Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (PS)

Was a lot better than I thought, with it bein a ps1 port of a ps2 game. Thoroughly recommend it to anyone looking to have a new perspective on tony hawks pro skater 3.

After playing THPS2 religously, I was really keen to get my hands on THPS3. This is a good game but didn't live up to my (probably extremely high) expectations. I found the levels easy to complete and no real innovations when compared to the second game. I remember spending hours trying to get all the cash in the Bullring, however Tokyo can be finished in one run no problem. Considering the length of time it took to make I expected some improvements from the THPS2 engine. Don't get me wrong though, this game is still worth getting, just don't expect it to be that different from the THPS2 version.

Jump off the ramp with a 360 Flip and land into a Manual. Hold it into the quarter pipe and jump. A Kick Flip followed by a Tail Grab mixed in with a 720 spin, finally finishing off the complex trick combo with a Revert when you land. Wow! Look at that points score! Before I've even got the chance to say "Knee pads are for wimps" I've already beaten the sick score on the Canadian level, and now I'm looking more arrogant and cocky than Michael Phelps in a swimming race with newborn puppies. That's the Tony Hawk skateboarding games for you.2001 saw the arrival of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3. It was the third game to appear on the PSone, and it was the first to appear on the PS2. The  PS2 version  obviously boasted better graphics, extra music tracks, etc. But for those feeling sentimental towards the little white-ish grey box -which I constantly am- I'm gonna give you my views on this PSone version.Several gaming modes made a return from  Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 : Single sessions, Free Skate, and a number of 2-Player games. Also making a return were the edit modes: Skate Park Editor, Edit Tricks and Create-A-Skater, the last one of which could be used to create handsome, chiseled, heavily ripped versions of yourself...or you could just stick a bald guy in a t-shirt and jeans. Either way was good.THPS3 had 13 pro skateboarders to choose from. As well as Tony Hawk you could also play as Kareem Campbell, Eric Koston, and one-time MTV favourite, Bam Margera. While playing through the game I noticed that all the skaters seem to have the same moves. Apart from the occasional different trick they pretty much had the same moves assigned to the same buttons. Examples: I always found the Cannonball move on right + circle, while the Kickflip was always pulled off with left + square. I know Activision had to make a PSone and PS2 version of this game at the same time, but the fact that they didn't take the time to put different tricks on different skaters seemed rather lazy. Oh well, at least we could rectify that problem in the Edit Tricks section.There's a large variety of grab, grind and flip moves available for this game. The one that stands out amongst all others is the Revert. The Manual move had a big impact on the scoring and gameplay addictiveness in THPS2, and the Revert made a similar impact here in number 3. After performing your desired tricks you tap the R2 button just as you land from the quarter pipe. Get it right and you've got another bucket load of points to add to that McDonald's Supersize score of yours. It's so much fun when you keep landing those tricks.So now let's take a look at the Career mode. Like the first two Hawk games before this it's a case of: skating through the levels; completing goals like hi-scores and collecting S-K-A-T-E letters; unlocking more levels; and collecting medals from competitions. This time though there is no cash involved. You simply complete the goals, and stats can be improved by collecting stat coins and using them on the stats screen once you've exited the level.New decks can also be earned by simply collecting them in the levels. The deck stats are updated as soon as you collect one, so unless you're extremely desperate to see what your new deck looks like there's no real reason for you to check them out in the menu. All in all there's a lot going down in Career mode -a lot of exciting skating action that is- and it'll be quite a while before you've unlocked every video for every skater. In fact there's some interesting cheats to discover for cleaning out this mode, so more incentive to get "on yer board!"There's a nice selection of levels to skate through. The Foundry is a loud metal-clanging environment with plenty of pipes, while the Airport has an interesting ski slope design with lots of rails to grind. My personal favourite is Suburbia, where the buildings, ramps and other structures are perfectly positioned for you to pull off a 15-trick combo. The levels are not quite as good as the ones in THPS2, but they still provide a pleasant challenge for the skateboarding nut.A similar thing can be said for the game's music. Not quite as good as the second one, but still high quality for the most part. The string of catchy tunes include "If You Must" by Del The Funky Homosapien, and "Fight Like A Brave" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. But the standout track by far is "Ace Of Spades" by Motörhead, a loud piece of heavy metal artistry you'll be begging to listen to again and again as you seek out the last of the hidden tapes.THPS3 on the PSone was not radically different from THPS2. In fact it even felt a little simplified in places. Having said that this PSone version managed to retain a good number of positives from the second game, including the trademark fast and entertaining gameplay. Any old PSone gaming fans who have played the first two Tony Hawk games shouldn't be afraid to play through this third one.

Well packagedWell presentedWell doneGreat supplier all round

Excellent

ps1 version slightly different from the ps2 version i remember but still a great game

Very good quality and exactly how it was described.

Great item and a great game brings back memories