Tony Hawk's Underground is unearthed

Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 takes the extreme sports gaming genre to new heights while destroying it at the same time.

As with the previous five titles of the franchise, skating stands at the core of THUG 2. Big name pro skaters like Bob Burnquist, Chad Muska and Rodney Mullen are back on board—literally. As in previous Tony Hawk games, players try to amass points by completing tricks and combos, collecting various items or pulling off a special maneuver. THUG 2 offers large interactive skate areas with all forms of roadways, ramps and rails for gamers to explore. Beyond these standard accoutrements, although THUG 2 begins to fall apart.

In an effort to attract a larger audience, Activision developed a story mode that centers around a competition called the World Destruction Tour. Renowned Jackass Bam Margera leads a team featuring Wee Man, Phil and others against Tony Hawk and his skaters in a contest to see who can cause the most civil disobedience. This gives skaters the chance to leave their boards, as they must climb structures to tag a billboard or throw tomatoes at nearby pedestrians.

In the short term, the story element entertains. Cut scenes featuring Margera and company are humorous and serve the purpose of moving the bare-bones plot forward. It seems that designers hoped to recreate the culture of skating; the attitude of irreverence and defiance that has changed skating from a casual hobby to a state of mind. This becomes problematic when the game begins to feel like one giant sellout. Skating used to be anti-establishment, and Bam Magera used to stand for anarchy. Now these two skaters are teaming up to move units.

Tony Hawk is a talented athlete. In many ways the original incarnations of the Hawk franchise could be compared to other popular sports games. Hawk was to skating what Ray Lewis has been to Madden 2005 and Allen Iverson was to NBA 2K3: an icon. His games were, like other sports franchises, a way for gamers to experience the thrill of high-level competition and the joy that accompanies achievement. The new Underground games have foregone this emotion for cheap kicks. THUG 2 just feels heartless.