LogFAQs > #951144266

#11 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (Microsoft Windows, 2000)

If this was a ranking of best soundtrack, I think #11 would be too low for this game. And, considering the game as a whole, it's hard to believe that this did not make my top ten. But at least I got it right to the precipice.



It is really a bit of a wonder that I got into this series. As a kid, I had little interest in skateboarding or other extreme sports. My parents bought me a skateboard for Christmas when I was few years younger, and almost immediately my sister "borrowed" it and left it out to be stolen, so I never really had the chance to decide if it was for me. But one day, I went to my friend's house, and he was playing Tony Hawk's Pro Skater for the N64. And I watched him play. And it looked fun. Then I played it. And it was fun!

We played a lot of the first game, but then the second game came out and was included on a PC Gamer demo disk. I played the shit out of that demo, and we quickly picked up the full game. Oh man, what a game. I spoke briefly to the soundtrack already. The first game was good, THPS2 is perfect in that respect. An incredible and iconic mix of music that defines skateboarding to me, it introduced me to many artists that became mainstays of my music collection for life. The levels are bigger and better than before, each with their own secrets that felt magical to unlock and use.

The scoring system got a bit more complicated with the addition of the manual, and this opened up the game a lot. It's fun to rack up points. THPS is more about the points than the skateboarding, really. The constant grind to get new high scores is incredibly addicting. I put in dozens and dozens of hours for this game, and I think I did and unlocked everything. And then I moved on to something else. But this game is still one of my favorites and the time I spent on it will always be something I cherish.

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At least your mother tipped well