Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5 Review: Gameplay Videos, Features and Impressions

Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5 (THPS5) feels like an old-school skating video game. That's a good and bad thing. Many of the controls are simple to use and easier for a novice to pick up. Before you know it, you'll be pulling off sick moves. Unfortunately, in the same time it takes you to get acquainted with the controls, you'll also be seeing some of the game's many flaws.

Collision detection is the first that springs to mind. Largely it plays like an early build of a game that hasn't had all of its features added or been completely tested for bugs.

Your skater can careen into objects to create some pretty amazing spills, but there's also a lot of instances where the impact doesn't appear to match the circumstance. For example, I set up a few ramps in the park creator feature that were stacked on top of each other.

As I skated toward the contraption, I attempted to ollie onto the ramp. The slope was too high, but instead of knocking me back, the game appears to skip frames and it magically places me on the ramp. In other situations, there's odd clipping sequences where your skater's head goes through the ground.

There are also several instances where the rag-doll effect was taken to a new level, and it's not flattering. This is primarily what drags the game down more than anything.

Visually, it's also underwhelming.

image provided by Activision

While it's not the next-generation graphical abomination that we saw from some games when the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One initially dropped, it is, however, not on par with the best-looking games we see released on a monthly basis. One might ask, does THPS5 look better than Skate 3, which released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 five-plus years ago? The answer would be yes, but only slightly.

If you've ever played Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions for Xbox 360 or PS3, you'll probably recognize some distinct similarities in the artistic approach in the game. It looks as if everything in the game was touched with a light cartoon filter. Not enough to make things pop like Borderlands, but just enough to make you wonder if this was supposed to look realistic or cartoonish.

Some may like the visuals as they hearken back to the glory years of the franchise. The sad part is, THPS5 doesn't do enough to build on the appeal of the iconic series. 

This version also suffers from a slim set of options. When you're reading what's in the game from a preview packet, it seems a lot more robust than it is. When you begin to play and navigate through the different options, you see there's really not much there in the way of depth of modes.

There's a park creator, which is pretty solid. It has a wide variety of props, ramps and other objects. The coolest aspect of this feature was that you could create and skate as you go. You don't get placed on a boring map-creation screen while you place your objects.

You're live creating the park and able to switch back to your skater with a touch of a button. This way, you're able to test out your creation right there on the spot. Quite honestly, this aspect of the game gave me the most enjoyment. 

image provided by Activision

The online multiplayer mode is supposed to be a meet-greet-and-compete experience. Instead, it's just a spot where there are tons of skaters but little interaction because the co-op missions don't promote it. Secondly, the competition aspect in the online multiplayer is especially disjointed. It's hard to determine if you're actually competing against the other skaters or what.

Overall, this game feels rushed and loosely put together. Gamers that are in search of a great virtual skateboard experience for thew PS4 or Xbox One aren't likely to find what they seek in THPS5.

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 Xbox One version used to complete review.

Review Score: 4.25 out of 10