Gameplay: 9/10
In one word…excellent! The gameplay is almost perfect. The controls are exactly the same as the playstation version, which makes it easy for anyone who has ever played this game before. Because the game is on dreamcast, the dc’s controller makes the action even more fluid and more responsive. The game has just the right difficulty level as well, not too hard, not too easy for beginners. Which means even someone new to the game will be able to complete the warehouse level reasonably fast. There are literally tons of mover to pull off, couple that with your ability to link moves together and the special move that each skater has, there are a lot of points to be had. It is easier to use the d-pad to control your character and pull off spin/grab tricks because it is easier to rotate the character, and you can also use the r-triggers to get extra rotations in mid air. The basic grab tricks are easy to pick up at the beginning but to truly get high scores in the two minute run you must link the grab and flip tricks whilst in mid air then combine them with a grind of some sort, that is how you win gold in the three competitions.

Graphics: 7/10
The visuals in Tony Hawks are good, but not great. You will notice a difference between the dc version and the playstation version. The programmers have improved the graphics to make all the courses sharper and crisp. Also the skaters you play as have been inproved, you can see smaller details on their boards: the wheels are rounder, the design on the board is clearer and the trucks are well shaped. Other than the improvement in the quality of the graphics for the dc version, not much has changed. If it had had no changes from psx to dc it would not be as popular. The levels are exactly the same, but the whole game seems to run faster overall because of the superior power of dc.

Replayability: 9/10
You will be wanting more as you see the credits of activision staff roll. I would say that this game had high replayability because there are ten characters, once you have completed the game, if you didn’t get all golds you can go back and retry the competitions. Or if you did there are still nine players to complete the game with. Plus when you complete the game with a character getting all tapes and golds you unlock officer dick, the fat policeman. He’s not a very good skater on account of his slowness but it is still good to be rewarded for your achievements. When you complete the game with one character and start again with the next it becomes a bit easier because you know the location of the S.K.A.T.E. letters are on some levels or where to find the secret tape. Also you will be trying for ages to get the secret tape on the penultimate level, it’s very difficult!

Overall: 8/10
A great skateboarding game, in fact it is a great sports game. An improved version of the psx game for dreamcast. If you don’t own the psx one then buy this game now. If you do then I still suggest you buy this game to add to your dc collection. Tony Hawk’s Skateboarding has the clear visuals, not as good as some top dc games like shenmue but this game has more fast action. It also has great gameplay, which is very important.

Rent or Buy?
Make sure you buy this game, it is amazing! It is a classic game to add to your dreamcast collection and will keep you coming back to it to complete it again with another character. It will take a little while to truly master move combinations but the beginner can get good scores easily enough. This is the closest you will ever get to skating without actually trying it and making an arse of yourself.