Tony Hawk's Underground 2

Speaking as a fan of the series ever since it popped up on the Sega Dreamcast, the Tony Hawk games never ceased to impress me.  Color me impressed when the series made a dramatic change with Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 and then dazzle us with a great fourth offering.  When Tony Hawk’s Underground came out, I began to worry that the series might just lose it’s charm.  In fact, I began to feel that I’ve seen and done everything this series has to offer but then comes Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 and much like The Godfather’s Michael Corleone it just keeps pulling me back in . . . gladly I might add.  GameCube fans rejoice . . . another skating classic is born.

The first Underground game put you--not some skating superstar but a character of your design--in the role of an up-and-coming skater working your way up the skating circuit with dreams of becoming the next Tony Hawk.  Yet endorsement deals and stardom take a backseat in this game when a mysterious black van rolls into your neighborhood and masked men kidnap you.  When you wake you and other rising skaters find yourselves face-to-face with none other than legend Tony Hawk and Viva La Bam’s Bam Margera (also of Jackass fame).  Tony and Bam reveals that all of you have been selected to participate in the World Destruction Tour, a kind of competition that pits Tony’s team against Bam’s team, and quickly each up-and-coming skater is picked playground-style.  Ending up on Tony’s team, you begin the tour with every intention to beat Bam’s team and this time you have teammates to help you.

The first thing you’ll be doing is creating your own skater to use in the game’s main Story Mode.  You’ll also want to take advantage of the game’s newest feature Create-A-Graphic (which allows you to create your own tag to spray on any surface throughout the environment).  Starting off in an indoor skating park, you’ll come to know the game’s controls.  GameCube gamers already accustomed to the controls from the first game will find things a tad more simple and that’s a good thing, trust me.  You’ll quickly come to learn basic tricks and how to string some combos together and, of course, the coolest trick of all . . . getting off your board.  The game will also quickly introduce another new feature, Focus Mode, which shifts things into slow motion with the push of a button.  The Sticker Slap move allows you to jump towards a wall and kick yourself into another direction . . . it’s brilliant.

Story Mode places you in various national and international venues with a city filled with traffic flow and pedestrians minding their own business.  Like THUG, you’ll have to complete a laundry list of goals and challenges but as I stated in the beginning, you’re not alone.  We’ll take one of the early locations like Boston as an example.  Skating through a busy Boston street you’ll not only get to complete your own set of goals (some of them as wacky as looking for Founding Father Benjamin Franklin) but scattered throughout the area you’ll find your fellow teammate (like real-life pros Chad Muska or Bob Burnquist) who also have their own goals as well once you switch places.  If that wasn’t enough the game also tosses in a secret character (the Boston level gets Monster Garage’s Jesse James who happens to ride a modified Segway) who can only be used to complete specific goals.  You’ll head out to various locales like Barcelona and Berlin, each with its own zany goals.

Yet unlike the first Underground game, this sequel isn’t all about pulling off some really wicked combos and lip tricks.  Tony makes it very clear that Bam Margera takes the word “destruction” in the World Destruction Tour very seriously and you’ll quickly be caught up in the Jackass-styled mayhem that has you throwing fruit at people and marking your team’s territory by tagging on the walls.  Things will break and people will get hurt (like Bam’s loveable father, Phil) but, hey, it’s all in good fun and many of Bam’s antics are pretty hysterical.  You’ll encounter a number of truly zany characters like Steve-O from MTV’s Wild Boys and participate in a large number of mini-games and drive vehicles (go-carts and wheelchairs).

Here’s the good part, while you’ll be completely entertained with the game’s Story Mode Underground 2 tosses in Classic Mode--a mode the brings us back to the very early Tony Hawk Pro Skater days.  Classic Mode basically puts you in any of the environments you happen to unlock in the main mode and like the classic first two games has you completing a bunch of goals while the timer is ticking away.  If you’re like me, who misses the collecting of secret tapes and spelling out the word COMBO by performing a combo while collecting scattered letters, this mode will surely bring tears of joy to your eyes.  Making its return is the Create-A-Park, Create-A-Goal and Create-A-Trick.  You’ll also find an awesome collection of multiplayer games.

