Tony Hawk Downhill Jam Wii Review

But Downhill Jam takes you in a completely different direction, offering a very simple and fun style never before seen in skateboarding games. The name makes it pretty self explanatory, but the game itself has many different aspects to it, both positive and negative. If you’re on the fence about this game, here are three pros and three cons to Tony Hawk Downhill Jam.

• New and Fun Controls- You already know that the Wii has taken controllers to a whole new level with their handheld version, but in Downhill Jam, this device helps all the more. While it may be difficult to get used to the tilt control of this game at first, many gamers have found it be a fun experience to learn as you go. Also pressing different buttons will allow you to perform cool tricks, turbo up, and earn bonuses.

• Multiplayer mode- By far the best part of this game, Downhill Jam allows you to race against friends, both online and in the comfort of your home. Enjoy multiplayer (up to 4 players) games such as elimination, knockdown, and destruction. Race against friends going breakneck speeds, and of course with the ultra sensitive tilt control, feel free to give your buddy a quick “accidental” nudge to increase your chances of winning. Also, as a side note, Downhill Jam does offer a very lengthy and challenging single-player campaign.

• Cool Soundtrack- Nothing is worse than enjoying one of your favorite games, and hearing music that makes your ears bleed. With 40 entertaining tracks and cool voice-over interviews, Downhill Jam makes it not only enjoyable to play, but also makes it ok to turn up the sound system as you go.

• No Freestyle- As fun as Downhill Jam makes it to enjoy skating downhill, that’s also the exact thing that makes it so one-dimensional. One of the more exciting things the Tony Hawk franchise has brought us, is the ability to freestyle skateboard around anywhere. I’ve literally spent hours upon hours skating around different areas in other games, just practicing tricks, jumping on objects, and discovering secrets. Downhill Jam does what it intended to do, but unfortunately that leaves us with not much to do after we’re tired of downhill skating.

• No Pro Skaters- With the exception of Tony Hawk, Downhill Jam leaves you very little to choose from. Not a single other pro skater is involved in this game, leaving you to choose between ‘Goth Chick’, ‘Stoned Guy’, and ‘Rich White Girl’. Had they inserted even 5 slightly famous skateboarders, I feel this would have made a gigantic difference. Who wants to play in multiplayer mode as the ‘Rich White Girl’ against your friend, Tony Hawk?

• Graphics- Although the game does move rather quickly, and the frame rate is just fine, the graphics leave much to be desired. At times very choppy and muddy, the lack of attention to detail by the creators is something that’s hard to overlook. Compared to other editions of the Tony Hawk games, I would definitely have to give the graphics a barely passing grade. Go check them out for yourself at the Tony Hawk Downhill Jam Image Gallery.

As I said before, if you enjoy downhill skating, I highly recommend giving this one a shot. It’s definitely worth at least a rental and I think you’ll enjoy the multiplayer modes among your group of friends. As for the rest of you, I would say continue to play the your other Tony Hawk games and wait for what the Wii will bring you next.