Gameplay beats Graphics - 8/10

In the midst of Project 8's release in Australia for the Xbox 360 another Tony Hawk game went fairly unnoticed. This game was Gt Pro Series *joke* Downhill Jam.

Looking at screens makes you not want to buy this game because of its graphics and many wonder why the heck would you control a skateboard with steering wheel like actions. I will now review this great sport/racing game for Wii. I'll go through the areas of Presentation, Graphics, Sound, Gameplay and Lasting Appeal (same format as IGN cos it works).


Presentation
The game lends itself to a 'rock is cool' sort of look. Presentation is one area of the game where it fails. It looks cheap and nasty. But at the same time easy to understand and navigate. Menus are handled with the D-pad because you hold the controller like that in play (on the side ' NES ' Style). No pointer functions are available.

The characters include Tony Hawk, Budd, Ammon, Jynx, Kyla, Gunnar, Tiffany, MacKenzie, Crash, Kevin and the 'Unkown Skater' (Armondo Ootbagh) Each woth their own style and way of talking.

Graphics
For the most part Downhill Jam looks last-gen and only standard last-gen at that. It has many bugs where characters end up at the winning screen stuck in or on something. One positive aspect is the detail put into the characters look and style which I highly commend. Luckily 480p and 16:9 are included but crisper visuals would of made the graphics 'better'. (Great descriptive words)

Sound
This is a fantastic aspect of Tony Hawk with 40 licensed tracks, you can switch between during play. I found the voice work pretty darn funny even though it was kinda lame. (Tiffany: Your so in love with Tony Hawk 'LOL") Sound effects were okay with clang sounds of hitting stuff coming out of the Wii Remote.

Gameplay
This is were Downhill Jam obliterates Project 8. It is so much fun the steering wheel style works and doing spins is a breeze, flips are a bit harder though. The Single Player ' Downhill Challenge' uber fun with many different modes to try out. There is a great sense of speed which is essential for racers. It is very much like SSX with a boost bar increased with tricks and SPECIAL tricks can be achieved by filling it.

Lasting Appeal
The Downhill Challenge will keep you going for a while and you can redo it with any of the characters to unlock more costumes.
Obviously it does not support online or LAN play which would of been good. But it does support up to 4 player splitscreen. With all the modes from the Challenge plus more.

Overall Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam is a solid launch game and solid sport/racer. I recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed the SSX series because it is the same thought only with skateboards.



BUY IT!!!!

Submitted by Old_Wiizer 22/01/2007 225 3

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More Info:

Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam

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