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Tony Hawks Pro Skater series has not had any serious competitors since it was launched in 1999 on the PS1. Throughout the various iterations of the game, the format and the console it resides on, it has sold probably millions of copies - and made Mr Hawk a small fortune no doubt!
In 2007 when Electronic Arts released a small preview of their up-coming Skate game for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, the ground started to shift under the wheels of Mr Hawk and a new perspective on Skateboarding Games was launched onto the market.
In the latest Tony Hawk game, Proving Ground, the format is still very similar to the original, released 8 years ago. Similar control schemes, similar button mashing combos - although worthy additions such as Nail-The-Trick and Nail-The-Grab are now present, much is still the same. The single levels have been replaced by a free-roaming game format where skaters can choose to take on challenges or just skate around finding new areas at their whim. Perhaps they wanted to make a skating game more like real life where you could choose to skate a certain area of a city rather than unlocking new parts or places to visit.
Skate has thrown a pointy stick in the wheels of the Tony Hawk series - and with good reason. For me, the format was dead. Ollieing over drunks, skitching cars and collecting revolving tapes hidden high above buildings was ok a few years ago, but not any more.
Skate comes along with a fresh view on the genre. A different camera angle gives a more realistic view of the game - almost as if you are watching a skate video rather than playing a game and the tricks are more realistic and are often harder to pull off which makes completing them all the more rewarding.
There is still a place for the 10,000 point combo grind-manual-grind-revert type tricks that are achievable in the Tony Hawk series but after the success of Electronic Arts Skate game - they have got a fight on their hands.
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