Previewed: August 13, 2007
Previewed by: Mark Smith

Publisher
Activision

Developer
Neversoft Entertainment

Release Date: Fall, 2007
Genre: Sports
Players: 1-?

Screenshots (Click Image for Gallery)

Project 8 was the transition title that moved Tony Hawk into the world of next-gen, and with a solid physics and animation engine in place, the designers are now able to focus on gameplay, story, and creating a totally immersive world in which to skate.

This latest Tony Hawk game is almost more of a lifestyle simulation than a skating sim, and it all starts when you dive into the incredibly in-depth Create-a-Skater. It is definitely an ambitious project that attempts to combine aspects of THUG, Project 8, and even the RPG character stat building and open-world story elements of a game like Oblivion.

Explore three distinct classes of skaters; Hardcore, Rigger, and Street as you also explore the largest game world ever created for a Tony Hawk game. Combining the best (and most popular) elements and landmarks of Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington D.C., you will have unprecedented freedom in creating your own style of skating as well as building grid-free skate parks and stunt tracks for amazing trick lines.

As always, expect a lot of goals covering all aspects of skating. These are not only tied into specific locations and careers, but you can expect to meet up with numerous real-world pro skateboarders who will provide valuable instruction and insight in what should prove to be one of the richest cinematic Tony Hawk experiences to date.

If you loved the Nail the Trick in Project 8 then get ready for 8 new mechanics like Nail the Grab, Nail the Manual, and the incredible Agro Kick that allows you to achieve incredible air using an active-reload system much like that in Gears of War. Once you get the hang of this rhythmic acceleration you can really achieve some amazing speeds, as you fall into beat with the music.

And what a great selection of music you'll have to choose from. Check out these recently announced tracks for Proving Ground:

• !!! – “All My Heroes are Weirdos”
• Airbourne –“ Girls in Black”
• Angels & Airwaves – “Secret Crowds”
• Anglo Jackson – “Motorbike”
• At the Gates – “Slaughter of the Soul”
• Bad Brains – “Banned in DC”
• Beastie Boys – “Electric Worm”
• Blackalicious – “Your Move”
• Bloc Party – “Version 2.0”
• Cursed – “The Hands will Abide”
• Cymande – “Fug”
• Dag Nasty – “Circles”
• Darkest Hour – “Sanctuary”
• DJ JS-1 featuring L.I.F.E. Long & Immortal Technique – “Audio Technician”
• El-P – “Up All Night”
• Folk Implosion – “Natural One”
• Foo Fighters – “The Pretender”
• Fu Manchu – “We Must Obey”
• Funky 4+1 – “Rappin and Rockin the House”
• Future Pigeon – “Gift Tax”
• Gallows – “Come Friendly Bombs”
• Gorilla Biscuits – “Hold Your Ground”
• Jimmy Castor Bunch – “It’s Just Begun”
• Jurassic 5 – “Radio”
• Kittens – “Carpenter”
• Los Abandoned – “Panic-Oh!”
• Lyrics Born featuring KRS-One and Evidence – “Pack Up Remix”
• Maylene and the Sons of Disaster – “Memories of the Grove”
• Motorcity Daredevils – “Bear in the Air”
• Nation of Ulysses – “You’re My Miss Washington D.C.”
• Nirvana – “Breed”
• Oh No feat. J. Dilla and Roc C. – “Move Part 2”
• Paint it Black – “The New Brutality”
• Paris – “The Devil Made Me Do It (Poach a Pig Mix)”
• Percee P – “Throwback Rap Attack (Madlib remix)”
• Pierce the Veil – “I’d Rather Die than Be Famous”
• Pig Destroyer – “Loathsome”
• Reverend Horton Heat – “Baddest of the Bad”
• Revolution Mother – “Come On”
• Roots Manuva – “Chin High”
• Sayvinyl – “That’s Entertainment”
• Silversun Pickups – “Well Thought Out Twinkles”
• Slick Rick – “Children’s Story”
• Smashing Pumpkins – “Tarantula”
• Snapcase – “Energy Dome”
• The Bled – “Starving Artiste”
• The Clash – “Clash City Rockers”
• The Cramps – “Garbage Man”
• The Icarus Line – “Gets Paid”
• The Kooks – “See the World”
• The Octopus Project – “Music is Happiness”
• The Rolling Stones – “Sympathy for the Devil”
• The Sex Pistols – “Holidays in the Sun”
• Twilight 22 – “Electric Kingdom”

Another huge area of improvement is the Photo and Video editing modes. You can now place cameras anywhere in the world and snap photos of your best trick. Submit your photos for judging and get feedback based on composition, the trick, and even your clothing and gear (sponsors) visibility.

The non-linear video editor is extremely powerful, allowing you to record anywhere, anytime, then edit and combine multiple clips adding your own sound effects, change photo filters like graininess, and mix in your own music using advanced beat-map technology that actually rewards you for editing “on beat” with the soundtrack. You can then submit these videos to your chosen sponsor and even post them online for the approval and admiration of your peers.

Speaking of online, the multiplayer is off the hook with an all-new Skate Lounge where you create your own crib and populate it with up to 200 visual rewards earned through story mode. This includes building your own personal indoor skate pad where you can invite others to come and skate on your own creation. The plasma TV’s on the wall will customize to play your sponsor videos, and stereos will play your favorite selections from the game’s massive and authentic east coast soundtrack.

But online goes far beyond the walls of your skate lounge. You can now take part in one of the most requested modes of all times – Online HORSE, as well as Nail-the-Trick Spots, and the new Rigger menu allows players unprecedented freedom in configuring and customizing their own personal online challenges. PS3 gamers will also have competitive leaderboards so you can stack up your scores against the best skaters in the world.

And for all you old-school veterans of THUG, you’ll be thrilled to know that you can relive those golden days of Tony Hawk by finding and playing various arcade machines scattered about the game world. Grab your board and play as your favorite pro skater in the famous Classic and High Score Free Skate modes and checkout the new and totally addicting Hawkman mode.

Tony Hawk Proving Ground is the ultimate evolution of the Tony Hawk franchise. It contains the perfect mix of next-gen technology while holding true to the core skating elements and quality gameplay that has made this the definitive skateboarding title for more than a decade.

Newcomers to the series will find the gameplay concepts easy to learn yet difficult to master, and Tony Hawk veterans will find the game equally challenging as they get to explore new career modes and skating concepts that have been previously unavailable. Proving Ground is going to be the ultimate installment in a long line of Tony Hawk titles and a most-own game for anyone who loves skateboarding.