X-games boarders won't beat Tony Hawk

The Associated Press

When you decide to take on skateboard legend Tony Hawk at his own game, you better bring more than a beat-up board and a dream.

Unfortunately, when ESPN and Konami decided to break out skateboarding in "X Games Skateboarding" for the PlayStation 2, they left their best stuff at home.

With a new Tony Hawk game due shortly, players will likely forget about "XGS," although it's not a total flop.

There are some serious problems. Chief among them is the shocking draw-in in some sections, where the next piece of the scene doesn't appear on your screen until you're right on top of it. That's forgivable in a 32-bit game, maybe even in a 64-bit title. But with the PS2's muscle, it's bizarre that a top developer would allow such a flaw to reach consumers.

In some areas the graphics are impressive. Special sections in San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles are well done, as are fantasy runs aboard a cruise ship and in a museum.

The game lets you play as any of eight top boarders, including Bob Burnquist, Chris Senn and Lincoln Ueda. No women. Each skater is rated on a number of qualities essential to remaining on the board.

You can fiddle with your equipment, although changes in wheels and other details were a bit too subtle for me to detect. I fell on my face as easily with the more sophisticated gear as I did with the default items.

Unfortunately, there are no exciting custom touches. You can't create a skating venue, and you're stuck with the skaters Konami provides.

The game does have a decent selection of play modes. In X Games mode, you make three runs in X Games Vert or X Games Park, and your score is ranked against the rest of the field. Each character has 40 tricks available; the more you use and the more complex the combos, the higher the score. The best part about the tricks is the names. Try the Stale Fish Grab, the Madonna or the Benihana, then try to figure out why they have those names.

There's also a two-player mode, in which you try for the highest score possible in a set time, and free skate, which turns you loose wherever you want and records your best trick score.

Graphics get a C-minus. While many of the images are nicely done, the draw-in and other technical problems are impossible to forgive.

Control gets a B. Tricks are easy to summon, and with practice you'll be grinding and jumping with the best.

Sound gets a C. The announcing is weak, the effects are tame at best and the generic music is performed by obscure bands.

"X Games Skateboarding" suffers from its own poor performance and the impending release of the next Tony Hawk title. But if you're a skateboard fiend, you might find it entertaining.