If you have played any of the previous games in the Tony Hawk series then you’re probably familiar with how each new one goes. For the most part, each new Tony Hawk game adds a few new gameplay elements and better graphics. Project 8’s graphics are the best for any Tony Hawk game so far, but that is to be expected. The main new gameplay feature they added is called “Nail The Trick.” Nail The Trick is probably the best addition to the Tony Hawk series in the last 4 or 5 versions. It allows you to make up your own tricks as you play. When you are in the air, to enter Nail The Trick mode, you just click down on both the left and right thumb sticks. Each thumb stick then controls one of your legs. It takes a little practice, but once you get it the hang of it you can make some really great tricks. After playing for a few hours I was using the Nail The Trick mode without even thinking about it. It is an exciting addition to the normal tricks that can be performed.

Some of the other changes they made take a little more getting use to. The stat system has been changed. Instead of getting stat points by skating over them you now increase your stats by doing that specific action. So, to get my grinding stats up I have to grind more. The more I grind the more that stat goes up. At first I found this really frustrating, but once you get about half way leveled up it started to go a lot faster. This makes it easier to do bigger tricks to balance out the more difficult challenges later in the game.

These two areas of improvement are fine once you get use to them, but the one thing that I continue to have trouble with is with getting a clean landing from my tricks. Sloppy landings seem much easier to do. They made it harder to get a clean landing. In past Tony Hawk games they would give you a little leniency when you land if you were not perfectly strait. Now if it is not perfectly strait you get a sloppy landing, or even fall down, when landing at angles that use to be acceptable. The other thing I’m continuing to find frustrating is Focus mode. Focus mode slows down time so you can be more accurate with your tricks. However, to enter Focus mode you click down on the left thumb stick. I really wish they had mapped this to the left bumper instead because I an always accidentally clicking down the left stick. In past Tony Hawk games the focus mode was turned on in the same way, but they did not have the Nail The Trick mode which also uses clicking on the thumb sticks. I know there are only so many buttons on the controller but putting two different actions on the same button is a bad idea.

One suggestions I have for future version is to allow me to import my character from the previous game saves. It gets a bit old recreating the same skater each time a new game is released. Obviously, I could not keep all my full stats from my previous game’s skater, but maybe just give me a give a stat bonus based on previous character. Something like 1 stat point for every skill that my character had completely maxed out would be fine.

The one thing they finally got right is the load times. There are none once the game starts up. The whole game is one giant level with different sections unlocking as you progress. In American Wasteland they attempted to do this, but it did not really work because the different portions of the map were connected with long, boring hallways. In Project 8 the different portions of the level all connect together seamlessly. It is nice to see that they can make improvements like this on the newer consoles.

Overall, I’m enjoying Tony Hawk Project 8. The goal in the game is to move up from being the 200th ranked skater to being the best. I think I’m about 30th right now, but I’m moving up at a pretty decent pace. I’d recommend this game to anyone who is a fan of the Tony Hawk series or anyone interested in a skateboarding game. The advancements they have made since the early Tony Hawk games are amazing. If you were never really into skating games Project 8 is a great place to try the water.