“Lights out, Guerilla Radio. Turn that shit up.” I am a big fan of Rage Against the Machine so when I popped in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 into my PlayStation for the first time in 2000, I was instantly impressed. Thankfully the gameplay lived up to the initial rush I got from the licensed music. THPS2 was my first foray into the Tony Hawk skating universe and remains one of my all time favorite “sports” games for any console.
Achievements, goals, cash, points, combos, competition….it’s all here. Create a skater? Hell, yeah! The time limit feature forces the player to master the controls as well as memorize the layout of each level in order to accomplish all of the goals. Tony Hawk 2 rewards repeat playthroughs and as a player, this is exactly what I did over and over. I consider myself a bit of a completest so it was always hard for me to move on to the next level if I hadn’t accomplished EVERYTHING there was to accomplish on the previous level. As a result, THPS2 remains one of the most addictive experiences I had on the PlayStation.
The competition aspect of THPS2 wasn’t utilized as much as I really preferred the achievement/open world section of the game. This was such a revelation for me compared to the very rigid and straightforward skating games I grew up with on the NES. I can pick this game up at any given time and have a blast. Truly one of the best for the system.
Rating: A
Currently in my collection: game, manual, case
Cartridge Corner 