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Documentary to explore what went wrong with 'Tony Hawk' games
Back in the late '90s, the video games bearing the name of legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk weren't awful. Publisher Activision wasn't a monolith pushing out uninspired, annual sequels across all its franchises either, and in general, it was a happier time in the world. That's where documentary Pretending I'm a Superman: The Tony Hawk Game Story begins. Or, it will begin if it can raise $75,000 on IndieGogo.
Playdate: Grinding through 'Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5'
The reviews are in and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 is... not looking good. When I played the game in Chicago earlier this year, it was fine. There were a few glitches here and there, sure, but it was an early version of the game and that's to be expected. The game crashed a few times, but it wasn't anything like I've seen in various videos that've surfaced online this week. It's a sad state of affairs that games are releasing this buggy and possibly broken even two years into the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One's lifecycle. There is light at the end of this tunnel though: You can save yourself some grief by watching Sean Buckley and myself broadcast the game this afternoon instead of buying it for yourself. What's more, we have four skateboard decks signed by Tony Hawk himself to giveaway! Join us for both starting at 6pm ET / 3pm PT. Winners: Congratulations to Sam G. of Brooklyn, NY, Jonny R of Gastonia, NC, Hongbo S. of Los Angeles, CA. and Vincent L. of Austin, TX!
'Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5': something new, something borrowed
"It's like making a new Star Wars movie," says Patrick Dwyer, lead designer on developer Robomodo's upcoming Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5. "The originals are great and then the rest weren't as good." He's referring, of course, to the high bar set by the first four games in the storied extreme sports franchise as compared to the middling releases that followed. The idea, as Dwyer explains it, is to treat anything that released past 2002's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 as if it never existed. And that's including the horrible pair of plastic skateboard peripheral-based games he worked on: Tony Hawk Ride and its follow up, Shred.
'Tony Hawk's Pro Skater' returns this year and adds... projectiles?
Get ready to Ride again. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 is heading to Xbox One and PlayStation 4 later this year, with Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions slated to launch shortly afterward, Game Informer's June cover story confirms. The game is published by Activision and it's in development at Robomodo, the studio behind 2009's Tony Hawk: Ride, 2010's Tony Hawk: Shred and 2012's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 may bear the series' classic numerical name, but it has a few fresh additions, including power-ups and "the ability to shoot projectiles for specific missions," the site says. Players will be able to create and share skate parks, and the game features online co-op and competitive play. We learned in 2014 that Activision was back in the Tony Hawk game, though details remained vague until today. Considering those details included "projectiles," the veil of mystery makes sense.
The hoverboard has arrived (video)
Let's just hope some Chinese company thinks it's real and "copies" it to make one that actually works.
Sorry, shredders: Tony Hawk's new game is a mobile-only affair
After Tony Hawk's massively popular Pro Skater game series faded into the sunset (and the Ride/Shred series lit that sunset ablaze with nuclear warheads), the world went a few lonesome years without a new Tony Hawk title. 2014 is apparently the year that all changes, as Tony Hawk's back with a new game headed to mobile phones. In a wide-ranging Bloomberg interview, Hawk said, "We are working on a game for mobile devices this year, and we've never gone exclusively that direction yet." While the leaves the door open to a wide variety of genres (Tony Hawk first-person shooter? Tony Hawk match three?), we're betting it's of the skateboarding variety.
Tony Hawk Ride mod actually rides (video)
Face it, you're not still using your plastic Tony Hawk Ride motion sensing game peripheral are you? So why not recoup some of your pride (and $120) by installing your own trucks and wheels and get to pushing some real pavement in the great out of doors? Or skip all that and let someone else explain to the cops that it's not real, "it's only a video game." See what we mean in the video embed after the break.
Activision puts Geometry Wars: Touch, Tony Hawk 2 on the App Store
iPad titles have started appearing on the App Store, and two big video gaming names are there with them. First up, Activision has apparently dropped a copy of the arcade shooter Geometry Wars out there in the form of Geometry Wars: Touch for iPad. Given that we haven't actually played the game yet, we're not sure how they work out the two-stick controls (generally in these games, you move with one stick and shoot with the other), but they are advertising a new game mode, called Titans. Looks fun -- it's a full US$10 app, which might be pricey without trying it, but the Geometry Wars series tends to offer up some fun and addictive arcade experiences. And as predicted, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 is now out on the App Store. It is not an iPad title -- it's only for the iPhone and the iPod touch, but of course it should still run on the iPad in an upscaled mode. This is probably my favorite Tony Hawk game of all time, and while the touchscreen controls may be a little squishier than the old PlayStation buttons, the reviews are great so far. There you go: Two nice, big titles from Activision to kick off the iPad's launch.
