Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5

I have played some disappointing games in my life, but few have disappointed me as much as Tony Hawks - Pro Skater 5 did when it was first released. This is a game that was rushed to market before it was finished as Activision and their deal with Tony Hawk was coming to an end. The result was a game that is a huge stain on the name of one of the most fun game series of the last couple of decades.

Pro Skater In Name

The last game, Tony Hawks Pro Skater 4, was released all the way back in 2004. This is my favorite game in the entire series so hearing that Activision was going back to basics was something I was excited about. Gone was the convoluted storyline and instead the series was going back to getting high scores, collecting tapes, gaps and doing other fun stuff.

I think that the idea behind Tony Hawks - Pro Skater 5 is great, but the execution is not! They rushed the game and as a result the actual gameplay which on occasion can feel fun. It is more frustrating than anything else.

Stomp The Ground

The gameplay of this strips back many of the features which were added to the series starting all the way back with Tony Hawk Underground. Going back to basics, in theory, was a good idea and they did add in a cool stomp the ground move which would allow you to stomp your board down when you are in the air if there is a rail or something below you. I like this idea and when it works it is cool, the problem is that it does not work all of the time. Actually, most of the controls do not work all the time as they should! This is a series that was so much fun to play mainly because the controls were so great, fluid, easy to get to grips with and hard to master. The controls that Tony Hawks - Pro Skater 5 has are just not fun at all.

No Personality

The whole game just has a real lack of polish, but worse than that is the lack of personality. You can clearly tell that this is a game that was thrown together as quickly as possible. As a matter of fact, the version you can buy on disc for PS4 and Xbox One is so bad that you cannot even download the patch that the game requires to unlock all of the content that is supposed to be there.

For me personally, Tony Hawks - Pro Skater 5 is one of the most disappointing games of all time. It is a real shame how this once amazing series went out. It is the kind of game that is so bizarre that I actually do recommend you play this so that you can actually see it is as bad as everyone says!

3/10

Pros:

• It has Tony Hawk on the cover
• The stomp the ground move is a cool idea
• Each level has a special thing about it which was a good idea
• Riley Hawk is in the game
• Makes for an interesting conversation piece in your collection

Cons:

• The game is flat out broken
• Such a shame the series went out like this