You didn't need a caterer to tell you that Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 was in development: the Birdman has been teasing the sequel for months now. However, as part of the latest issue of Game Informer magazine, Activision has finally confirmed that Robomodo is dusting off its board and attempting to revitalise this once classic series – yet again.
As the name may suggest, it's very much going back to basics this time out. The title will marry tight arcade gameplay with various power-ups – and even projectiles in some missions. Yeah, we're not sure how that's going to work either – but it could be interesting. The Hawkster will return with son Riley, while other "famous" faces such as Nyjah Huston, Aaron Homoki, and Leticia Bufoni will be playable as well – Atticus t-shirts and all.
Most interestingly, you'll be able to play the game offline or online, and whichever you choose, your progress will carry across. This means that you'll be able to level up your character solo, and then take all of your progress into multiplayer when you hook up with your pals. You'll be able to share custom skate parks, too.
The problem is: it looks horrible visually. Maybe it's one of those games that you need to see in motion, but these initial screenshots certainly aren't flattering in the least. The game's due out on the PlayStation 4 later this year, with a PlayStation 3 edition set to tag along shortly thereafter. Are you excited by the prospect of a brand new skating sim, or do you reckon that this looks like an epic fail? Tell us to shove-it in the comments section below.
[source gameinformer.com]
Comments 27
The graphics are HORRIBLE.
I'm excited but with this graphics...c'mon!
I loved THPS as kid. I really hope this delivers. Even if the graphics are a bit ropey if the nail the gameplay it'll be worth playing.
Having said that, I doubt it'll be better then OliOli.
Skate killed this franchise. Why bother with yet another attempt to flog a dead horse. Skate on ps4 would be a different story
@spidermouse I was just about to say that
@spidermouse @foxr6raven Skate is...interesting. I like that its a different take on the control scheme, but it never could capture the fun that the early THPS did. I tried Skate, and a demo of Skate 2, and it just didn't do anything for me, but I will pre-order THPS 5 without question.
@get2sammyb I wish more AAA games focused on game play rather than lighting, shadows, number of polygons, etc...
@get2sammyb
Funny how you say it in the article, and you emphasize it in the comments.
I could not care less about the graphics if the game is fun. Ollie Ollie is a great example of this.
Ollie ollie is a great game . So were the early Hawk games . Its not about lighting , pixels , graphics or charecter models . Its about the immersion , real life physics, interaction and fluid movement . Not just press x button to automatically attach to metal pipe etc . T.H. got very dated very early with the power of ps3 . They tried Ride and fell flat on their faces .
So here graphics matter, but in the shovel knight thread pixel graphics were something we shouldn't hold against it? I don't mean to derail anything but this is the discrepancy we were talking about - shouldn't the expectations be level across indie and AAA games?
I have no hope for this. Robomodo did not do a good job with TH: Shred, Ride, or THPS HD. It felt like they grabbed an old game and made it worse.
I dont even care about the graphics, I'll be completely surprised if they learned what fluid movement in a Tony Hawk game supposed to feel like.
Tony Hawks games are full price retail games so the graphics should be great. And as for skate, it was good but by god was it difficult. The weird controls, I had zero muscle memory trying to pull off the moves and my skater looked ridiculous.
Ewwwww these graphics
@BertoFlyingFox very well said .
You know what..I'm down with this. Hope it's good, loved me some objective hunting on THPS2.
So many memories of Tony Hawk on PS2 and Gamecube. Those were the good ol days there. But I slowly lost interest- I think the motion control version on Wii was my last. I had actually stopped playing before that but motion control skating was enough to pull me back in for one last go.
They'd have to really impressed me to get me to buy this game. But maybe they will, who knows...
@get2sammyb Horrible? no lol that's harsh. there good graphics, not great though. unless you've played the actual game?
@spidermouse Skate had pretty bad skating physics.
"projectiles".... wut?
@sinalefa @spidermouse if graphical quality, polygons and lighting are of no importance why are we all upgrading to the PS4? All this could easily have been done on the PS3 along with all those Indie titles.
Ehhhh...... When's Skate 4 coming?
Huh, I quite like the graphics, nevermind eh
To be clear: I never said the graphics were more important than gameplay. But seeing as we only have static screenshots to go on, there's not a lot else for us to talk about yet. If the game's great, then fair play — I think OlliOlli looks better than this, though, purely because it's got a bit of style to it.
This just looks bland.
I don't think the graphics in any Tony Hawk game were great...but the early titles, especially part 3, always kept me playing to just have fun and unlock new items. If all of this is back in this new installment, and there is no having to talk to people or story line that you have to sit through, and you can just start to skate and beat certain goals, then I'll be in. Also, if the graphics aren't that great, does that mean the game won't cost that much? Also, is this going to be a retail game, or another download...here's hoping for retail.
I don't think the graphics in any Tony Hawk game were great...but the early titles, especially part 3, always kept me playing to just have fun and unlock new items. If all of this is back in this new installment, and there is no having to talk to people or story line that you have to sit through, and you can just start to skate and beat certain goals, then I'll be in. Also, if the graphics aren't that great, does that mean the game won't cost that much? Also, is this going to be a retail game, or another download...here's hoping for retail.
@Eldritch
Well, I am not upgrading to PS4 until maybe Uncharted 4 hits. I guess the plethora of remasters prove a lot of people care about graphics and resolution.
In my case, I would rather have Scram Kitty than The Order.
Yeah this looks bad. Keep in mind folks graphics DO play a part in a game about motion...the animations need to be smooth and well rendered, and it helps if the environments look good as to not distract. Also, projectiles??? If they are going back to basics, they should really bare down to the minimum...great, arcade skating! That's it!
Also, I'm really quite disappointed to see that a game releasing late 2015 is cross-generational. I've got a feeling that part of the reason it looks the way it does is because Activision didn't go exclusively next gen. Releasing a half-hearted game that's trying to bridge the generational gap is really not the way to reboot a beloved franchise...
My hope for this is next to zero. THPS 1-4 were some of my favorite games back in the day, but that day has long since passed.
Some series can hold up...Nintendo has done a phenomenal job keeping Mario, Zelda, Smash, Kart, all their IPs, all relevant and fresh with each new entry. But Tony Hawk games have been garbage for a long time, there wasn't a single good entry in the Xbox 360/PS3 era. Same with Sonic, as another example. Really shined on Genesis, had a good run in the Dreamcast/Gamecube/PS2/Xbox era, but failed to have a decent game in the last gen.
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