Tony Hawk coming to iPhone soon
A leak on Tony Hawk's official Twitter account has revealed this picture, which appears to be Tony Hawk's Pro Skater game being played right there on the iPhone. The tweet that linked to this picture seems to be gone, but it promised that "This is real & dropping soon." If we believe this message, it looks like we may be seeing the seminial skating series on the iPhone in the near future. My Tony Hawk knowledge is far from complete, but that level certainly does look like the hangar level from Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, which was my personal favorite way back on the Playstation 1 (I also played it quite a bit on the PC back in the day). Of course, just because the aforementioned level is in there, that doesn't mean that it's the full Pro Skater 2 (the iPhone version could be a mixup of levels from the previous skating games). However, given the font, and the d-pad and button layout, it does seem that we'll be seeing some old school TH action (as opposed to the recent Tony Hawk Ride debacle). We'll keep an eye on the store and let you know if and when we see something.
Tony Hawk: Ride prototype skateboards employ arcade buttons, duct tape, love
If you managed to catch the last Engadget Show, you inevitably saw our own Paul Miller carve it up a bit on Tony Hawk: Ride. Of course, Mr. Miller is known 'round these circles as a "professional skater," so there's a solid chance he could've handled just about anything the guys and gals at Activision threw his way. The reality of the matter is that not everyone feels safe and secure on something resembling a skateboard, and now we're being let in on the world of prototypes that were used to land on the final design. Within the read link you'll find randomly placed arcade buttons, trucks with no wheels, a terrifying amount of sensors and a comical amount of duct tape. Yeah -- even the whiz kids that make your dreams a reality start with duct tape. Go on, have a peek if you're in disbelief.
Tony Hawk Ride ready to rock indoor tricks in the US (video)
After that false alarm about an October release date, the Tony Hawk: Ride bandwagon was all set for departure on November 17 and that's exactly what's happened. Available for a cent under $120, the new game / peripheral combo will allow players to shimmy, gesture, and ollie their way to (simulated) skateboarding immortality on the PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii. The earliest European availability we can see is offered by Amazon UK, which indicates a December 4 launch for the Queen's isles and a discounted £89 ($149) price. You can check out our own feets-on with that wireless controller right here or, if you so wish, peruse the full PR at the read link. What's not optional, however, is missing the bonus "making of" video for that most radical of peripherals, which we've lovingly prepared for you just after the break.
Tony Hawk: RIDE's skateboard gets FCC'd, USB dongle required for PS3 and Wii
We still gotta wait until November 17th to do our own virtual shredding, but for now you can gaze upon the FCC's well-intentioned (but generally pretty bad) gadget photography of the new Tony Hawk: RIDE skateboard, the filing of which just went live in the commission's database. It shouldn't come as a surprise to owners of Activision's other plastic peripherals from the Guitar Hero series, but PlayStation 3 owners will have to use the bundled USB dongle to connect wirelessly to the console -- Wii, too, according to its user manual, as the usual trick of planting a Wii remote inside the controller isn't available here. Sad and ridiculous, but we can't imagine one dangling receiver will be a deal-breaker for many people out there -- unless, of course, you're able to buy the Xbox 360 version instead. Read - Wii skateboard Read - Wii dongle Read - PS3 dongle
Tony Hawk: RIDE makes official US debut on November 17th
Turns out GameStop's October 13th listing for Tony Hawk: RIDE was just a hair off, to the tune of 36 days or so. Activison Blizzard's sent word today that the skating simulator's official North American launch is set for November 17th -- plenty of time to practice your faux ollies before showing your family some virtual board skills over Thanksgiving meals. Additionally, Europe's now official for November 20th, but we already heard that last week. No word on pricing, but across the pond, GAME.co.uk is pushing that £99 / $168 figure pretty hard, and while we're willing to bet that's the official Europe price, we're not convinced that's any indication of what we'll be paying stateside.
