Tony Hawk's Proving Ground

 PlayStation 3
Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 36 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 36
  3. Negative: 0 out of 36
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  1. PGNx Media
    95
    Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground is easily the best Tony Hawk game to date. Everything from the varied career mode, new gameplay features and video editor come together in a great, cohesive package.
  2. GameZone
    92
    The controls are perfectly balanced in Proving Ground, thus allowing you to have enough freedom to pull off the tricks in your own unique way.
  3. Game Chronicles
    90
    The ultimate evolution of the Tony Hawk franchise. It contains the perfect mix of next-gen technology while holding true to the core skating elements and quality gameplay that has made this the definitive skateboarding title for more than a decade.
  5. GamingTrend
    87
    If you have every version of Tony Hawk, then you’ll be impressed with how much has been added. If you used to play it but haven’t purchased any of the next gen titles, then it’s high time to get reacquainted with Tony Hawk again.
  6. PSM3 Magazine UK
    85
    A bumper package with some great new ideas, but rough around certain edges. [Dec 2007, p.74]
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  7. GamePro
    85
    Still, there's no denying that the Tony Hawk franchise has some life left in it and Proving Ground is yet another deep and satisfying entry in the dominant skateboarding franchise. [Dec 2007, p.120]
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  8. Gamer's Hell
    85
    Though it is true that Tony Hawk now faces its stiffest competition in a long time, the amount of improvements present in Proving Ground shows that there is still life left in the franchise.
  9. GameTrailers
    83
    The big question on everyone’s mind is which is better: EA’s "Skate," or Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground? We’re going with Tony on this one, though by a slim margin. The core of the game is just much stronger with the full complement of tricks, more reliable controls, far more interesting objectives, a vastly superior video editing tool, and a lot more content in general.
  10. ZTGD
    80
    A great game; albeit a game in desperate need of a reboot.
  11. TotalPlayStation
    80
    What blows my mind is that Neversoft was able to include everything they did in the normal year-long development schedule.
  12. Maxi Consolas (Portugal)
    80
    Nobody can take away what this franchise did to the genre. But it’s hard to shake the feeling that we’ve played this before. Tony Hawk’s team seems to be running out of ideas and with “Skate” as a strong newcomer, they really need to change. But it’s still a fun game that old fans of the Birdman will appreciate. [Dec 2007
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  13. TheSixthAxis
    80
    Hopefully in the future Neversoft will produce a 'best-of' title, with our favourite spots from the last 9 years rather than continuing down this open world path, but we've still got our copy of THPS 2x handy so we can always break out Skate Street and Skater Heaven for a bit of retro goodness. For everyone else, Proving Ground is great fun.
  14. Kombo
    79
    The latest Tony Hawk outing is overall just more of the same.
  15. Game Informer
    78
    The addition of the new Aggro Kick, which lets you build up speed with timed button presses, is pure genius. Having the ability to smoothly go online and enjoy multiplayer is absolutely fantastic, but the single-player experience is more chore than score, and brings down the whole experience because of its uninspired design.
  16. Cheat Code Central
    76
    One thing I thought at first wouldn't be really entertaining, the skate video editing, turned out to be truly innovative.
  17. IC-Games
    75
    The Tony Hawk's series is still in a dire need of a complete overhaul no matter how good the small and subtle improvements to the series are. Since EA and Black Box brought us .skate the bar has been raised and if Neversoft are going to compete they need to start thinking out of the box rather than further improving features that already worked so well in Tony Hawk's Project 8.

Awards & Rankings

52
#52 Best PS3 Game of 2007
60
#60 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2007
48
#48 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2007

User Reviews

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User Score
6.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 27 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 27
  3. Negative: 5 out of 27
  1. darekit
    Jun 10, 2023
    8
    It's an experimental sandbox, with a lot of promise but a lot more holding it back. When I play this game I don't feel that same burn-out thatIt's an experimental sandbox, with a lot of promise but a lot more holding it back. When I play this game I don't feel that same burn-out that a lot of people attribute to later tony hawk games, but moreso a total lack of direction from burning through every good idea they had for eight straight years. They had little ground left uncharted, especially after they did the Big One with Project 8's interconnected overworld. This game reels back the ambition massively from project 8, consisting of 9 completely disconnected episodes that all give you a fun little gimmick to rein in before you can use it for challenges in the overworld or classic tony hawk combos. On paper, this non-linearity sounds good. In practice, this means almost no player is motivated to finish this game once they get the few episodes they wanted to do wrapped up. Classic mode and hawk-man stretch out the little content here based around normal, non-gimmick tony hawk gameplay about as far as can be expected for a single mode of a larger game nearly totally disconnected from it. Multiplayer additions are also weak too, with no proper create-a-park and instead a lounge that has elements of create-a-park but lacks multiple important tools and feels about equal to the PS1 games' C-A-P. Lastly, the local co-op experience is much better here due to the less ambitious open-world meaning more areas being able to be loaded at once. This DOES also mean that load tunnels are back though, but they are significantly better than earlier entries. Overall, a solid game for someone unsatisfied by the simpler execution of skating in early tony hawk games, who'd like to experiment in something still easy and unrealistic but far more technical.… Full Review »
  2. dieserfuchs
    Mar 25, 2023
    7
    Its ok, the story and cutscenes are a bit cringe and this game can never compare with legends like thps 1-4 or thug 1 & 2 but it has his ownIts ok, the story and cutscenes are a bit cringe and this game can never compare with legends like thps 1-4 or thug 1 & 2 but it has his own style, everything looks a bit grey and dirty… Full Review »
  3. Cmmcfreire
    May 7, 2020
    5
    Story - 5/10
    Gameplay - 7/10
    Graphics - 6/10 (so much grey)
    Soundtrack - 6/10
    Levels - 6/10
    Replay value - 5/10
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