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Tony Hawk’s Underground 2

One of my criticisms of the PSP is… Well, every game they can make for it could just as easily be done on the PS2, and better. It doesn’t help their argument that most of their hit launch titles are entries into old franchises (Wipeout, Twisted Metal, Ridge Racer) that are eerily similar to previous games, and others are even direct ports of PSOne games (Ape Escape, Tales of Eternia). However, Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 Remix holds the distinction of being the very first PS2-to-PSP port, and for better or worse, it fills this role well enough.

If you haven’t read my review of the PS2 version, go ahead and do so now, as THUG 2 Remix is largely the same game, with mostly the same pluses and minuses. The game is still great and packed with a lot to do, the story mode is still ridiculously stupid, and the game still suffers “was better in another THPS game” syndrome (The level design was better in THPS2, multiplayer was better in THPS3, and the single-player campaign was better in THPS4). Really, the only thing being “remixed” here is stuff done to accommodate the switch to the new platform.

For starters, the graphics have been toned down. While still very Nice considering they’re on a handheld, environments feature less detail and characters sport fewer polygons, kind of a disappointment considering the PS2 version wasn’t particularly pretty to begin with. So much for those people that expected “as good as PS2″ graphics.

The game is also missing the PS2 version’s create-a-park mode, online play, and massive online community, arguably the game’s best features. In their place are a few extra locations to skate through and 4-player local wireless network play, nice additions but hardly worth what was sacrificed for them. Also new is the ability to use Jpegs stored on your memory stick as your skater’s face, much more convenient than having to jump through online hoops or buy an EyeToy like the PS2 version.

In addition, other changes were necessitated by the PSP’s lack of second analog stick and fewer shoulder buttons. Players now do without the shoulder buttons to help them turn, and manually changing the camera is done with the left analog stick, but the fact that you can only do this while on your board (and not while doing a caveman), and the fact that the left analog stick also controls your focus, makes trying to work with the camera unnecessarily frustrating, and as a result the camera can often become a horrendous burden. The general controls, too, seem a bit less responsive, although not by much.

Don’t get me wrong here, I know it seems like I’ve been doing a lot of complaining, but that’s largely because THUG 2 Remix is basically the same game we played on our PS2s last year, with all the same flaws, but now with its best features traded in for less impressive ones, and the controls and graphics compromised for the port. While Tony Hawk fans who want to take their game on the go will find this to be the best handheld interpretation the series has ever seen, everyone else will probably be better off with the PS2 games (or heck, go for Tony Hawk 3 or 4, which were overall arguably the best games in the series). If this is any indication of what we can expect from future PS2-to-PSP ports, I have to say my feelings are still mixed. Oh, but not really “remixed”.

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Tags: Tony Hawk's Underground 2

Posted by Jake McNeill on Mar 30th, 2005 and is filed under PSP Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.

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