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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' was designed with YouTube in mind
Secrets have always been a big part of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. However, when players get stuck trying to find Easter eggs in any game now, they don't turn to glossy strategy guides like they did in the 1990s and early 2000s -- they open Twitch or YouTube on their smartphone. Developer Robomodo had this in mind when creating Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5. Lead designer Patrick Dwyer says that his team's tucked away the hidden skateboarding DVD -- a series staple -- pretty well this time around and that's a direct result of how the community responded when the studio released Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD back in 2012. "The day it came out there were videos of how to beat all of our missions," he says. "How's that possible? It's weird hiding stuff knowing that."
'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.
These are your favorite video game soundtracks
Not that long ago we published a list of the Engadget crew's favorite game soundtracks. But, of course, we left some of your favorites out. Well, we listened. What you'll find below are a selection of soundtracks that y'all made impassioned pleas for in the comments and on Facebook and Twitter. The big takeaway? You gals and guys really like the music from Eastern-developed games like Chrono Trigger and Shadow of the Colossus. You'll find those along with other, perhaps more modern, examples as well.
