So you probably have your hopes high that the Tony Hawk game for the Xbox 360 will meet your mind-blowing expectations. I know what you're thinking- you want a power drink-fueled run with the Hawkster to the point that you're careening from empty pool to empty pool, seeking out the ultimate zen in tricks, and somewhere in the transition, you want him to skate right over the camera so you can see the trucks in detail, as if he was about to smack you in the face with them. Well...you won't get that this year.

Instead, you'll get Tony Hawk's American Wasteland, Activision's series debut for the Xbox 360. That's not to say it's a bad game, because it certainly isn't. In fact, the series shys away from the somewhat mulled-over direction it's taken with the Underground games and given it a kick in the ass, as it needed, to get gamers interested again. But those who thought Tony Hawk would grow to this machine as he did when he first moved to the PS2 with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, get ready to be a little disappointed.

The game is quite simply a port of the fun console game that's out now for the GameCube, PS2, and Xbox. You take control of one of five pre-chosen skaters in Story Mode and then lead them on a series of tasks in the wide open California area, separated by cities and different areas to explore. The neat trick that Neversoft's pulled off is that the game has zero loading time, and that's a fact that holds up nicely here, so you can keep in the grind without hitting the kind of thing that forces a game to halt in its tracks for several seconds.

The characters you can choose from are a wily bunch, each with their own attributes. But this character choice is limited, as the Story Mode doesn't allow you to imply your own being and skate with them. I don't see the point in that, especially after Tony Hawk's Underground let me trash around the neighborhood with a blonde in a tube top. But if Story Mode's not your speed, then the returning Classic Mode will be, where you can rip through previous Tony Hawk levels, completing old and new tasks scattered about.

The game also has customization in other areas as well. You can create your own skate park, modify your own trick, etc., giving the game a much needed addition of depth. Is it anything new? No, not really, but it is filled with substance, and with a game like this, it's a welcome addition that many will want to fiddle around with.

Continue...