The problem with MTV Skateboarding is that unlike other skateboarding games such as Thrasher or Street Sk8er, it seems perfectly content in attempting to imitate Tony Hawk that it loses focus of itself. It also seems like THQ spent way too much money getting the MTV license, as well as the bands that are featured on the soundtrack for the game.

Surprisingly, the soundtrack is the best part of the game (Odd, considering this is MTV we're talking about). Bands such as the Deftones, Cypruss Hill, Pennywise, OPM and System of a Down lend their talents to this game, it's just too bad that the rest of the game can't keep up.

But with any game, it's a matter of how it plays, isn't it? Well, MTV Skateboarding isn't too hot in that department. In all honesty, the game plays like an unresponsive Tony Hawk. it's difficult to get the simpliest of moves to execute, and the skaters feel so heavy and lagged that it's almost impossible to pull off any difficult tasks at all. The engine isn't too hot, considering that even with the normal roster of characters it's tough to pull off anything more than one trick in the air, and don't even talk about actually landing said move. While the level designs aren't actually that bad, they're for the most part unoriginal and seem to be just put together in a manner of seconds. There's no flow to it like there was in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, where you could literally 'see' the huge skating lines that were perfectly mapped out for you by the Neversoft team.

The graphics don't fare much better unfortunately. While there aren't too many problems concerning clipping and whatnot, the graphics are just ordinary as you can get. There's not much variety in the textures although the stages themselves are actually pretty diverse when compared to each other. The skaters themselves seem surprisingly tiny when compared to the rest of the stage, but for what it's worth, the front end interface looks great. It's nicely streamlined and has a certain edge to it that the rest of the game unfortunately lacks.

As for the rest of the game, it features a multitude of modes to choose from, although most of them aren't too spectacular. MTV Hunt (collect all the MTV icons in sight) is really just a sorry excuse to cram one more mode into the game. But of note is the Stunt Mode, which (you guessed it) has you attempting stunts that the computer lays out for you. While this mode is actually pretty fun, it would've been a lot more if you had better control of your skater though.

Personally, I can't see any reason why I would recommend this game over Tony Hawk 1/2, Grind Session, or even Street Sk8er. In terms of gameplay, this falls way below the standard set by the magicmen at Neversoft, and it's unfortunate, because THQ and MTV could have made this game a whole lot better than it was.

Bottom Line: Get Tony Hawk 2.

· · · Reno