Tony Hawk's Proving Ground
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| Tony Hawk's Proving Ground | |
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| Developer(s) | Neversoft (PS3/360) Page 44 Studios (PS2/Wii) Vicarious Visions (DS) |
| Publisher(s) | Activision |
| Distributor(s) | Activision Blizzard |
| Series | Tony Hawk's |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, Nintendo DS |
| Release date |  October 15, 2007[1] October 31, 2007[2] November 2, 2007[3] |
| Genre(s) | Extreme sports |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: T (Teen) BBFC: 12 |
| Media | Blu-ray, DVD-DL, DS Game Card, Wii Optical Disc |
Tony Hawk's Proving Ground (abbreviated as THPG and loosely referred to as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 9) is a video game developed by Neversoft for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles; by Page 44 Studios for the PlayStation 2 and Wii; and by Vicarious Visions for the Nintendo DS. Proving Ground is the ninth game in the Tony Hawk's series, (Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2x, Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam, and Tony Hawk's American Sk8land are side games and not considered part of the main series).
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[edit] Gameplay
There are four different skater classes—Rigger, Hardcore, Career, and Street—each with its own set of special abilities, and each determining the direction of Proving Ground's career mode story. The DS version does not have all 4 different classes, instead it uses a balance between Career and Hardcore.
Proving Ground also offers a full-featured video editor and a customizable skate lounge where players can skate with others online and add items that they have unlocked throughout their progress in Career Mode. It also has a new mechanic with the Nail the Trick feature which is Nail the Grab and Nail the Manual [4] The video editor, Skate lounge and Nail the Manual are not available in the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS versions of the game. The PS2 versions just have Nail the Grab and Nail the Trick but they don't have the video editor and skate lounge.
Proving Ground also includes real-time changes to the skater's appearance based on the amount of injuries inflicted on the character. [4] Also, unlike the two previous games in the series, you are able to customize your skater from the ground up, instead of picking a template first.
[edit] Locations
Tony Hawk's Proving Ground is located on the East Coast of the United States.
[edit] Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia has the Inner City, which is your skater's hometown and it features rails, roadways, houses, and wires to skate on. There is also the famous FDR Skatepark as the legendary LOVE park (Downtown Philly). Philadelphia also features Bay Bridge Tunnel, which is the link to get to Baltimore.
[edit] Baltimore, MD
Baltimore features Downtown which has architecture and an urban atmosphere. It also features the Lansdowne skatepark, a park complete with curvy bowls and snake runs. The Inner Harbor has rails and stair sets as well as tourist locations. Finally, the Harbor Bridge is the link to get to Washington DC.
[edit] Washington, DC
Washington DC has National Mall. This has some trained fountains and ledges, as well as an art gallery. The Air and Space Museum features a flight area and a moon room. Freedom Plaza has marble ledges and stair sets. Lastly there is the Union Station, which is the link to Philadelphia.
[edit] Skaters
[edit] Career Skaters
Career skaters are the ones who make skateboarding a living. Career skaters get Nail-The-Trick, Nail-The-Grab, and Nail-The-Manual (Nail-The-Manual is not present in the Wii version or the DS version). Career skaters are as follows:
[edit] Rigger Skaters
Rigger skaters are the ones who use their environment to make skate ramps, rails, etc. Riggers can add new pieces to skate on to the environment with the Rig-A-Kit as well as have improved abilities of climbing and break & enter. Rigger skaters are as follows:
[edit] Hardcore Skaters
Hardcore skaters are the ones who do it for the love of the sport, and don't care for the media coverage. They get the Aggro moves which include Kick and Push. They can also skate-check pedestrians. Hardcore skaters are as follows:
[edit] Unlockable Skaters
The following are skaters can be unlocked in the game:
- MCA from Beastie Boys
- El Patinador
- Judy Nails from the Guitar Hero series
- Rube
- Spencer
- Cooper
- Bosco
- Boneman (PS3/Xbox 360 versions only)
- Cam
- Eric Sparrow
- Eddie X
- Mad Dog
- Mel
- Shayne
- TV Producer
[edit] Critical reception
Unlike Project 8, Proving Ground was met with mixed reviews upon release.
On Metacritic, the Xbox 360 version had an average score of 72[5], the PlayStation 3 version had an average score of 72[6], the PlayStation 2 version had an average score of 65[7], and the Wii version had an average score of 57[8]. All of these scores are considered "mixed or average" by the site.
The Playstation 2 and Nintendo Wii versions were criticized for not having the same mechanics that are in the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 versions.
The Nintendo DS version received generally favorable reviews from critics. On Metacritic it received an average score of 79 out of 100 based on 21 reviews.[9] On Game Rankings it received an average score of 78% based on 19 reviews.[10]
[edit] Reviews
- IGN - 8.0/10 (DS version) [1], 7.1/10 (360, PS3) [2], 6.6/10 (PS2 version), 4.0/10 (Wii version)
- Gamezone - 9.2/10 (PS3), 8.8/10 (Xbox 360)
- PNGX - 9.5/10 (PS3) Received Editor's Choice Award [3]
- Gamespot - 6.5 (Xbox 360 and PS3), 5.0 (Wii and PS2), 8.0 (Nintendo DS)
[edit] Soundtrack
As follows by Activision:
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- * = Featured in the Nintendo DS version
[edit] Demo
The Tony Hawk's Proving Ground demo was scheduled for release on Xbox Live Marketplace for Xbox 360 on September 10, 2007[11] but was delayed to September 12, 2007. The release date for the Playstation 3 demo in the PlayStation Store was September 13 in the US. The UK demo was released on October 25, 2007.[12] The demo only allows ten minutes of free time, but allows players to try out each skater class, including a detailed tutorial on the new Nail-The-Grab mode, as well as a toned down version of the Video Editor.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.thpgonline.com/blog/?p=20 US Release Date
- ^ http://www.ebgames.com.au/PS3/product.cfm?ID=7797 AUS Release
- ^ Tony Hawk’s and COD4 dated - www.mcvuk.com
- ^ a b Planet Tony Hawk: THPG New Media, Preview Roundup. Planet Tony Hawk (2007-05-18). Retrieved on 2007-05-18.
- ^ Tony Hawk's Proving Ground (xbox360: 2007): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
- ^ Tony Hawk's Proving Ground (ps3: 2007): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
- ^ Tony Hawk's Proving Ground (ps2: 2007): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
- ^ Tony Hawk's Proving Ground (wii: 2007): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
- ^ Tony Hawk's Proving Ground (ds: 2007): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
- ^ Tony Hawk's Proving Ground Reviews. Game Rankings. Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
- ^ Planet Tony Hawk - News, Screenshots, Previews, Reviews, Guides
- ^ THPG demo. Planet Tony Hawk (2007-09-09). Retrieved on 2007-09-09.
[edit] External links
- Tony Hawk's Proving Ground Official Website
- Tony Hawk's Proving Ground Official Italian website
- Planet Tony Hawk official update page
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