Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2x

The first two entries in the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series have seen a fair share of remasters, including the amazing Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 and the unimpressive Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD. What fewer people may know about is Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2x, an original Xbox launch title and port of Pro Skater 2 that also includes all of the levels from the original Pro Skater plus five new ones. While I didn’t initially pick this up when seeking out the main titles in the series, it was on my radar, and so decided to pick it up upon finding a copy in the wild so I could check out the new content. I’m glad I did play it, since it turned out to be superior to the original release in just about every way.

The gameplay is similar to that of the original PS1 version of Pro Skater 2, including the cash-based system used in the campaign and the annoying Big Drop mechanic where you automatically bail after falling from a great height, though going from a PlayStation controller to Xbox can take a little getting used to if you played that one first. The d-pad is the biggest difference, however I actually found it a little easier to pull off more advanced grab tricks with the Xbox controller, making them my go-to for Competition levels since I could very easily rack up a high score. As an extra bonus, while the controller vibrates differently on grass and water much like the PS1 version, the controller also vibrates like mad when you’re close to an in-game speaker, creating an extra layer of immersion.

The basic gameplay is similar to the original Pro Skater 2.

While this game does boast all of the aforementioned levels, not all of them are available at the start. Fittingly, the Pro Skater 2 campaign is available at the start, but you need to go through some hoops to unlock the rest. Once you place in every Competition in the Pro Skater 2 campaign (labeled TH2), you unlock the Pro Skater 2x campaign (labeled TH2X), which comprises three of the exclusive levels (Club, Construction Site, Skate Park), one of which is a Competition. Following this, you must complete at least six objectives and place in the Competition, after which you can play the entire Pro Skater 1 campaign (labeled TH1). To unlock the other two exclusive levels (Subway, Sky Lines), you must also complete every objective in the Pro Skater 2x and Pro Skater 1 campaigns, and while it can be worth the effort to unlock them to get the full experience, their complete lack of any objectives of their own can potentially diminish the replay value depending on your perspective. While the five original levels are exclusive to this release, Skate Park would actually later be recycled as part of the larger Tampa level in Underground 1.

The inclusion of the Pro Skater 1 levels and campaign is a great idea, since the Xbox was not a thing when the game originally came out, so it gives Xbox players a chance to experience it. However, since you unlock them after completing the Pro Skater 2 and Pro Skater 2x campaigns, it is very likely that your chosen skater will be at max. stats by the time you start playing the Pro Skater 1 campaign, especially since the Pro Skater 2x goals give you an obscene amount of cash to top off your stats and boards, making the levels a total cakewalk to complete. Even if you switch skaters first to start at zero, the Pro Skater 2 control scheme makes the Pro Skater 1 levels far easier than they were originally, and unlike the later Pro Skater 1 + 2, nothing about the level goals was adjusted to compensate.

On a technical level, the original Xbox is a bit more powerful when compared to the PS1, and this port takes full advantage of that fact. The environments and character models have much greater detail when compared with the PS1 originals, including much better draw distance that allows you to see some levels such as Streets and New York as originally intended. There’s also some new bloom effects that make the world feel more alive, as well as a motion blur effect that you can freely toggle. The menus have also been redesigned from the PS1 version, but in a way that gives the game its own identity and allows the extra levels to not feel out of place.

With the graphical upgrade also comes some visual differences. One major difference that has no real effect on gameplay is that the wall directly behind the player in the starting area of the Hangar has been replaced with a small control room you can skate in, and jumping out the window results in a Big Drop and a respawn. The LOVE sculpture in Philadelphia, which previously read “THPS”, also now reads “TH2X”, a minor but fitting change for this release.

A new area has been added to the Hangar.

One other alteration, likely due to licensing, is the product placement found in the game. Specifically, much of the product placement found in the first two games, such as the Marvel logos in Pro Skater 2 and the prominent Mountain Dew logos in Pro Skater 1, has been replaced with even more prominent Taco Bell product placement and somewhat less prominent Nokia logos. This even extends to plastering Taco Bell logos where there were none before and even replacing some original signage, including converting the generic Snak Boy snack stand in New York into a Taco Bell (though a menu that could easily have been replaced with a Taco Bell menu is instead simply another Taco Bell logo). That aside, the Treyarch logo can also be seen plastered in places, on account of them being the developer, and advertising for their then-upcoming game Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer can be found in some places, including a billboard in Sky Lines and replacing the Pro Skater 1 game boxes at the end of the Mall with Pro Surfer game boxes. Finally, as a clever detail, the lights in the Club include the Treyarch and Xbox logos.

The soundtrack for this game is the same as the original PS1 version of Pro Skater 2, and playing this new port didn’t change my opinions much. For completeness, I will reiterate my favorite tracks, which include “Bring the Noise” by Anthrax and Public Enemy, “You” by Bad Religion, “Blood Brothers” by Papa Roach and “When Worlds Collide” by Powerman 5000. I will also mention that the Club level includes its own song that supersedes the soundtrack, one that sounds like one you’d hear in a dance club setting, and thankfully it’s really good.

With its graphical upgrades from the original release and the amount of new content, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2x is the ideal last-gen way to experience the first two Pro Skater games. Those that have not played the original games will find a lot of great value here, while those who have may not get as much out of it aside from new levels and improved visuals. If you’re only interested in the modern experience, then you want Pro Skater 1 + 2.