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Tony Hawk's Underground 2: World Domination Tour - Australian Review (Reviews)11/01/2005 11:15:19
For many gamers, THUG2 is going to be a bitter disappointment. After a year of toiling away on the original THUG - finding every rail, nailing every gap and busting every move - fans are well and truly primed for the next evolutionary step in the legendary series. A series so iconic, it spawned an entire genre. But what do you get? Certainly not an evolution, in fact, World Domination Tour comes across like a third-party expansion pack: a money spinner keen to grab some of that Christmas green. And what are we going to about it - heck, we'll buy it anyway. That's because some Tony, is better than no Tony at all and the core gameplay in THUG2 is still as winning as it ever was. You can still bust out huge airs, nail ridiculous special moves, grind just about anything and combine all of these things into mind-bending combos. There are new moves to discover and enjoy of course, but for the most part, all the manoeuvres that you mastered in THUG transcend into the gameplay of its sequel. If anything, the moves are easier to nail (looking at you, boneless). In fact, veterans will charge through the opening goals and 'stat-up' with the ease of a sharp knife cutting through hot shit on a warm day. Thus, THUG2 doesn't pose too much of a challenge for skilled gamers, a fact that is compounded by the lame storyline. When the game begins, you're kidnapped from your local ramp, thrown into a van and taken to an unknown place where a man in a clown mask waves a chainsaw in your face. It turns out that the perpetrator is just Jackass freak Bam Magera trying to be funny. He and Tony Hawk have entered a wager whereby two teams - one led by Bam, the other by the birdman - will battle it out across six-international cities, with the losing team having to pay for the jaunt. It's weak to say the least, and it certainly doesn't demand your attention and continued gaming like Eric 'the biggest prick in gaming' Sparrow did in THUG. And where the original was far more articulate in the way it led you through the gameplay experience and through the trick methodology, THUG2 searches aimlessly for a reason for progression by simply slapping objectives across your forehead. Neversoft just don't seem to have their heart in it. At least the 'team' story brings about a change in the interface and gameplay progression. You can now switch between three characters (yourself, a chosen pro and a special guest) as you try to beat enough goals to move onto the next city. Realistically, this does nothing more than create an illusion of strategy, but for some different it's kind of cool.
Plot and gameplay progression aside, most gamers will simply enjoy taking their THUG skills through another six levels of rails, gaps and secret areas and, thankfully, the cities deliver. There is plenty of focus on building entry and secret areas, as well as a smorgasbord of spineless, ramp-to-ramp and multi-grind scenarios. Those who have travelled abroad will also recognize each cities signature landmarks, such as the Gaudi architecture in Barcelona. There is nothing brand-spankingly original about their design, but veterans and newbies alike will have an enjoyable time tearing the joint to shreds. But, in truth, that was a given. New features come in the form of the freak out and focus-control. The freak out is a gameplay mechanic much like the attitude button seen in Top Spin. As soon as you bite the concrete, a bar comes up with several markers along it. You then tap a button as fast as you can to raise the bar and depending on where it ends up, you chuck a related spaz (see, snap board over head, throw it away etc.). This is pretty cool as first, but dies in the arse after about 10 minutes. As for the focus-control, when you reach 'special', you can enter a slow-mo time whereby you can nail tricks and balance with greater success. This, it must be said, is pretty wicked, but seeing that it was derived from what was originally a cheat in previous Tony games, it does make proceedings quite easy for veterans.
Speaking of new features, you would think that two that were shakily introduced in THUG, would have been given a quality overhaul. Nope. The former still suffers from some camera and control issues, but at least it does continue to bring an exciting element to level navigation. The vehicles, however, still suck. The physics are just plain ludicrous. In the first mission, for example, you get onto an engine-powered Scooter and begin flying off, over and around the level like a pinball. On some weird perverted level it is entertaining, but for the most part is it stupid and does little for the games credibility. It's just a further indication of Neversoft's apparent boredom with the Tony concept. There are some nasty glitches in the presentation; invisible walls that prevent you from making seemingly simple transfers, no end-of-map barriers, physics that have you taking gravity defying angles on curved obstacles, NPCs gesturing at the wrong times, a camera that will get lost in between structures, missions that never initiate and collision detection that allows Tony and crew's heads to pass through solid concrete. Add some very graphically-dated cut-scenes and you're left thinking that THUG2 is simply the B-Side of the original. So how should gamers respond to THUG2? The majority of new gameplay features do positively elaborate on the core THUG experience, but there is an alarming lack of effort in their refinement. With Tony Hawk, gamers have an expectation for greatness that simply isn't matched by World Domination Tour. So buy THUG2 - enjoy it! - but have a shower afterwards.
Score = 8.0/10
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