If you were a 90s kid, you’ll be able to shred as Tony Hawk once again just like those childhood days on N64/Playstation 1! Last week, Activision, original developers of THPS, announced a newly remastered collection that brings together the first two Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games in one modern package, with new features like online play and a more interactive course builder. It’ll be coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC (via Epic Games) on September 4th, 2020.
If you didn’t already have goosebumps, you will after hearing this:
All the old characters, levels, tricks, specials, and challenges will be brought back to life for a new generation of skaters to enjoy. Most of the famous songs off of those soundtracks will also be coming along for the ride (cue Goldfinger fans).
The lineup of characters in addition to Hawk is listed as follows:
Bob Burnquist, Bucky Lasek, Steve Caballero, Geoff Rowley, Elissa Steamer, Kareem Campbell, Chad Muska, and Andrew Reynolds.
The remaster is being handled by Vicarious Visions, which has some history in classic reboots as well as the THPS series. Projects from the developer include but are not limited to: Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, early 90s/00s Spiderman classics, the Skylanders series, and several Disney / Nickelodeon titles. “I believe that makes us the ideal studio to faithfully remaster Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2,” says Vicarious Visions COO Simon Ebejer.
In an effort to not have the reboot be just a better performing version of the original title, VV wanted to add incentive for players in a new age —
“We didn’t want the game to be ‘Okay, you play Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1, and then play THPS2 and start over from scratch, just like you would have if you bought the games back in the day,” Ebejer says. “The meta that sits over top of everything allows players to not feel like they’re losing progress by playing either one of the games.”
There is a widespread opinion that the THPS series really fell off in popularity after the Underground portion of the series, which debuted over 17 years ago. The project will try to beat the likes of new-age skating brands Session and Skate, who both took aspects from early Hawk games and developed their own versions of the video game skating world.
