DESCRIPTION

The world of competitive skateboarding is a fierce place to earn a living, with hundreds of professionals struggling to build up their careers with the hope of equaling the fame and success of Tony Hawk. In Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 for the Game Boy Color, players join the thrilling trials and tribulations of 12 of the sport's best as they go for the glory, as well as Hawk himself as he tries to maintain his place in the skateboarding elite.

Tony Hawk, world famous skate guru, has been shrunk down to miniature size in a game that attempts to capture the variety and excitement of Neversoft's original PlayStation smash hit, while dealing with the obvious limitations that the portable medium serves up. Rolling into the park for translation duties is Natsume, the same company responsible for the original GBC Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, a game that was met with lukewarm reviews. On the more powerful consoles, gameplay between the first and second chapters of the Tony Hawk saga were very similar, whereas Natsume has completely remade the game for the Game Boy Color, a sign that they've attempted to address complaints about the first title.

As opposed to the first game's overhead perspective, Natsume has employed two other views, and the levels are split between them. Levels appear either in standard side-scrolling format, or in a 2.5D top-down perspective. While each plays similarly to the other, there are definitely different strategic tactics that must be used for each kind. The levels themselves include a school, a street and subway platform, a hangar, skate parks, and the beach, each displaying a variety of objects on which to grind and perform tricks.

The gameplay in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 has been brought more in line with the PlayStation version, where players attempt to complete objectives, which in turn earns them money that they can use to unlock new boards and levels. Four levels are available to the starting player, as well as one board for each of the 13 skaters represented (the entire cast from the PlayStation version is here). During the game, players go for big points by executing a number of tricks and linking them with grinds off of all types of objects, from rails to cars, to score combos. Also present are the S-K-A-T-E letters which gamers will likely be familiar with, and unlike the game's bigger PlayStation brother, these are some of the hardest goals in the game to achieve.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 has a limited number of modes for players to choose from. There is a Free Skate mode that encourages practice in an unlimited amount of time, but the Career Mode is where the real spine of the game is located, and unlocking the levels and boards with all 13 characters is the game's chief replay feature. You can also choose to look at the game's credits, and even print out unlockable pictures from a Photo Album with your Game Boy printer. Multiplayer was present in the first Tony Hawk GBC title, but is absent from this version. ~ Jon Thompson, All Game Guide