Home Gaming Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5 is bringing back that classic feel

Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5 is bringing back that classic feel

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THPS5 (1)

Maybe I’m a little too stuck in the past, but some of my happiest gaming memories came from the Tony Hawk Pro Skater games. Busting out some wizard moves, gleaming the cube and other skateboarding lingo, resulted in some great nights and moments with my friends.

Which was fantastic, as my actual skateboarding skills in real life left a lot to be desired. But popping an insane trick and landing it? Priceless. Especially when you were split-screening with friends and seeing who could land the highest of scores.

That’s the sensation that Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5 is aiming for, according to producer Dino Verano, who I grabbed for a few minutes at E3 last week. “What we’re trying to do, trying to bring back that classic feel, the time where Pro Skater was kind of its best,” Verano said.

The classic Tony Hawk Pro Skater controls, focus on high scores, combos. Just a game that’s really easy to pick up, fun to play but incredibly difficult to master.

It’s not all nostalgia however. There’sa  few modern touches being added to the game as well, as Verano explained:

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So one thing that we didn’t have is the ability to push or gain speed manually. But now we’ve added that, so you don’t need to jump up and down anymore to gain a little bit of speed.

You can press R2 or the trigger and just kick your way along. And of course if you add one of those, you have to add a break, so we put that on the L2 and left trigger.

In the classic games you used to automatically consume your special when you git it. And sometimes that left you in an awkward space.

You just got off this big ramp, you just did this big trick and then all of a sudden you’re on the ground, on flat land or between tricks and you have your special meter taken down. So what we want to do is alleviate that by letting you trigger your special meter when you want to.

And that also includes a big focus on online play, in addition to the single-player, with a skate park lobby grouping friends and people together:

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We’re going to be twenty players, multiplayer, online. It’s online by default. You just hop on, you hop into a part and because we’re using dedicated servers, the park is already online your friends may be waiting online for you.

Friday night, plug it all in and we connect together and we hop in together and we play.

Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5 will feature nine levels and ten skaters. Skaters who are the cream of the crop right now:

We have a list of ten. We have to have Tony Hawk. We’ve got a couple classics, we’ve got Andrew Reynolds, we’ve got Chris Cole. And of course, the dominant force in skateboarding right now, Nyjah Huston. He’s huge right now.

Of course we’ve got a couple of cool ones that Tony picked out himself like Aaron Homoki. We’ve got Leticia Bufoni, Lizzie Armanto, David Gonzalez and then also of course Riley Hawk.

And maybe even a few bonus characters, although Verano was being tight-lipped about that one:

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Tony himself may have hinted at the characters that may be in there. Goes by the first name “Richard”. We’re trying to keep it hush hush on who the special characters are, and what might be coming through the pipes.

I genuinely loved my hands on time with the game. It brought out some good memories, of a simpler time in gaming. When the objective was clear and focused. Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5, is hitting all those buttons for me right now. The old meets the new in Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5. And I’m digging that.

Last Updated: June 24, 2015

53 Comments

  1. Awesome, looking forward to this!

    Reply

  2. Captain JJ Browmehn

    June 24, 2015 at 13:34

    They should include a few of the “classic” skaters for good meaure. Rodney Mullen, Bob Burnquist, etc etc. I’m sure Tony himself will be in there, so why not them?
    What will make this game for me as well is good music (I know I could just put on my own in the background, but it’s not the same).

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief's Adventure

      June 24, 2015 at 13:35

      Aye, THPS2 introduced me to some epic bands that I still enjoy today

      Reply

      • Captain JJ Browmehn

        June 24, 2015 at 13:40

        I’m not saying “do what you did before”, but they have to spend some effort on picking a really good soundtrack for it that everyone will enjoy. None of the soundtracks after THPS2 really stood out for me.
        I have a personal list of games (though the games might not have been great), that have had excellent soundtracks.

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief's Adventure

          June 24, 2015 at 13:42

          I rather liked Dave Mirra’s BMX game, as well as the soundtrack

          Reply

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 24, 2015 at 13:43

            I nearly forgot about that one. Wow.
            There was an NFS game here and there that had nice soundtracks too.

          • Admiral Chief's Adventure

            June 24, 2015 at 13:44

            Indeed! Here is hoping for MOAR!

