Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 (PS5) Review

Gameplay

Graphics

Audio

Value

Summary: A solid remake that doesn't quite stick the landing thanks to some bewildering soundtrack choices

4

I Want Spokesman

To say Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 has successfully got its hooks in me is an understatement.

It’s 2am, I’m hunched over my coffee table, Dual Sense in hand, CKY’s 96 Quite Bitter Beings is blaring from the TV speakers. This next run will be it. I will make that Pro Score. Bam grinds along a rail, he leaps, he hits a Melon, he spins, he’s dashed on the concrete below. But next time, next time I’ll do it.

It’s not often that I’ll play a game all night by accident. It’s a dangerous thing to do in your late 30s. You can’t quite bounce back as you used to; the next morning’s Monster doesn’t hit quite so hard. Your other half is less forgiving, and work even less so.

Thankfully through the bleariness of about four hours sleep gentle reader I am here to present you nostalgic old buggers with a health warning. Tony Hawks 3+4 is hazardous to your now very delicate sleep patterns. Forget remembering half the things you need to do today, your mind will probably be too busy trying to figure out how to grab all the skate letters from Alcatraz without landing straight in the bay.

At their core, Tony Hawk 3+4 are still the same weekend eating, just one more go, delights they always were. Brought slap bang into the modern era with the help of the same technical wizardry that Vicarious Visions used to bring 1+2 to consoles five years ago.

However, unlike their PS2 originals, this latest remake feels like more of the same. Thanks mostly to the additions that helped them push the series forward were first unleashed, either added to 1+2 (THPS3’s reverts) or stripped out entirely (THPS4’s Campaign mode).

What you’re essentially left with is a collection that lives in a weird place. It’s more Hawk, which I’ll always welcome. But it’s the kind of sequel that could easily have been a big expansion to the original.

Classic areas are tweaked and expanded, just like 1+2, there is a whole bevvy of returning and contemporary skaters to choose from, mountains of new gear boards and fun guest characters to unlock, and it looks gorgeous, needless to say, it’s a fun time.

That two-minute loop is still just as compelling, hitting a perfect combo is still just as exhilarating, and that constant sense of momentum with every objective crossed off the life or new shortcut, gap, or combo in every new run is just as engaging and addictive.

But whoever put the soundtrack together this time needs to be loaded into a cannon and fired into a Flogging Molly mosh pit mid Drunken Lullabies.

Do you know who I want to hear when I’m playing Pro Skater? Goldfinger. I want Superman in the original, I want Spokesman in 3. The band is simpatico with the whole series; there are documentaries about how legendary and important the soundtracks of these games are to millions of fans.

My love of punk, rock, and metal was tempered on every last two-minute run of these games. I know music is a heavily subjective thing, but unfortunately, my fears from the Preview were correct. Most of what I would call the bangers from both THPS3 and 4 are missing. There’s no Flogging Molly, Less Than Jake, or Alien Ant Farm, to name a few. Outside of Motorhead, AFI, and CKY (even though they initially cut Bam), if you played the originals, there will be several tracks you would consider essential, missing.

Nobody wants to hear Kendrick Lamar when they’re trying to pull off a 900.

I find it bewildering, considering how much respect and care went into making sure the soundtrack to 1+2 was perfect. This time it seems to be a playlist cut together of half a dozen Pro Skater 3&4 tracks, A couple of legitimate decent new tracks like Hollywoodsucks// and A Foul Form, and whatever random Spotify list the producer had been tinkering with on his way to work.

Thank Goldfinger for that Spotify integration on the PS5 is all I’m going to say.

Final Thoughts

Tony Hawk 3+4 is a solid remake of another pair of superb arcade sports games. Much like their predecessors, it sits in a strange place. After 1+2, you get the feeling that more of the same was the mission, but with reverts already added to 1+2, maybe it would have been better to add the free-roaming campaign elements to 3 instead of stripping them out of 4.

The biggest issue, though, and I know it’s subjective, is the mishandling of the soundtrack. Music is a vital part of the Tony Hawk experience, and especially part of the nostalgic charm of 1+2. By stripping out most of the original tracks (when there was no reason to), it makes the experience feel hollow as a result. A facsimile of Pro Skater 3+4, rather than a solid retread.

There is no denying, though, that it’s still a great time, with plenty to do, that you’re bound to accidentally lose at least a night’s sleep over that, those looking for more Hawk after 1+2 are going to love. (Even if the soundtrack is….ok).

About the Author

Gareth Newnham

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 (PS5) Review