Tony Hawk's American Wasteland
Added November 5th, 2005 by Serenity Now
Introduction:
‘’Everybody comes to Hollywood. They wanna make it in the neighborhood. They like the smell of it in Hollywood. How could it hurt you when it looks so good?’’ I wanted to open this review up with a verse (more throughout the review) from Madonna’s Hollywood because it pretty much sums up the entire premise of Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland. American Wasteland is, believe it or not, the seventh title in the beloved Tony Hawk series. The franchise returns with a brand-new story mode, no loading times, and Xbox Live capabilities that make this the first Tony Hawk installment on Xbox with online play. However, does the series manage to stay fresh after all these years?
Gameplay:
‘’Shine your light now. This time it's gotta be good. You get it right now. 'Cause you're in Hollywood.’’ She speaks the truth. Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland puts you on the skateboard of a novice skater named Eric (or whatever name you'd like). When Eric becomes sick and tired of his humdrum town, he boards a bus and points himself toward Hollywood. Eric dreams of being a pro skateboarder and according to him, Hollywood is the ‘’shiznit,’’ and is the absolute perfect location to pursue his ambitions. Whether it’s the shiznit or not, it has a plethora of young skaters hoping to accomplish the same goal as Eric. Hey, if everybody’s going, it must be good, right?
‘’Everybody comes to Hollywood. They wanna make it in the neighborhood. They like the smell of it in Hollywood. How could it hurt you when it looks so good?’’ I wanted to open this review up with a verse (more throughout the review) from Madonna’s Hollywood because it pretty much sums up the entire premise of Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland. American Wasteland is, believe it or not, the seventh title in the beloved Tony Hawk series. The franchise returns with a brand-new story mode, no loading times, and Xbox Live capabilities that make this the first Tony Hawk installment on Xbox with online play. However, does the series manage to stay fresh after all these years?
Gameplay:
‘’Shine your light now. This time it's gotta be good. You get it right now. 'Cause you're in Hollywood.’’ She speaks the truth. Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland puts you on the skateboard of a novice skater named Eric (or whatever name you'd like). When Eric becomes sick and tired of his humdrum town, he boards a bus and points himself toward Hollywood. Eric dreams of being a pro skateboarder and according to him, Hollywood is the ‘’shiznit,’’ and is the absolute perfect location to pursue his ambitions. Whether it’s the shiznit or not, it has a plethora of young skaters hoping to accomplish the same goal as Eric. Hey, if everybody’s going, it must be good, right?
‘’There's something in the air in Hollywood. The sun is shining like you knew it would. You're ridin' in your car in Hollywood. You got the top down and it feels so good.’’ Mm, the sun is shining indeed. Eric has arrived in Hollywood. Don’t be fooled though, Hollywood is not a friendly town. Soon after Eric’s commencement, his luggage is stolen. This is where you step in. You’ll meet a comic-book artist by the name of Mindy. She’ll help show you around town, giving you directions to the skate shop, clothes outlet, and introducing you to key people you’ll need to become acquainted with if you want to make it to the top of the skating world. She’ll also encourage Eric to stand up for himself and retrieve his belongings back from the punk who snatched them. You’ll have to have an acquired taste to like the story in American Wasteland. It was designed to appeal to hipsters. If you’re like me, and don’t exactly take pleasure in people calling each other ‘’tools’’ nearly every cut-scene, you most likely won’t be able to get into American Wasteland’s anecdote. However, Tony Hawk games have never really been about story.
Those who have played Tony Hawk’s Underground 1 or 2 will know what to anticipate when it comes to the missions. You know, missions such as ‘’land a 2,000 point combo,’’ ‘’smack the jerk who stole your baggage,’’ ‘’ollie the actor,’’ etc. In this particular aspect, American Wasteland doesn’t actually bring anything new or fresh to the table. After seven incarnations of different variations of these types of tasks, the franchise has become rather stale. But honestly, what else can they possibly think of for players to perform on a skateboard?
As you continue in the story mode, you’ll gain stat points and tricks. After you complete the story, you’ll probably have your stats maxed and your tricks list filled to the brim. These RPG attributes have always been one of my favorite facets of Tony Hawk titles. American Wasteland gives you the sense that you’re truly improving as you progress. However, I must bring up the question: if you had the ultimate skater in, let’s say, Tony Hawk’s Underground 2, are you willing to once again start from scratch? Apparently fans enjoy starting over every year as they persist to purchase each installment. I still wish there was a way to transfer your custom character from game to game. My character in Underground 2 was such a beast. He'll be missed immensely.
The developers finally woke up and smelled the coffee and decided to include online play with the Xbox versions of their Tony Hawk games. I’m sure glad they did because it’s where you’ll spend most of your time while playing American Wasteland. As I mentioned earlier, the campaign becomes stagnant after a few hours. American Wasteland is meant to be played as a multiplayer experience. Back in the PlayStation days I would go days on end battling it up in Trick Attack with my friends. The times have changed, and the only friends I have now are online ones. American Wasteland allowing me to play with them on Live is very vital to this game and its multiplayer features.
