Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5
Developer(s)	Robomodo Disruptive Games[1] Fun Labs[lower-alpha 1][2]
Publisher(s)	Activision
Series	Tony Hawk's
Engine	Unreal Engine 3[3]
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3 PlayStation 4 Xbox 360 Xbox One
Release date(s)	PlayStation 4, Xbox One NA: September 29, 2015[4] AUS: October 1, 2015 EU: October 2, 2015[5] PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 WW: December 15, 2015[6][7]
Genre(s)	Extreme sports
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 is a skateboarding video game in the Tony Hawk's series developed by Robomodo and Disruptive Games, and published by Activision.^[8] The game is the tenth game in the series, being the first main entry in the series since 2007's Proving Ground. Astonishingly, unlike previous games in the Pro Skater series, this title was not released on any Nintendo systems, nor was it released on the PC. The game was released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on September 29, 2015. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released on December 15, 2015 in North America and Europe, after they were delayed to improve the original versions.

Upon release, the game received negative reviews (especially in comparison to its predecessors), with many critics panning the game for its numerous technical issues, simplistic missions, bland environments, environmental clipping, and physics issues. The game's environments were criticized for their poor aesthetics, unmemorable theming, small size, dull challenge tasks, and for not containing as many hidden secrets as those in previous Tony Hawk games. The nature of the game's online modes were criticized for providing little incentive to players and exacerbating the game's performance issues. Patches have since been released to fix the game and add new content.

Gameplay

Like previous installments of the series, Pro Skater 5 features a list of playable professional skateboarders to play as, as well as offering players the ability to customize their own skaters. The game features "Create-A-Park", a feature last seen in 2005's American Wasteland. Created parks can be shared to the online community.

The game features a selection of levels based on real-world locations, as was the case with previous Tony Hawk titles. These levels feature multiple objectives, missions, obstacles and gaps for the player to discover, complete and compete. This may be in offline single-player, or online in either co-operative or competitive multiplayer gameplay. The game is also believed to feature a character "level up" system, which will allow the player to progress through the course of the game, both online and offline, in a "seamless" transition of play. The level will carry from single-player to multiplayer and vice versa.

Development

On November 7, 2014, Hawk confirmed that a Pro Skater console sequel was in the works.^[9] Updated news came from Hawk's appearance at Sony's CES conference in January 2015, where the skater stated that a new game was "much further along than he anticipated" and would be coming to the PlayStation 4 console at some point during 2015.^[10]

In an article published on May 5, 2015, Game Informer revealed that Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 will be the title for the next game, setting both the name and direction of the series in concrete. The game utilizes Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3 and will be released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One later in the year, and PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions will follow soon after. The game is said to blend the old school mechanics of the game with new twists like power-ups and projectiles. The game boasts a new set of levels "packed with objectives and missions [that] you can complete solo or with friends via online co-op and competitive play".^[11] Players will be able to "level up" their character, play online or offline and create skate parks that can be shared with the rest of the world. The game will feature many professional skaters, old and new, with Tony Hawk returning as the title character, as well as "a new generation of skaters influenced by the original titles".

In an interview with GameSpot at E3 2015, Hawk stated that Robomodo consulted with some former Neversoft employees to ensure that the gameplay felt like the original Pro Skater titles.^[12]

On August 5, 2015, two months before the game's official launch, Activision revealed that the game's artstyle has been changed to a more "vibrant" style.^[13] Activision marketed it as a "marked upgrade" of graphics,^[14] and explained that the change was made to allow the game to have a more consistent frame rate.^[13]

The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were originally set for November 10, 2015 release date.^[15] On October 22, 2015, Activision delayed the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions to an end of 2015 date due to development resources dedicated to fixing the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions.^[16] The North American release date of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 ports of the game has been moved to December 15, 2015 in North America.^[6] Due to an upcoming licensing deadline^[17] and the length of time it takes for a retail disc to be manufactured and shipped to stores, Activision shipped the game with a bare minimum of features, hoping to add the rest of them with a launch day patch. Because of the rush to get the discs manufactured the launch day patch ended up being larger than the game itself,^[18] however the game's release on the Xbox 360 and PS3 has the patches for bug fixes already on the disc.

Patch

On November 25, 2015, an update was made available for both versions of the game. This update addresses many of the bugs, as well as adding two new levels: a western level, and a slalom subway station level. Musician Tyler, the Creator and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were added as playable skaters, along with new multiplayer modes, and graphical fixes.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores Aggregator Score GameRankings (XONE) 39.38%[19] (PS4) 32.96%[20] Metacritic (XONE) 38/100[21] (PS4) 32/100[22] Review scores Publication Score Destructoid 5/10[23] Edge 2/10 [24] EGM 3.5/10[25] Game Informer 6.5/10[26] Game Revolution [27] GameSpot 3/10[28] GamesRadar [29] Giant Bomb [30] IGN 3.5/10[31] OXM (US) [32]

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 was panned heavily by critics upon release,^[33][34][35] with many criticizing the numerous technical issues, simplistic missions, bland environments, and the new Slam mechanic. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the Xbox One version 39.38% based on 13 reviews and 38/100 based on 17 reviews^[19][21] and the PlayStation 4 version 32.96% based on 27 reviews and 32/100 based on 43 reviews.^[20][22] It has the fourth-lowest average score of any PlayStation 4 title^[36] and the fifth-lowest average score of any Xbox One title.^[37]

IGN awarded it a score of 3.5 out of 10, saying "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5's rare moments of nostalgic joy are drowned out by its abundance of faults."^[31]

Edge awarded the game 2/10, writing "THPS5 is an insult to its history, to its licensed skaters and sponsors, to modern hardware, and to anyone who plays it."^[24]

The game was called the worst video game of 2015 by Entertainment Weekly.^[38]

GameSpot gave the game a 3/10, saying that the game was "riddled with technical glitches and design missteps, making it a huge step back for the series." ^[39]

Some have also criticized the game for being released on only a few platforms, as previous installments of the series prior to the fifth title have also been available on Nintendo systems and/or the PC.

Notes

References

External links

• Official website