Tony Hawk's Project 8

The presentation is stellar, the focus on gameplay is appreciated, and the new gameplay features like the “nail the trick” mode make this easily the best Tony Hawk game to date.

Using tilt is unbelievably awkward. It's hard enough to land high-point combos in Project 8 that require the utmost concentration, let alone have to do it by jerking the Sixaxis controller like an idiot to land the simplest of grinds.

Not the best Hawk's game ever, but still excellent fun. [Apr 2007, p.66]

We loved the story and the wide variety of challenges that face gamers throughout the enjoyable career mode. The lack of the online gameplay support is the big negative for this PS3 edition, but all in all the game is so much fun it's impossible not to recommend.

A lot of the fluff that has plagued the series for the last couple years has been stripped away, revealing a game that fast, furious, and focused almost 100 percent on the play experience.

Hats off to Neversoft for the way it integrated the PS3 controller functionality into the game.

If you like the Tony Hawk titles like I do, you will find Project 8 to be both a challening and entertaining addition to the series. [Jan 2007, p.99]

Being such a long time fan of the series I can honestly say this is the most fun I have had with a Tony Hawk game since the release of THPS4.

The best game since "Tony Hawk's 3." [Issue 148, p.66]

Finally we see a good use of the Sixaxis controller, and it's about time the Classic mode returns as a single challenge. However, what's up with no online play, and why didn't the occasional slowdown get addressed?

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

Nail the Trick mode is a vastly enjoyed innovation and the Mo-Cap functionality added with the more mature story line and cut scenes are a great aspect to the title.

A solid back-to-basics return to the glory days of the Hawk, hampered only by the missing online features and the occasional rough edge. Long may he reign. [Jan 2007, p.62]

It's a real shame that with such a powerful machine Project 8 fails to live up to its potential and ends up as a good game rather than the amazing title many of us had been waiting for. [Mar 2007, p.64]

After a couple of years in the wilderness for the series, this more thoughtful Hawk's is a welcome reboot. [May 2007, p.114]

Like watching skate videos themselves, Project 8 simply loses its charm after a while. Realistic graphics and Nail the Trick aside, Project 8 comes off as a title that’s so rooted in its own genre that true innovation may prove unlikely.

Project 8 doesn’t push very far beyond its previous boundaries. Most of the gameplay is very similar, and players familiar with the series will not find many surprises. However, the new coat of paint and the “Nail the Trick” mode help make the game seem at home on the next-gen consoles.

It's time that Activision and Neversoft both put a stop to the sinister rehash machine that produces an annual Tony Hawk product.

Between the huge environment, multiple difficulties per goal, and multiplayer, plenty of replayability is ready to be had in the game. But whether or not Project 8 is worth picking up comes down to how tired you are of the Tony Hawk formula.

A sequel worthy of the other Hawk games I spent countless hours playing.

I know I keep coming back to this, but the online part of the past five Tony Hawk games has been the thing that keeps me coming back after I've played through the single-player game. Now granted, the goals this time around mean that I'll probably never completely finish the game, but I miss me some Trick Attack. Yes, I can do some local multi-player, but if I can't be beaten by some six year-old calling me a fag, I'm not really living the online experience, y'know?

Thankfully, the pros outweigh the cons: Project 8 definitely welcomes fans back to the series. [Jan. 2007, p.70]

Project 8 hit at a time when I was really craving some Tony Hawk gameplay, and it felt a little more fresh to me. Still a good game, no matter how you slice it.

Tony Hawk's Project 8 will appeal to the fanbase and the fanbase only.

Get one thing straight, people. This game is about the skating, period. If you can't walk away from this title with a plethora of tricks under your spiked belt, then you obviously didn't try hard enough, you poseur.

The gameplay is as freeform and as technical as it's ever been, with some smart changes on that front that are enough to keep fans of the series interested, while a new tutorial is aimed at getting new players up to speed. Unfortunately, some technical glitches and unstable frame rates plague both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 version of the game.

The problem though is that the game isn’t fresh anymore and it gets even worse when you consider the fact that there is no online play.

The core -- the gameplay -- is solid...The lack of an online component really hurts. The Tony Hawk franchise is built for online competition, and to only feature split-screen just doesn't cut it. Then, the absence of a Classic Mode makes things feel sorer.

By my own admission, I’m probably one of the worst Tony Hawk players in the world, but this game was so easy to pick up and play, and the new "Nail the Trick" only took me a few tries before I figured it out, and I was instantly hooked for life.

It's certainly disappointing that the PlayStation 3 is so far behind the Xbox 360 game. Framerate issues are apparent at every other turn, and the lack of online play really hurts.

Though a slowness to change and evolve hinders Tony Hawk Project 8's greatness, the developers sank a gargantuan lump of time into making the skating feel genuine, and it's enough to revitalize what is broadly the same game with a few newborn adoptions.

Project 8 is an addictive next-gen video drug cooked with lifelike physics, a free-roaming world, and inventive footwork. [Jan. 2007, p.84]

It is great to see a well-loved series return to its best, but occasional NPC glitches, the stuttering frame rate and lack of online play are unforgivable on such a powerhouse of a console.

A bit half-arsed. The game in general is muted by glitches, slowdown and painful loading times, while the best things about it - the online play options - have been removed.

Project 8 is still a solid game, but the PlayStation 3 version is just inferior to the version we've been playing for four months.

Tony Hawk’s Project 8 is easily one of the most enjoyable and addictive experiences to date for the PlayStation 3.

If you want Tony’s latest upgrade then go for it, but if you’re looking for complete reinvention of the series you might want to hold out until next year.

A fairly well realized evolution of the Tony Hawk series. The streaming content is impressive, but no matter where you go, the rickety framerate comes with you.

The framerate is horribly inconsistent and random glitches in character models mar the visuals.

Casual players may find the game entirely too complicated. It’s not an easy game to pick up if you haven’t been playing the series since day one.

The lack of any online modes coupled with the still very prevalent frame rate issue means Tony Hawk’s Project 8 is a weaker PS3 game than it is on 360. [Apr 2007, p.131]