All of your favorite modes have returned -- Graffiti, Capture the Flag, King of the Hill, Slap!, and my personal favorite, Trick Attack. American Wasteland combines all of these celebrated modes as well as some other, more distinctive ones. Firefight immediately comes to mind. The name says it all; you can shoot fireballs from your skateboard -- the higher your combo, the bigger the fireball. Firefight is an extremely enjoyable game and almost rivals Trick Attack as my favorite mode.
Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland’s gameplay may not bring very much new to the table, but this frankly has been the situation with Tony Hawk games since Tony Hawk 3 (2 not included because it was a vast, vast improvement over the original). It slightly improves upon its already fun-filled formula by removing the loading times, adding some new tricks, and most substantially, by adding online play. If you found the gameplay of previous versions to be addictive and enjoyable, you’ll without question find American Wasteland’s to be as well.
Graphics:
To be completely honest, Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland visuals are not much of an improvement over past titles. Tony Hawk games have never been stunning in the visuals department, but its somewhat outdated engine still always manages to get the job done. The graphics in American Wasteland are a mixed-bag. The in-game offering is a little cartoonish, but nonetheless looks fairly good, while the cut-scenes’ graphics are just downright ghastly. The characters look too bulky around the face and they move awkwardly. The animations just appear to be all out of whack when it comes to the cut-scenes -- a real disappointment.
Those who love to gaze at bright, vibrant, and deep colors will approve of American Wasteland’s art direction. Even the box-art is colorful. I really admired this aspect of its visuals. It doesn’t change the fact that the graphics aren’t the best, but it sure helps its overall atmosphere. Another strongpoint, in regard to the visuals, is the maps featured. They’re very large, and each has a great deal of depth. If you can forgive American Wasteland’s mediocre textures and poor animations, you’ll begin to take notice of its superb environments and unique art style, and in return start to fall in love with its atmosphere.
Those who have played Tony Hawk’s Underground 1 or 2 will know what to anticipate when it comes to the missions. You know, missions such as ‘’land a 2,000 point combo,’’ ‘’smack the jerk who stole your baggage,’’ ‘’ollie the actor,’’ etc. In this particular aspect, American Wasteland doesn’t actually bring anything new or fresh to the table. After seven incarnations of different variations of these types of tasks, the franchise has become rather stale. But honestly, what else can they possibly think of for players to perform on a skateboard?
As you continue in the story mode, you’ll gain stat points and tricks. After you complete the story, you’ll probably have your stats maxed and your tricks list filled to the brim. These RPG attributes have always been one of my favorite facets of Tony Hawk titles. American Wasteland gives you the sense that you’re truly improving as you progress. However, I must bring up the question: if you had the ultimate skater in, let’s say, Tony Hawk’s Underground 2, are you willing to once again start from scratch? Apparently fans enjoy starting over every year as they persist to purchase each installment. I still wish there was a way to transfer your custom character from game to game. My character in Underground 2 was such a beast. He'll be missed immensely.
The developers finally woke up and smelled the coffee and decided to include online play with the Xbox versions of their Tony Hawk games. I’m sure glad they did because it’s where you’ll spend most of your time while playing American Wasteland. As I mentioned earlier, the campaign becomes stagnant after a few hours. American Wasteland is meant to be played as a multiplayer experience. Back in the PlayStation days I would go days on end battling it up in Trick Attack with my friends. The times have changed, and the only friends I have now are online ones. American Wasteland allowing me to play with them on Live is very vital to this game and its multiplayer features.
All of your favorite modes have returned -- Graffiti, Capture the Flag, King of the Hill, Slap!, and my personal favorite, Trick Attack. American Wasteland combines all of these celebrated modes as well as some other, more distinctive ones. Firefight immediately comes to mind. The name says it all; you can shoot fireballs from your skateboard -- the higher your combo, the bigger the fireball. Firefight is an extremely enjoyable game and almost rivals Trick Attack as my favorite mode.
Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland’s gameplay may not bring very much new to the table, but this frankly has been the situation with Tony Hawk games since Tony Hawk 3 (2 not included because it was a vast, vast improvement over the original). It slightly improves upon its already fun-filled formula by removing the loading times, adding some new tricks, and most substantially, by adding online play. If you found the gameplay of previous versions to be addictive and enjoyable, you’ll without question find American Wasteland’s to be as well.
Graphics:
To be completely honest, Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland visuals are not much of an improvement over past titles. Tony Hawk games have never been stunning in the visuals department, but its somewhat outdated engine still always manages to get the job done. The graphics in American Wasteland are a mixed-bag. The in-game offering is a little cartoonish, but nonetheless looks fairly good, while the cut-scenes’ graphics are just downright ghastly. The characters look too bulky around the face and they move awkwardly. The animations just appear to be all out of whack when it comes to the cut-scenes -- a real disappointment.
