"Proving Ground" a sure let-down

The Daily Collegian - 3/3/08

What do a crappy story, bad character models, an unfitting soundtrack and poor features have in common? Ask Neversoft.

In the world of skating games, the "Tony Hawk" series has ruled supreme for the past decade. With all the improvements in the video game industry, Neversoft proves that it, along with its premier game, cannot stand the test of time.

Although Neversoft's latest skate title, "Tony Hawk's Proving Ground," has some (one) redeeming qualities, it is obviously a rehash of previous titles, mostly "Tony Hawk's Project 8." Where "Project 8" succeeded, "Proving Ground" fails miserably.

The story is, generally speaking, the framework for any good game. From Madden to Lost Odyssey to Halo 3, even the thinnest storyline, if it is assembled well, will keep gamers coming back for more. The story of "Proving Ground" falls flat on its face.

Centered around a skater in inner-city Philadelphia, the story follows him (there's still no female character models to choose from) around while going on missions from professionals or completing tasks. Somehow, by doing these (often mundane) things, your character becomes a world-famous skater. Sound familiar? It is exactly the same story as "Project 8," just in a different, bored-looking environment.

The differences between "Proving Ground" and "Project 8" lie in only the surface of the game and exist solely to draw players in, rather than contribute to the overall experience. The three not-so-varying story lines (Rigger, Hardcore and Career) offer some break in the monotony, but not for long.

The big difference between "Proving Ground" and previous titles are the addition of slow-motion tricks. Adding on to the success of "Nail-the-Trick" in "Project 8," are "Nail-the-Grab" and "Nail-the-Manual." Although they show you how to do both, "Nail-the-Manual" has a much steeper learning curve. For the most part, all these gimmicky tricks are completely useless and often hinder the player from racking up the points necessary to clear a level.

While the tricks may not be useful (other than looking cool) at least they don't have the same bugs as the levels do. Full of clipping issues, the level design often detracts significantly from the game experience. Although skating through cars can be fun, the major problems lie when the skater goes right through a half or quarter pipe. These completely amateurish mistakes should never happen from a respected production company.

The mistakes don't just stop with level design; they extend on to another problem (and useless feature): the rigging option. Rigging, or building your own skateable materials, is cool on paper. In practice, it's boring, monotonous and difficult. The worst part, aside from the serious camera problems and awkward controls, is getting your rigging piece stuck somewhere on the map. Whether it is down two stairs or off a ledge, there is almost no way to pick up and move your piece once it's not on the same plane as the character.

The one (partially) redeeming feature of the game is the soundtrack, in particular two songs: "The Pretender" by the Foo Fighters and "Sympathy For The Devil" by the Rolling Stones. Both great songs, both completely out of place. Surrounded by pop-punk and hip-hop, these rock songs stand out like a sore thumb. Or, in the case of "Proving Ground," like gold.

With less than 10 hours of game play, the only reason for a replay is to bump up those Am scores to either Pro or Sick. Even then, it isn't really worth it. Don't buy "Proving Ground," don't borrow it, don't invite your friends to play it and most importantly, don't encourage Neversoft to produce this tired crap any more.