Time just runs away, does it? Back in October of 2001 the third instalment in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series released on the PlayStation 2 – a far cry from today's PlayStation 5 Pro power!
I remember piling hours and hours into the game, which remains my favourite ever of the franchise (let's not talk about the most recent ones), and the fact that it's going to launch on the Nintendo Switch 2 in July makes it a pre-order must for me!
Think about it: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, with all its soundtrack radness – well, a curated selections, plus some new additions – but playable whilst on the go. I'm a little worried I might get "skatesick", but whatever, I'm totally willing to try.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 trailer
What's THPS 3 + 4 all about?
That's the thing about Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3: it pretty much precluded the idea of a story mode – something that Pro Skater 4 ran with. Instead your goal is simple: be the best skater, learn tricks, accomplish tasks, and get the highest score.
And, believe you me, some of those insane tasks – remember the cruise ship? – get pretty outlandish. That was part of what made THPS3 so much damn fun, though, and upped the difficulty level in a different kind of way.
THPS4, on the other hand, featured a Career mode, making it more free-roaming rather than time-based. This isn't featured in its original format in the Switch 2 remake, though, with a pared-back 2-minute time limit to reinvigorate the game's feel of play.
Is Tony Hawk's Pro Skater highly rated?
Have a gander on Metacritic and you'll see that THPS3 nets a whopping 97% score, as based on 34 critic reviews. It's a much-loved game – and even the 7.6 rating from users isn't too shabby all these years later.
The sequel, THPS4, nets a similar 94% but 8.4 rating, giving it the apparent upper hand. That you get both games in one, therefore, only makes it even more of a bargain purchase. There's just so much playtime on offer.
Which is another point I must make: unlike the Switch 2's first run of releases, which were priced high, the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 package on Nintendo's new console is set to be £39.99 / $49.99 – and that's for the boxed copy. I've just added it to basket, so let's have at it come 11 July!
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