The talk of the town is how the new
Tony Hawk game is now Internet-ready. Yepper, with
THPS3 and a connection to the 'Net, you'll be able to hit the streets with up to 8 players at a time. Unfortunately, I was unable to connect for some reason, and the game would crash when I tried. It is possible that GameSpy Arcade (a gaming matchmaking host) isn't set up for
Tony Hawk 3 yet. This aside, you will actually be able to play in eight modes of multiplayer mayhem. The standards are back, and new modes include:
Slap!, where the player that slaps other players the most wins;
Keep Away, where you grab a ball and run... er, skate; and
Capture the Flag, which is a team-based game.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 continues where the last game left off. It's got the same basic controls, with a few added enhancements. Probably the biggest is the ability to perform flatland tricks with the new 'revert' controls. Other than that, the game contains eight levels of a basically similar fashion as the first to games. You'll have to collect the letters S-K-A-T-E again, as well as find the secret tapes and hit your high score marks. Each level will also include some level-specific goals too. And of course the Competitions are also back, but will play a bit harder (in my mind) than the previous games' did.
Once again, the developers have also included the 3D Park Editor so that you'll never get bored with THPS3. This time you will actually have a selection of different sized parks to start from, so the variety in the levels you can create is greatly improved. Included on the CD are some bonus levels too, made specifically from the Park Editor for your added entertainment.