In this latest offering from the skateboarding legend, you run, skateboard obviously and BMX your way around some fairly uninspiring locations, performing tricks for cash and spending it on a new hat or two. While jumping and grinding your own way about town can be great fun, the forced GTA-style missions that drive the story are far from pleasant, revolving largely around pulling off endless tricks and combos.
Failure is a 'back to square one' process that culminates all too easily in utter frustration and a fist through your monitor. Tony Hawk's American Wasteland is a console port, so you know the drill. Infuriating controls, so-so graphics and a nonsensical camera are all present and correct. The 'no levels, no load times' selling point is a bit of a lie, as your PC chugs and stops to think in the corridors that link the bland districts together: San Andreas on a board, this most certainly isn't.
Your enjoyment of Wasteland also depends on how many fingers and thumbs you've got. If it's more than the regulation ten issued to the majority of us by those in the know, you might be alright. Without wacky mutated hands though, you'll find yourself stabbing wildly at any buttons you can to pull off moves. Admittedly, performing the mid-air aerobatics we were so cruelly unable to pull off as clown-footed pre-teens was undeniably enjoyable, while the ability to customise your character and skate about with reckless abandon like Marty McFly were definite plus-points.
However, the fun factor is most definitely missing in Wasteland, and it's difficult to recommend spending any money on a port of a sub-par console game when your PC is capable of something exponentially more delightful. Since I last reviewed this title on the PS2, I must say, I think I may have given this game more credit than it deserved. In hindsight, while it still remains a decent title, because of its replay value, it doesn't seem as comfortable on the , and in the end, can be very frustrating to play.
Still, it can be fun, but unfortunately, you aren't going to get much more out of the version as compared to any other. Grinding, tricking, and a wide open environment is still very much the name of the game. Although it is an understandable design decision, I wish that some of the levels had been torn apart to open up the levels for the Xbox 's powerful hardware. The bad news is that you've still got to ride through giant corridors to get from area to area.
This game also still has a very trickable environment, and an extremely wide amount of missions and different features you can try. This isn't quite what I'm used to from Tony Hawk games, as I still think the game is much more frustrating than it needs to be, but if you get used to it, it's easily workable. Mostly what I mean is the lack of ease of low speed control. It's difficult to make quick, sharp turns, so botching some moves means really botching the move.
The graphics get a little boost on the , with much cleaner lines and a generally nicer looking game, but it's still nothing compared to what you'll see with the Xbox native titles. Still, fewer artifacts and a nicer looking game is good, so I've nothing to complain about here. In the end, if you're a skatefreak, this isn't a bad game, but otherwise, I'd stick to a rental.
There isn't so much gameplay here that you can't beat it in a couple of days, and the fact that the levels aren't completely free open really reduces the game's sense of scale. Beyond that however, it holds up well for a game of it's type. Otherwise, the L. This is the best--and most expensive--American Wasteland, but if you already own another version, there's nothing to see here.
By now, even those who haven't played a Tony Hawk game are probably familiar with the genre it created. Many other titles have copied this gameplay and had success doing it. However, there are few that get close to the balance and control system that the Tony Hawk games have achieved. Its completion spurs the group to do the ranch up and make it a full-on skatepark.
With the help of Murphy's contacts, the group embark on obtaining skate-able pieces from all over L. From here on in, the overall task is to obtain pieces for the skate ranch, unlocking new places in L. He wins the AmJam, but exposes Iggy who, unknown to the player, is wanted and has been living in secrecy to avoid the police.
Iggy is soon arrested. Mindy suggests asking Iggy's old friends the Z-Boys for help. He meets skating legend Tony Alva, and finds out that Iggy's skate ranch is actually «Green Pipes Point,» a legendary snake run that got filled in many years ago.
He decides to have it dug up and befriends Alva's friend Mega, who offers to help. After some time, the player gets a phone call from Iggy in jail. He is furious upon hearing the point has been dug up, as he doesn't own the land. The publicity causes the real owner to discover the ranch and makes plans to sell it. Iggy returns to the now locked up skate ranch enraged, the player apologizing to no avail. Their tempers flair and Iggy punches the player who then snaps at Mindy, causing her to storm off.
The player, Murphy, Dave and Boone start a project to save the ranch, by making a skate video featuring famous pros, with all the proceeds going to buying the ranch. Iggy reconciles with the player and assures him that Mindy will recover. The group trashes a casino to finish the park and top off the buzz for the video, earning enough to buy the park. Leaving the casino they are met by the police. The player manages to evade them, skating through the city back to the ranch.
The player arrives to the completed American Wasteland, which Iggy now owns. To celebrate, he throws a party at the ranch, with everyone in town invited. The player apologizes to Mindy, who accepts and shows off the first edition of her magazine, American Wasteland, with the player on the cover. Iggy tells her that the player helped publish it, she is flattered and the two kiss.
0コメント