 Preview By: Andrew Joy |
Developer: | Toys for Bob |
| Publisher: | Activision | |
| Genre: | Extreme Sports | |
| ESRB: | Teen | |
| # Of Players: | 1-4 | |
| Online Play: | No | |
| Accessories: | TBD | |
| Estimated Release: | 11/14/2006 |
As I’m sure I’ve mentioned before, and as I’m sure I’m not alone in, I feel the Tony Hawk series long ago took a turn for the worse. After the first few iterations, it quickly became apparent that the series was a cash cow, and one that Activision didn’t hesitate to milk, releasing game after game with very little improvement from one version to the next – in fact, the only real change seemed to be the loss of something that made the games so fun to begin with. However, with Tony Hawk’s American Sk8land for the Nintendo DS, the series rose to new heights, bringing back many of those lost elements and adding new ones that complemented the series' core gameplay. And now everything is going downhill...in a race to the finish, that is, with Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam, an innovative new chapter in the series set to hit the Wii and Nintendo DS later this year.
Generally speaking, I’m probably the last person you’d expect to use the words "Tony Hawk" and "innovative" in the same sentence (in a positive light, at least), and truth be told I probably wouldn’t be right now...were it not for the nature of Nintendo’s new system, that is. The Nintendo Wii is going to change the way we play many games with its motion-sensing controller. Fortunately, most games so far appear to be actually using that controller in meaningful ways. Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam is one of those games, but unlike many others, it doesn’t make use of the system’s light gun-like ability and it forgoes the Nunchuk attachment (used with most other games). Instead, players hold their remote on its side like an NES controller or, more precisely, like a steering wheel and control their character using just the face buttons and internal sensors.
View Control Demonstration: 
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Naturally, the face buttons on the Wii-mote will be used to show off on your skateboard: A to jump, B to pull off tricks and the D-pad to do grabs, though specifics on these are still in short supply. We do know that many of your favorite tricks will return, including the aforementioned grabs, kick flips, the sticker slap and the ever-popular grinds...which brings us back to the internal sensors. Instead of using a D-pad or joystick, when you try to balance your skater in Downhill Jam, you’ll physically adjust the Wii-mote to keep your skater centered on a rail (judged using a triangular indicator that appears on the middle of the screen at such times). Likewise, as you might expect, you’ll also steer the same way, tilting the Wii-mote in the direction you wish to turn your skater. Perhaps the best part about that is that you actually control how sharp your turn is, and you’ll need to judge the course right, lest you slam into the wall. Of course, even if you do manage to wipe out, shaking your controller violently will get you up that much faster, something that should feel quite natural as you’re likely prone to doing that anyways when you screw up. Similarly, once you’ve built up a boost, thrusting the Wii-mote at the screen will initiate it, something that you will likely be doing a lot over the course of this game.
You see, while racing may have only played a small part in the previous Tony Hawk games, it is right in the forefront of Downhill Jam. Tricks will still play a part, of course, but the downhill racing of the Hawk’s Wii debut makes it more akin to SSX on wheels. In fact, as your character already has most of the momentum needed, you’ll spend most of your free time (that is to say, the moments when your aren’t trying to successfully whip around a tight corner) to put on a show, linking as many moves as possible for the most effect. Once your boost meter on the right side of the screen fills up and starts flaming, you need only shove towards the screen to send your character flying. And, should you happen to catch up to an opponent, or vice versa, don’t be afraid to play dirty, because they won’t! Combat might not have been the first thing you would expect from this sort of game, but it is only one of the things you will have to master as you traverse the globe. From the city of San Francisco to the ruins of Machu Picchu, Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam will take you through eight real world locations, competing for guts and glory in close to 100 challenges, and you’ll need the whole of your skill in order to make it to the end. Then again, skill alone may not be enough, and perhaps there is even a bit of strategy involved in winning the race.
Posted: 2006-08-18 17:46:31 PST