submitted: May 11th 2008 | by: Ace | Total views: 2175 | Word Count: 316 | |

This latest Tony Hawk title, the ninth in the series -- unless you count Downhill Jam on the Wii, but lets not -- and the second in less than a year, at times feels more like an addon to Tony Hawk's Project 8 than a full fledged sequel. This game does all the good things that Project 8 introduced to the series, like the "nail-the-trick" mode, but otherwise it doesnt contribute much that one would hope for in a sequel. Still, on a whole, the game feels tightly designed, well executed from a single player design point of view, and generally alot of fun. But you cant shake the feeling that its a dumping ground for ideas that didnt make it into Project 8.
Proving Grounds is set on the grittier East Coast, where skaters (apparently) "keep it real". Your world flows freely through Baltimore, Philly, and Washington D.C. -- the three cities fictionalized as neighbouring stomping grounds. Small world, indeed. Within those confines, you can follow three main career tracks, either one at a time, or concurrently. Each one focuses on an important aspect of the game -- strret style skating, pro competitions, or building your own obstacles to trick off of. The respective missions are so expertly constructed, and flow so naturally, that getting better feels less like a chore, and more like a challenge; its truly a nice development for the series.
If you've never played a Tony Hawk game before, Proving Grounds comes across so well balanced, and feels so smooth that its hard not to reccomend it! But if you've been hooked on the series since '99, then there isn't much new stuff to experience. Regardless, Proving Grounds establishes another great effort by Neversoft, even if it fails to revitalize the genre it practically created. The revolution this year belongs to EA's Skate, but evolution remains Proving Grounds domain.

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