Tony Hawk's Underground 2 - Console Game Review

One huge disappointment in THUG 2 for me is multiplayer on the same machine. It seems like the programmers at Neversoft make awesome games, but don't agree with me that what really gives a game life is when you can have a pile of friends over and all play together on one TV. Like all of the Tony Hawk games since Tony Hawk Proskater 2, you can only play two players. I had a great time back on TPS 2 playing Skate with three other guys, playing tag, playing any of the great multiplayer games. It just makes me sad, and for me it greatly diminishes the game's life span and replay value. I have more than one friend, and so if more than one comes over, we're going to play something else. Probably Halo - a freaky old X Box game, but still super playable and fun because it has great four player multiplayer action. I complained about this in my review of the first THUG, and received an e-mail from one of the guys at Neversoft explaining that you actually could play four players, you just needed two copies of the game, two TVs, and two machines... They just don't get it. And until they do, I'm afraid they are leaving themselves open to another video game company that might make a game that's not as good but has fun party value.

Of course, you can't even network to play more players in THUG 2. Not on any of the systems. If you have a Play Station 2, you can play with up to 8 players online (with one more watching), but there is no online support for other platforms. Why? Perhaps THUG 1 didn't get enough online use on the X-Box, but there are other ramifications to this - mainly that there is no network play either, not even for the precious PS2. THUG 2 is purely a 2 player game.

One cool feature for PS2 players is the ability to map their own face into the game using an EyeToy camera. Very cool. Unfortunately, it uses the online aspect of Tony Hawk's Underground 2, so it's only possible on PS2.

The faces that are actually available in Tony Hawk's Underground 2 are super varied and you should be able to make a skater that looks reasonably close to you on your X-Box or GameCube. I did, and was happy with how my digital Steve Cave turned out, except that the only face with thick dark eyebrows like mine also has a huge mole on his lip... again, why? I just try to ignore it (though my brother noticed the first time he watched me play...) There's still so much that you can do to customize your character that you'll likely not be disappointed.

In summary, I have to say that these few problems are still greatly outweighed by Tony Hawk's Underground 2's incredible list of awesome features. It's the biggest, most customizable, most fluid and flat out most fun skateboarding video game on the market today. It's almost ridiculous how big it is - they could have easily split this into two games, but instead you get it all. I highly recommend it and happily slap on a five stars rating. Try out Tony Hawk's Underground 2 - you'll like it.

And in case you already have the game, here are some cheat codes for Tony Hawk's Underground 2:

• Infinate Rail / Lip Balance: enter straightedge as a code
• Unlock Natas Kaupas: enter oldschool as a code
• Unlock Paulie: enter 4wheeler as a code
• Unlock Nigel Beaverhousen: enter sellout as a code

To open pre-made skaters, go to Create-A-Skater and enter these names:

• Sorry!
• munky
• JIMBO
• dude TRevor
• Boon
• Sheckla Ryan Sheckler
• O.D. Officer Dick
• derfunkel Danny Way

I expect there are plenty more out there - keep an eye on game cheat sites for more. The game also has piles of unlockables, but these are unlocked by beating the game in various modes and with various characters. The list is too long to be printed here - take a look at Gamewinners.com to see cheats for Gamecube, Play Station 2, and X-Box.

Enjoy the game!