Tony Hawk's American Wasteland (2005)

Developer: Neversoft Entertainment
Publisher: Activision
Platforms: Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 2
Genres: Sport, Adventure
Rating: 3.7 of 5, 115 player ratings

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A breezy, laid-back skate-around-LA fantasy where you grind, collect, and cruise with your crew without much pressure slowing you down.

upbeatcasualfreewheelingcomedicopen worldsocialaccessiblearcade-style

About

You are a new skater in the city of L.A.. The main drive of the game is that your hanging around with a skating group and its leader, who also happens to be a skating legend, at their skate park in Beverly Hills called Skate Ranch. Throughout the game you must help your friends by getting skate pieces for Skate Ranch. The game marks the third reinvention of the series, with Pro Skater being the first, and Underground being the second. It comes with brand new features like the ability to change your personal appearance in game, as well as the ability to get off of the skateboard and use a BMX. For the first time all of levels are strung together into one big environment, which gets rid of loading times and menu selection. Old features were also kept like Create-a-park, which dates back to the Pro Skater series. Missions are still acquired by going up to random people or friends and accepting the mission they want you to run. The game also includes a multiplayer mode and co-op for up to 2 players for added replay value.

What players say

Boasts the most refined trick system of the original Tony Hawk run but splits players with an open-world structure many feel adds little. Seen as a nostalgic, goofy send-off to the classic era, ranging from best PS2 skater to a frustrating misstep.

Screenshots

Tony Hawk's American Wasteland screenshot 1

Tony Hawk's American Wasteland screenshot 2

Tony Hawk's American Wasteland screenshot 3

Tony Hawk's American Wasteland screenshot 4

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This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.