Tony Hawk: RIDE Limited Edition skateboard outed as UK version gets priced and dated
While details aren't 100 percent confirmed for those of us across the pond -- Activision has yet to come out and verify those October 13th / $120 listings -- Tony Hawk: RIDE and its white not-quite-skateboard will be launching November 20th in the United Kingdom for £99.99, or about $168 in US currency. European retailer GAME will be selling a limited edition version of the game, which will sport a red and black skateboard and surprisingly no markup in price whatsoever. You know, it's a good thing the console cycle seems to be extending beyond its formerly four-year pattern, because these plastic peripherals are gonna be doing a number on our bank accounts. [Via Joystiq] Read - Tony Hawk Ride dated and priced Read - Limited Edition listing
Tony Hawk: RIDE's skateboard peripheral turning white before launch
We certainly didn't mind that the Tony Hawk: RIDE board we played at E3 had a charcoal coloring, and that goes double for our feet. Apparently that sentiment isn't shared by the game's director Josh Tsui, who told GamesIndustry.biz that it'll be launched in a "more consumer friendly... [and] iPod-like" white color, which in our minds all but guarantees someone out there's gonna mistake this for a new version of the Wii balance board. Tsui's not shy with praise either, calling the board "the most advanced peripheral on the market." Ultimately, the color isn't gonna matter to us, and with a board-compatible sequel rumored to already be in the works, there's plenty of time to re-release the peripheral in all sorts of attractive palettes -- that'd of course be very iPod-like. [Via Joystiq]
Tony Hawk: RIDE feets-on
Want to humble a videogame journalist? Ask him if he skates and, if he answers with a modest "a little bit," proceed to make him lose his balance and stumble off of your toy skateboard controller. That was the scene seen again and again at Activision's thumping booth on the E3 show floor, and we took our turn to get humiliated on the company's plastic deck, the feature piece of this October's Tony Hawk Ride. It's fun, it's hard, and it's a surprisingly (and somewhat embarrassingly) good work-out.
Tony Hawk's Ride coming to GameStop October 13th for $120
How much would you spend to pull a faux ollie? How about $120? That'll be the damage due according to GameStop where Tony Hawk's Ride game with skateboard peripheral lists for $119.99 with a simultaneous Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3 launch on October 13th. Until then, grab some some griptape and mom's salad bowl and get to practicing.
Tony Hawk's new 'Ride' game includes motion-sensing skateboard controller for shredding your mom's new carpet
We'd heard rumblings that Tony Hawk was working on something with motion controls -- which seems only natural after EA's Skate hit the scene with its intuitive Flickit control scheme, and Shaun White's game put the Wii's Balance Board to good use, both making the Tony Hawk method of arcade-style button mashing feel a little dated. Well, Tony's new Ride is looking to change all that, with a skateboard peripheral that looks like... a skateboard. It's hard to tell from just looking at it how precisely interactive the controller will be -- it seems basic balancing and leaning would be in, while Christ Air-ing your little sister in the face wouldn't go over so well. According to the man himself, Hawk is quite good at the game, and skateboarders should find the transition easy. A promo video is after the break, and apparently on June 2nd we'll be seeing this thing in action.Update: We added another video after the break, including video of the actual board in action. Turns out the motion controls are quite detailed, and in advanced modes even allow for in-place 180s, but nothing seems to involve lifting the board actually off the ground. Grabs can be performed by actually grabbing the edge of the board, with infrared sensors picking up your hand position, and pushing is performed by running your foot along the side of the board. Ollies and flip tricks are obviously going to be a bit different than the real deal, while manuals and steering are pretty much spot on, and apparently there's a lot of choice as to how much "realism" you'd like in controlling the thing. Tony Hawk also sees the controller as a "standard," which could work with snowboarding games, surfing games, exercise games and other assorted cash cows for Activision.[Via Joystiq]
Wiimote and skateboard hacked into a controller, Gator not impressed
Real Virtual Skater is a controller mod that sees a Wiimote liberated from its case and placed inside a box strapped to the underside of a skateboard. Thanks to The Bluetooth, as the player gleams "the cube" (or his "living room", as the case may be) all his movements are used to control his avatar in the magical world of Tony Hawk Pro Skater. Just the thing for a kid that already has the board, the Vans, the Jams, a Lance Mountain t-shirt, and a JFA cassette -- but no real desire to leave his parent's basement. Technical details are few, but we do have a chest-pounding video of the thing in action after the break.[Via Feng Gui][Thanks, Pegasus Unicorn]
Tony Hawk's Motion leads to DS peripheral speculation
Ah, here we go again. With the huge success seen by Guitar Hero: On Tour and its accompanying peripheral, rumors are already swirling that an Activision title by the name of Tony Hawk's Motion could deliver the next great hand occupier. A recent rating (of "G," obviously) was handed down for the elusive game by Australia's Classification Board, leaving many to wonder (read: hope) if said title will eventually ship with some sort of DS-compatible motion control accessory. Considering just how hot these bundled gizmos are right now, we'd say signs are pointing to "yes."[Via DS Fanboy]