Visually, Underground 2 on the GameCube looks amazing.  It comes slightly closer to the Xbox version and that’s a really good thing since there’s a lot to see in a game that throws so much detail into its environment and characters.  The environments are pretty huge and filled with activity while day turns into night.  The characters during the cut scenes are all recognizable and done just right but watching a character you just created with care interact with these characters is just too neat for words.

The song list is incredibly impressive and massive to boot.  The good news is that the soundtrack is eclectic enough that there’s bound to be a few songs that will suit different gamers’ tastes.  The odd mix of Johnny Cash, The Doors, Frank Sinatra and The Ramones is a strange one indeed but not bad if you like your soundtracks diverse.  Tony Hawk and Bam Margera aren’t the only ones that lend their voices to the game; you’ll find many of your favorite skating pros as well as Steve-O and Wee Man.  It’s great stuff.

While Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 might not be an evolutionary step in the series, it is one very addictive and wonderfully executed skating game fans of the series will certainly love.  It’s emphasis on destruction and Jackass-styled stunts is an amusing change and those who miss the old-school thrashing of the early games will surely the game’s additional Classic Mode.  This is a Must-Have for GameCube gamers looking for a healthy dose of skating goodness with a dash of humor. 

 
Gameplay: 9.0
You just have to love the implementation of the solid skating controls (that allow you to pull off some really awesome tricks and combos) with the off-the-wall-off-the-board antics that made the first Underground game such a deliciously addictive game.  You can even throw a tantrum, which leads to an animation of your character snapping his or her board in half and then tossing it away.   There’s plenty to do in this game and with the addition of Classic Mode what more can you ask for in a skating game?

Graphics: 8.5
The graphics are a tad better than the PS2 version but not as crisp as the Xbox version but there’s still no denying that this is a great-looking GameCube game.  The environments alone will not fail to impress and the cut scenes with your created character is just too cool for words.   Unlocking Phil Margera and then skating as him will not fail to make you laugh out loud.

Sound: 8.5
The massive list of tunes is eclectic enough to suit everyone’s tastes but also befuddle those that think mixing in a Metallica tune with a Frank Sinatra classic is seriously out of place.  Still, there’s a lot to love here.  As for the voice acting and the sound effects, they’re done just right.  Even the often crude and loud Bam Margera comes off as funny and likable in this game.

Difficulty: Medium
Many who found THUG a frustratingly hard game can breath a sigh of relief, this sequel has rectified the last game’s flaw with three different difficulty levels (Easy, Normal and Sick).  You’ll find plenty of challenges; many of which even in the Normal setting will make you work hard but not hard enough that you‘ll start yanking out your hair.

Concept: 9.0
I’m a greedy girl who wants it all: the dizzying rocket airs, the chaining of some truly spectacular combos and a large side order of exploration and mini-games.  Toss in massive playing environments and plenty of challenges for your created character as well as his or her partner and I’m all yours.  Luckily Underground 2 does just that.  There are plenty of unlockable goodies including extra playable skaters (like the loveable, cuddly teddy bear that is Phil Margera).  Oh and coming up with your own tag and the Sticker Slap are brilliant.

Multiplayer: 8.5
While no online multiplayer features are available on our favorite Cube, there’s some split-screen fun to be had with a friend with ten different multiplayer modes.  Aside from the familiar multiplayer modes like HORSE and Trick Attack, new modes like Graffiti and Scavenger Hunt will keep two players well entertained.

Overall: 8.8
It might not push the series into new territory but Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 for the GameCube is an outrageously fun sequel with a lot of laughs and skating goodness.  The addition of Classic Mode will please fans that stuck with the series from the very beginning and the new difficulty setting will certainly much appreciate.  Buy this one right away, it will not disappoint.