Tony Hawk's Project 8

All in all, the work and innovation that was put in to this game really shows.

A good port of the next-generation version. It keeps the solid gameplay and manages to introduce “nail the trick” and focus mode to the mix. As expected there are some concessions. The graphics are noticeably worse, the motion capture animation system is gone, the streaming world is gone, and inexplicably the online multiplayer is gone, too.

A curious balance - chunky visuals betray subtle animation, while deep but fiddy controls yield major addiction. [Christmas 2006, p.74]

The gameplay and controls are solid, and the Nail the Trick mode is a fantastic addition. If you haven’t selected a Next Generation system yet, you might be able to squeak by on this last title, but it is really time to retire the PS2 versions of this series.

The environments in Tony Hawk's Project 8 lack the innovations of previous versions. [Feb. 2007, p.84]

Visually, it's considerably worse [than the PS3 version], but quite decent for PS2 and retains the core gameplay. [Jan 2007, p.63]

This is the simplest Tony Hawk to date.

I realized Project 8 was playing like an updated version of the original Pro Skater series. Hardcore fans will likely bemoan the simplicity of the game, but it does allow amateurs to enjoy the experience more.

The way PS2 Project 8 uses shabby video versions of the Xbox 360 cutscenes to tell the story shows you this is a bit of a corner-cutting exercise in game-making, as is the lack of characters to choose from when starting a game, and the loss of online play.

It is down to the bare bones of the series, leaving you feeling like you're playing the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater again.

Project 8 makes some odd control changes that will stick out to longtime fans of this skateboarding series, but the core game is still fairly good.

Project 8 is just another THPS, except without the "cool" factor.

The level design is mediocre and the stripping of features is unacceptable. Nail the Trick is not particularly exciting on current-gen consoles and has been made too simplistic. Worst of all is the changes to manuals, which is completely unwarranted.

Create-A-Park is gone, Create-A-Skate has been downplayed a lot, some things are a bit too easy, and finally the whole world feels a bit stale.

There are more trick-based challenges than ever, but aside from the new slow-motion control, Tony Hawk is skating through the same old territory.