Those who love to gaze at bright, vibrant, and deep colors will approve of American Wasteland’s art direction. Even the box-art is colorful. I really admired this aspect of its visuals. It doesn’t change the fact that the graphics aren’t the best, but it sure helps its overall atmosphere. Another strongpoint, in regard to the visuals, is the maps featured. They’re very large, and each has a great deal of depth. If you can forgive American Wasteland’s mediocre textures and poor animations, you’ll begin to take notice of its superb environments and unique art style, and in return start to fall in love with its atmosphere.
Audio:
‘’Music stations always play the same songs. I'm bored with the concept of right and wrong.’’ While the music in Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland is by no means bad, most gamers would rather turn on a custom soundtrack. Luckily, this is supported in American Wasteland. However, if you don’t endorse purchasing music, you can always listen to American Wasteland’s very fitting soundtrack. It consists of some well known bands such as My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, and a few others. I personally don’t like this type of music, but I can’t bash American Wasteland’s audio for this because the game gives you the option of literally playing any type of music you please. The voice-acting and things of that nature are decent, and some of the comments will cause you to laugh, especially if you’re into this type of culture. ‘’Want a massage with that facial?’’ I laughed. As far as I could tell, the sound effects are spot-on. Overall, American Wasteland’s audio is splendid.
Controls:
‘’Push the button. Don't push the button. Trip the station. Change the channel.’’ The controls are identical to the other Tony Hawk games on the Xbox, so you should most likely feel right at home with American Wasteland’s setup. The X button still flips the board and the B button is still used for grabs. And don’t worry about what they did with the Y button because it’s still used to activate a grind. All in all, American Wasteland features your classic Tony Hawk layout, and where I come from, that’s a good thing.
Replay:
‘’I lost my memory in Hollywood. I've had a million visions, bad and good. There's something in the air in Hollywood. I tried to leave it but I never could.’’ The story mode will last you a good week, and the on and offline multiplayer will keep you coming back for months. However, American Wasteland isn’t really worth the full fifty with the Xbox 360 arriving in a few weeks. I mean, why not just wait and purchase the newer, improved version? The only possible explanation for not waiting would be because you aren’t buying a system at launch, and maybe its ten dollar higher price tag. If that is indeed the case, then by all means necessary, American Wasteland is worth its price. There is a ton of stuff to unlock, and the addition of online play makes American Wasteland a very feature-rich product.
‘’Music stations always play the same songs. I'm bored with the concept of right and wrong.’’ While the music in Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland is by no means bad, most gamers would rather turn on a custom soundtrack. Luckily, this is supported in American Wasteland. However, if you don’t endorse purchasing music, you can always listen to American Wasteland’s very fitting soundtrack. It consists of some well known bands such as My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, and a few others. I personally don’t like this type of music, but I can’t bash American Wasteland’s audio for this because the game gives you the option of literally playing any type of music you please. The voice-acting and things of that nature are decent, and some of the comments will cause you to laugh, especially if you’re into this type of culture. ‘’Want a massage with that facial?’’ I laughed. As far as I could tell, the sound effects are spot-on. Overall, American Wasteland’s audio is splendid.
Controls:
‘’Push the button. Don't push the button. Trip the station. Change the channel.’’ The controls are identical to the other Tony Hawk games on the Xbox, so you should most likely feel right at home with American Wasteland’s setup. The X button still flips the board and the B button is still used for grabs. And don’t worry about what they did with the Y button because it’s still used to activate a grind. All in all, American Wasteland features your classic Tony Hawk layout, and where I come from, that’s a good thing.
Replay:
‘’I lost my memory in Hollywood. I've had a million visions, bad and good. There's something in the air in Hollywood. I tried to leave it but I never could.’’ The story mode will last you a good week, and the on and offline multiplayer will keep you coming back for months. However, American Wasteland isn’t really worth the full fifty with the Xbox 360 arriving in a few weeks. I mean, why not just wait and purchase the newer, improved version? The only possible explanation for not waiting would be because you aren’t buying a system at launch, and maybe its ten dollar higher price tag. If that is indeed the case, then by all means necessary, American Wasteland is worth its price. There is a ton of stuff to unlock, and the addition of online play makes American Wasteland a very feature-rich product.
Summary:
Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland is a solid game that will give enthusiasts of the franchise yet another opportunity to tear up the competition while kicking butt and taking names. And, for the first time in several years, it doesn’t just add new tricks. It adds something that should have been here from the beginning of its time on Xbox -- online play. They’re a little late, but I’m, as well as others, glad to see the developers finally make the transition and take the Tony Hawk series into the 21st century. There’s not much more to say about Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland, so let’s end the review with one last verse from Madonna’s Hollywood. ‘’Check it out, this bird has flown.’’
Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland is a solid game that will give enthusiasts of the franchise yet another opportunity to tear up the competition while kicking butt and taking names. And, for the first time in several years, it doesn’t just add new tricks. It adds something that should have been here from the beginning of its time on Xbox -- online play. They’re a little late, but I’m, as well as others, glad to see the developers finally make the transition and take the Tony Hawk series into the 21st century. There’s not much more to say about Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland, so let’s end the review with one last verse from Madonna’s Hollywood. ‘’Check it out, this bird has flown.’’
