A massive mechanical step forward for the series which is dramatically held back by the maps. I think Neversoft must have figured that with all the extra mobility and options for combo extensions the skating mechanics in THPS3 afford the player, they could make maps with much less clear lines and obnoxious hidden objects that make traversal and finding goals very difficult. This results in an experience that is generally much more competent than the previous two games on its surface, but which gets held back by maps that barely feel like they're meant to be skated on (much love for Airport, though).

I love this one less than I remembered, but it's still a good time and worth a play. To see this series at its best, though, you'll want to check out the masterpieces THPS4 and the much more recently released THPS 1+2.