Those calls have gotten louder each year, and now those pleas have finally, mercifully been answered. Video game fans have decried what has become of the franchise for more than a decade now, hoping the franchise returns to the simplicity of the original game. It’s vitally important to me, and I know I’m not the only one who feels that way.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 might be the most cumulative time I’ve logged in my lifetime playing video games - and I played World of Warcraft for several years. I didn’t rank every song on the original games’ soundtracks for nothing, you know. Not to get too deep in the weeds on the value of art and storytelling, but I’d happily argue its merits for being a perfect video game, period. From 1999 to about 2003 (give or take, depending on your opinion of the two Tony Hawk’s Underground games), Activision and Neversoft created and then refined arguably the perfect sports video game franchise, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.