    • Geoffrey Tim

      June 24, 2015 at 13:44

      Rodney Mullen 4 lyf.

      Reply

      • Captain JJ Browmehn

        June 24, 2015 at 13:44

        Fo shizzle!

        Reply

      • The Jackal

        June 24, 2015 at 14:17

        guy was my favourite and is a legend

        Reply

  3. Hammersteyn

    June 24, 2015 at 13:40

    Now I’m a skaterboy!

    Reply

    • Captain JJ Browmehn

      June 24, 2015 at 13:41

      Please don’t entice me to use an awful Avril Lavigne lyric here.

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        June 24, 2015 at 13:41

        XD

        Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        June 24, 2015 at 13:41

        XD

        Reply

      • Dutch Matrix

        June 24, 2015 at 13:43

        I said see you later boi?

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief's Adventure

          June 24, 2015 at 13:43

          Those are Things I’ll Never Say

          Reply

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 24, 2015 at 13:44

            Avril Lavigne is one of the few people who can rhyme “home” with “home”

          • Pariah

            June 24, 2015 at 13:45

            She’s one of the few who can’t.

          • Admiral Chief's Adventure

            June 24, 2015 at 13:45

            At least I’m NOT with you

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 24, 2015 at 13:45

            I don’t know who’s luckier, me or you. 😀

          • Admiral Chief's Adventure

            June 24, 2015 at 13:46

            Oh just Let Me Go

          • Pariah

            June 24, 2015 at 13:47

            But together… The world just seems so small.

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 24, 2015 at 13:48

            Stop it!

          • Pariah

            June 24, 2015 at 13:49

            ~He said, playfully, with a glint in his eye.

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 24, 2015 at 13:51

            LOL

          • Admiral Chief's Adventure

            June 24, 2015 at 13:49

            At least I’m Anything But Ordinary

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 24, 2015 at 13:52

          • Admiral Chief's Adventure

            June 24, 2015 at 13:52

            Are you going to Fall To Pieces?

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 24, 2015 at 13:55

            *dies*

          • Admiral Chief's Adventure

            June 24, 2015 at 13:56

            Seems like a Happy Ending

          • Dutch Matrix

            June 24, 2015 at 13:49

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 24, 2015 at 13:52

            Kill it with fire.

        • Captain JJ Browmehn

          June 24, 2015 at 13:43

          Noooooo!

          Reply

          • Hammersteyn

            June 24, 2015 at 13:54

            Why don’t they just drop it?

      • Dutch Matrix

        June 24, 2015 at 13:43

        I said see you later boi?

        Reply

    • Captain JJ Browmehn

      June 24, 2015 at 13:41

      Please don’t entice me to use an awful Avril Lavigne lyric here.

      Reply

  4. Ranting Raptor

    June 24, 2015 at 13:52

    Awesome! Yes please!

    Reply

    • Pariah

      June 24, 2015 at 13:53

      7 + 3 + 6 = 16
      1 + 6 =?

      Reply

    • Captain JJ Browmehn

      June 24, 2015 at 13:53

      I’m sorry
      I hate to
      But I have to

      that’s what she said.

      Reply

      • Pariah

        June 24, 2015 at 13:53

        You lucky bugger, you. 😛

        Reply

      • Ranting Raptor

        June 24, 2015 at 13:54

        🙁

        Reply

    • Admiral Chief's Adventure

      June 24, 2015 at 13:53

      Here you go (for the nostalgia, refresh)

      Reply

      • Pariah

        June 24, 2015 at 13:54

        You forgot the “You’re welcome.”

        Reply

      • Dutch Matrix

        June 24, 2015 at 13:54

        I just hate you.

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief's Adventure

          June 24, 2015 at 13:55

          Well, he said yes please. But not to what…

          Reply

      • Ranting Raptor

        June 24, 2015 at 15:05

        I hate you

        Reply

  5. Mossel

    June 24, 2015 at 15:07

    So classic it’s also bringn back PS1 graphics.

    Reply

    • TheAnsible

      June 24, 2015 at 16:23

      Ahh come on it looks way better than that. Go back and play TH1 or 2 and get back to me

      Reply

  6. Gardos

    June 24, 2015 at 16:03

    Really excited and all but was that gameplay footage from a Nintendo DS?!

    Reply

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