high score goals, which are necessary stand-bys, but you've also got some creative gems here as well. If you tackle the goals the game presents to you, you'll find yourself starting an earthquake in LA, helping some Canadian kids evade a bully and busting some petty thieves at an airport. These miscellaneous distractions give the game some personality and humor. They also break up the game and keep the player engaged with the material, without deviating too far from the actual skating. My big problem with the later Tony Hawk games that I played (most specifically the two Tony Hawk's Underground games) is that their goals deviated a bit too much from the skating. Here in THPS3 you set the perfect balance between offbeat goals and no-bullshit pure gold gameplay (contrast this with Tony Hawk's Underground, which has you driving a leaf blower at one point in the game...really guys?)

I think another reason that Tony Hawk 3 is so near and dear to my heart is that it just came out at the perfect time in my life. I loved the first two Pro Skater games and have fond memories of playing them on the original Playstation back in the day, but I was a bit younger then and my play time was naturally restricted by age and other interests. By the time THPS3 came 'round in the winter of 2001, though, my interest in video games had reached a fever pitch and I thought nothing of spending hours blissfully lost in a good game. And Tony Hawk 3 was a damn good game! Perhaps there are more productive ways in which I could've spent my youth, but I doubt anything could compare to skating in Tokyo at midnight.