Tony Hawk's Underground Critic Reviews

From reasonably good-looking graphics to kick-ass sounds (dig those funky KISS tunes!) and more gameplay modes (online as well as off) than most players will know what to do with, the PS2 version of THUG is the most complete extreme sports title ever made for any system EVER.

Offers subplots and jokes galore, and a nuevo-punk soundtrack with some hip-hop flair.

It's amazing how much this game does well on top of its near-perfect controls.

Never before has a console game offered the flexibility of a PC-strength level editor with the ability to swap and trade freely with a natino of virtual skaters.

But for the first time I can remember, an extreme-sports game actually has a real story, honest-to-goodness characters, and a reason to play beyond seeing the next level or beating your last high score.

For immersing entertainment, this game is totally up our halfpipe.

The satisfying story mode is a big improvement on THPS’s structure. The story ramps up the difficulty gradually, so you build skills as you go, but there are now four difficulty levels, making THUG totally accessible to newbies.

I was extremely surprised when I found out that there are over 70 songs in this game. Each year Neversoft crams more and more songs in their games, and it is amazing! The sound effects are also top notch.

This is the best extreme sports game ever made, which makes four times I've said that in one Tony Hawk review or another. I really mean it this time, though.

Absolutely the best skating game for the system. The PS2 is the best at THUG life, and you owe it to yourself to insert your own digital presence into the game and take your skittles to the online arena.

THUG has something else to offer besides unlockable goodies: depth. As with previous Hawk titles, the deep gameplay and highly interactive environments inspire and encourage you to experiment, find new combo lines, and improve as a player.

The gameplay is still as stellar as ever: Neversoft's brilliant collage of on-the-fly experimentation and lighting-fast trick-popping is still as addictive as any drug and as intoxicating as any exotic woman.

This game rocks! It is like "Grand Theft Auto 3" on a skateboard! I am so glad the developers chose to go in a new direction with the Tony Hawk franchise! This game is by far the best of all 5 titles to date!

With an enormous amount of customizable options, absorbing story mode and large mod community, T.H.U.G. provides just about anything a gamer could want in a skateboarding title without grabbing a board and hitting the streets. Combine that with the ability to "place" yourself into the game with the face mapping feature, and you have a product that could easily be considered one of the best games of the year.

The stages are the best collection of any Tony game, and show Neversoft's level of design brilliance.

While THUG offers some innovation, it remains fundamentally the same game...Fundamantally, Hawk hasn't evolved enough.

It’s a massive, exceptional product that expands every aspect of its predecessors without sacrificing much, though it’s a better game on the PS2 than the Xbox or Gamecube thanks to its great online functionality.

Broken down, each individual part of THUG (control, music, level design, graphics, sound) is better than the games that came before it, which should add up to the best game in the series. And yet, there’s something intangible that just couldn’t hook me like the older games did.

The story aspect actually helps the flow of the game. Instead of just doing random tasks all over the place, you feel more of a purpose and progression for doing those tasks.

As utterly addictive as any of the earlier titles, you'll gladly pay for the privilege of being left with red-raw thumbs and rigid, claw-like hands.