Skateboarding Legend Tony Hawk has starred in plenty of videogames, but none as exciting as Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam for the Nintendo Wii. Activision and developer Toys for Bob created a completely original product streamlined to use the Wii's motion sensitive capabilities, and although the game lacks depth, it provides plenty of good times. Unfortunately, they come with a ridiculous $49.99 price tag.
Previous Tony Hawk games drop the user into a sandbox environment, allowing them to explore and skate at will. For Downhill Jam, Toys for Bob stripped away this design and replaced it with a downhill racing component that mirrors Incog Inc.'s exquisite PlayStation 2 game, Downhill Domination. Players blaze downhill through all types of terrain, the goal is to beat everyone else to the finish line. Except in this case, players -- holding the Wii remote horizontally -- steer characters by tilting the controller left and right. In addition, they can also perform tricks by pressing combinations of buttons. Pressing the 1 or the 2 button and then tilting the controller in a certain direction causes Tony and his friends to spin in the air, execute back flips, grab, and pull off more crazy moves. In addition, the developers designed a decent variety of courses loosely based on San Francisco, Edinburgh, Rio, Hong Kong and Machu Picchu. Toys for Bob worked to capture the essence of each location, so expect to tackle the steep streets of San Francisco, sail off mountains in Machu Picchu and explore dank looking castles in Edinburgh, as other riders push and shove each other out of the way and into obstructions such as cars, trucks and pedestrians. Thankfully, punching people along the route clears a path, achieved by pressing 1.
Downhill Jam doesn't come close to matching Downhill Domination's intensity, but it still moves really fast. The game has a wonderful sensation of speed, yet at the same time, the controls are so tight that things rarely get out of hand. Bottomless pits swallow skateboarders every so often, but tracks can be quickly memorized and hazards avoided.
To keep things interesting, several included game types go beyond standard racing. Collision charges players with destroying property for points. Beatdown tests their punching skills by requiring them to hit as many people as possible before crossing the finish line. And Trick challenges them to rack up trick points while sailing through markers that slow down time, thus allowing them to bust out numerous moves in slow motion. However, the game contains more rewards than just high point totals. Finishing first, second or third results in winning gold, silver and bronze crowns respectively, and the game contains 16 skateboards as well as numerous tracks (8 environments and 100 events), most of which need to be unlocked by completing various challenges.
Unlocking most of the game's goodies takes a little over an hour, and thankfully, the multiplayer adds some much needed replay value. Up to four players can compete via split screen; not the most technologically hip way to play, but enjoyable nonetheless. Still, the lack of online support hurts this game. Being able to trash talk people living all over the world would have been really sweet. Instead, Nintendo keeps everyone huddled around a TV, squinting to locate their character among the four miniature screens. Way to represent 1999, Nintendo.
Furthermore, the game features grainy videos of Tony Hawk, lackluster computer generated cut scenes, and GameCube quality graphics. No offense to GameCube, but considering the Wii costs $249.99, Activision should have shelled out some extra cash to make the game look better. The tracks feature plenty of detail, with lots of winding paths, busy streets and semi destructible environments, but when compared to the gorgeous looking Tony Hawk's Project 8, Downhill Jam looks about as good as an ugly stepsister.
Its faults notwithstanding, Downhill Jam is lots of fun. Yet its lack of modes makes it at best a budget priced videogame. Too bad it sells for $49.99. Rent, do not buy until it hits $20-$30.
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