While it's true that Tony Hawk's Pro Skater wasn't the first extreme sports game, it is the revolutionary smash hit that inspired a thousand clones and made extreme sports a bona-fide genre to be taken seriously. Its smooth-as-butter control and goal based gameplay tempted even those who haven't heard of an ollie before to rip up the skate parks. The sequels to the game gradually added more tricks and techniques along with expanded environments that deepened the game. However, it isn't until Tony Hawk's Underground (alternately known as THUG) that we'll see a true overhaul to the series. There are two equally significant updates to the basic structure of the game, so I'll take them one at a time. Instead of reassuming the role of Tony Hawk or any of the other pro skaters, you now start out as a lowly, unknown skater seeking to make a name out of himself and launch into the big leagues. Rather than skating around in isolated parks and striving for seemingly arbitrary goals such as collecting hidden letters, the new story mode involves the tests and tribulations that a real pro skater must face in his journey to the top. You'll have to wow potential sponsors with dazzling tricks a la Amped and enter competitions to prove your worth. Further branches of the story are opened upon successfully fulfilling certain objectives. The other substantial innovation to the series is that the skaters can get off their boards for the first time and walk around on foot. This converts the game to an adventure some of the time as players can now climb ladders to the top of buildings or drive cars around (amazingly enough). The essence of the game is still in skating, and so the basic mechanics of grabs, ollies, manuals, and flashy kick-flips are still intact. What the free roaming nature allows you to do now is discover previously unreachable platforms and search for better lines for trick combos and continuous grinds. Cars will be put to good use in THUG. Skaters can skitch onto the backs of cars for a quick boost in speed and launch into a half-pipe to immediately start pulling off high-caliber tricks. They will also be available to drive around in, although their function in this mode is still uncertain. Perhaps they will clear new routes to skate, i.e. ramming down a fence or two? Tony Hawk has always been known for its extensive customizable features, and Underground is no exception. The most notable capability is the option to import your own face onto the face of your custom skater. So far, this seems to be a PS2-only feature that requires the Network Adapter, but the procedure is quite simple. You just email a picture of yourself to Activision, who will host it on their server and let you download to the memory card. Bam! You're instantly in the game. The ever popular level creator has returned, only kicked up ten notches. Besides the traditional half-pipes and ramps to populate your custom park, now you can add skyscrapers, grass, and freeways at your whim to create a virtual city. The many additions in scenery allow you to create a park that feels more "alive" rather than the somewhat static courses of previous games. Players can also create and name their own radical tricks. THUG hits in less than a month, so get ready for the rebirth of extreme sports, a genre that admittedly has run out of ideas. Tony Hawk was the original innovator, and it continues to revolutionize the genre. Already, extreme sports are following the new style (SSX 3: Out of Bounds for instance). Expect plenty more to come.