Preview: Tony Hawk Shred
After the critical (and financial) flop that was Tony Hawk Ride, it's hard not to ask one question about its followup: Why? Well, it's because there was a niche audience that actually liked the game.
According to an Activision representative, the company discovered that the peripheral-based skateboarding game resonated most with children. Kids were able to overlook the game and board's shortcomings -- inconsistent gameplay, uninspired art, its inaccurate recreation of the sport. Recognizing this, developers Robomodo and Buzz Monkey have transformed Tony Hawk Shred into a colorful, kid-friendly, arcade experience. It may not necessarily appeal to older gamers, but I have a feeling that kids will have a lot of fun with Shred.%Gallery-99320%
EA's Skate was a reaction to Tony Hawk's increasing goofiness; and Ride was a misdirected reaction to Skate. Shred completely ditches realism and promises tricks that are physically impossible to do. You will take leaps off buildings, spin in the air and land by slamming a crater into the ground. You will jump and grind between roller coaster-styled rails in levels that would feel at home in a Sonic game. You will crash through windows and bust through doors in a destructive ride through colorful environments.
This was strictly a hands-off demo, meaning it's hard to truly know if Shred is any more accessible than its predecessor. However, an Activision representative told us that some of the algorithms that interpret your motions have been tweaked to be more intelligent and contextual. (For example, the game will generally interpret motion before a rail as a jump.) The level design has been streamlined in Shred, focusing on a largely linear downhill experience. This should make it easier for you to have a better feel for where you have to go, and what you have to do.
The downhill level design also makes it easier to implement Shred's single biggest new feature: snowboarding. While it's conceptually different from skateboarding, in practice it looks exactly the same as the rest of the game. For what it's worth, Shred does add some noteworthy snowboarders from the X-Games, like Travis Rice, Louie Vito and Torah Bright. Of course, we've come to always expect a rather extensive list of sports stars in Tony Hawk games. Shred does add one other very cool feature, though: the ability to import Xbox Avatars. The Wii version will also support Nintendo Miis and include Mii versions of all the featured pro athletes (just like Tony Hawk Ride did).
While it's hard to pass judgment without actually getting some play time, it's easy to say that Activision is taking the board-based Tony Hawk games in a better direction with Shred. The price is a bit easier to manage, with the hardware bundle going for $100 instead of the original $120, and while it may not appeal to every hardcore Tony Hawk fan, the over-the-top arcade gameplay looks far more inspired than Ride.
