Tony Hawk: Ride

Activision flew out to the Game Informer offices recently and let us get our feet on the reimagined version of the Tony Hawk franchise with Ride. We had about an hour to play the game, check out the board and talk with Robomodo’s Patrick Dwyer, Lead Designer on the game. Both Matthew Kato and myself had time to play and we share our impressions below. We’ve also got a short video interview with Dwyer along with footage of us playing the game.

Nick: When Tony Hawk: Ride was announced, I was a skeptic. I’ve been skateboarding almost as long as I’ve been playing video games. So when I heard that they were making a board to stand on, my mind went into curiosity and caution mode. Ride is definitely a huge departure from the series.

The 1:1 riding focus takes over the hyper combo gameplay that the series was known for. Players will put their balance to the test with this game. Staying on the board is not as easy as you probably imagine. I found myself falling off here and there on the longer balance sequences like long rails or manuals. Like real skating, bending your knees is critical for survival. Lowering your center of gravity will just make life easier.

I tried almost the entire gamut of difficulty settings. Unlike other games like a shooter where the AI just gets harder to kill, upping the difficulty in Ride changes the way you play. On the easiest setting, you just kind of goof off and ride the line. But take it to the hardest level and you need to push, trick and turn in real time or you will find yourself a citizen of Faceplant City.

Kato: One of the things that surprised me about playing Tony Hawk: Ride with its board peripheral is the way it affects your balance. It wouldn't seem like it's that hard to balance on a plank that's just sitting on the floor, but the angled edges on the underside of the board mean that the part of it that is actually touching the floor is only about six or seven inches wide. While this allows you to rock from side to side to carve, for example, I also found myself stepping off the board more than I thought I would as I performed tricks. I've skated for years in real-life, and in some ways a real skateboard is sturdier. Similarly, the minimal distance from the tail or nose to the floor means that holding a manual can be tricky because your balance has to be fairly precise.

The Tony Hawk series has been criticized since its inception because of its fantastic take on skating. While I've always enjoyed the franchise's button-crazy combos, it's also fun to have what you do on TH: Ride's board peripheral translate realistically onscreen. Of course, it doesn't always do this accurately, but you simply can't replicate the sensation of actually pulling off tricks with your feet with a standard controller. Some dangerous stunts you should try at home.

[View:http://media1.gameinformer.com/media/video/2009/tonyhawkfinal/TonyHawkFinalwmv.smil:610:343]
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