Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam Review

The Tony Hawk series has always been about skating around various environments performing huge tricks to accumulate points to reach goals. At least, it was until the Wii came out. The Wii demanded a whole new approach to the Tony Hawk license, that of downhill racing. Evidently the game was quite successful, for Activision has now ported it to the PS2. Is the PS2 version of Downhill Jam worthy of a spot in the collection of skateboarding fans? I believe that it is. Allow me to explain why.

First of all, let me say a word about the graphics. There’s really nothing bad to be said here. The graphics look very realistic and the environments look very true to real life. The characters look like the people that they are supposed to represent and are easily distinguishable by their appearance. Overall, Activision did an excellent job with these graphics.

In terms of sound, the results are almost as good. The game has a decent selection of licensed music for the menu screens and the stages themselves. The sound effects likewise are pretty good. The voice-acting may be restricted to one-liners, but they are delivered convincingly and do not repeat too often. Granted, the objectives in each race and various other things will be given in text boxes, but that isn’t a big deal as it gives you as much time as you need to study the rules if you’re unsure of what you’re trying to do.

The gameplay in this game is drastically different from the previous Tony Hawk games. Instead of trying to skate around an arena and accumulate as many points as possible by performing tricks, Downhill Jam is almost more of a racing game where the skaters skate downhill. In so doing, they will be trying to accomplish different objectives depending on the level type, although most types do focus as much on getting to the finish first as they do on performing tricks. Indeed, the tricks in this game seem to be more of a means to the end of getting down the hills faster than an integral part of the game.

The trick system in this game, expectedly, does seem to be simpler than in previous Tony Hawk games, but that’s heavily forgivable for two reasons. One, it makes it easier for players new to the Tony Hawk series to figure out what they’re doing. Two, since your main objective is to get down the hill fast, you don’t have time to set up for big, fancy tricks like you would in the previous Tony Hawk games.

What then is the purpose of tricks in this game? First of all, grinding on rails seems to move your skater faster than if he is skating on the ground. Secondly, the performing of other tricks will fill a special meter which, when full, will allow you to utilize a temporary speed boost. These speed boosts are necessary if you want to defeat your opponents. The trick system is more than deep enough to handle such purposes.

For those of you who don’t want to do tricks to fill up the special meter or want another way to help you do it also, there is another way. I will concede that what I am about to say sickens me, but it is part of the game. Anyway, not only can you fill up your special meter by performing tricks, but you can also fill it by clobbering people either by running into them or by skating beside them and hitting a clobber button. I question the logical necessity of a mechanic that rewards the player for knocking down civilians, as such is hardly necessary for a skateboarding game. Still, at least the people just fall over and there is no blood or anything along those lines.

In terms of gameplay styles, there are plenty to choose from. There is more to do than simply races to the bottom. After the tutorial mode, there is a sort of one-player challenge mode where you can compete against computer players in the various modes, but they can also be played in multiplayer. After the tutorial, it seems like the difficulty starts a bit higher than it should, which won’t be a problem for veterans of the series in all likelihood, but it might turn away those who are new to the series.

Even without the single-player mode, there’s plenty to be seen here though. The multiplayer is entertaining and can engage your attention for a long time if you are into this sort of game. As a result, this game brings with it excellent replay value, especially in multiplayer, and you may be at the single-player for a while as well to unlock all of the good selection of stages and skaters.

Overall, Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam is an excellent game. It switches away from the old Tony Hawk style, but that was starting to get a little stale anyway. This game is an excellent introduction to the Tony Hawk franchise for those who are uninitiated if you are willing to experience a little frustration at the beginning of the game. At the same time, if you’re just someone who’s in the market for a racing game with unique attributes, this game could just as easily fit that bill. The Tony Hawk veteran might think that this game is a bit of a retrogression in the tricks department, but even that gamer should find merit in owning this game. I would recommend this game to any fan of Tony Hawk, of speed-skateboarding, or of racing games in general.