I feel like an absolutely insane person looking at the reputation of this game because I simply did not get from it what many others seem to have for so many years.

I think I'll always prefer the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater line of Tony Hawk games, not least because of the nostalgia and emotional connection to them. I think the formula worked better when you were given a large environment with a list of goals to achieve in whichever way you pleased - it allowed for more fun, imagination, and freedom of gameplay. The introduction of a storyline was somewhat unnecessary, not that I'm going to critique the quality of the narrative considering I did not finish it. Unfortunately this story and mission based gameplay loop made for many a forgettable and often downright pointless mission, that was far more prevalent in Tony Hawk's Underground, than memorable and effective gameplay.

I also think that the controls of the player and the board in this instalment are somewhat subpar in comparison to earlier Tony Hawk games, they feel notably more clunky and hard to control, regardless of using either the D-pad or the analogue stick. I also don't like the fact that you now need to actively move the player forward, as opposed to the player moving forward automatically and giving you the ability to stop.

I don't think this is a bad game, by any measure, but it simply doesn't do what I want or expect from a Tony Hawk game, and I would much rather revisit the Pro Skater franchise for my skateboarding fix.

Also whose idea was it to introduce those God awful driving missions? This franchise was clearly not designed around driving mechanics.