is a worthless pile of ****.
I got it on sale at nearly 50% it's MSRP. I now wish I hadn't gotten it at all.
It's buggy as hell. Regularly, the skater seems to hit invisible walls and turn around a complete 180 degrees to the exact opposite direction you were going if you happen to skate too close to certain edges of objects. Angles of vert ramps are wrong; if you hit a vert ramp at a slightly weird angle, be prepared to fall. The new nail the trick feature is also ****ed up. I often find myself falling for no reason when I try to play around with it. Also, objectives often ask you to perform certain tricks, sometimes over certain objects or gaps. There have been many times I have completed the trick/gap completely and it simply doesn't take it and other times, I complete the trick but miss the gap and it still gives it to me.
The career mode is poorly designed. Level unlocks seem totally random and I have yet to discover what exactly it is that gives additional stat points. Often, I get no stat points for completing goals, while other goals will tell me I have 2 stat points to use. Not only that, but the objectives are totally illogical. At least the early games had an excuse for it, as their objectives were things like "collect 5 of this" or "get xxx score". Basic arcade-esque objectives. Now, however, they've added all kinds of stupid **** that makes no sense like "oh hey get this thing out of a museum and bring it back to me oh ps there's lasers all over the whole world and you lose if you touch them". Even worse is the objective I was just playing that made me so frustrated I just needed to bettr post about it on ffr. I am told to perform tricks as they're called out and FOLLOW A PHOTOGRAPHER. How is it that me following a photographer would allow him to take photos of me? Do they not realize that, if anything, the photographer would follow the skater (in reality, photographers set up at certain angles for individual shots, or have lines preplanned with the skater)? Anyway, not only does that not make any sense, but he tells you to do really stupid easy ****, or at least it would be easy if the level design didn't suck ass. At the time he tells you to do a "180 grab + 180 flip trick" (you have to do it in that order specifically as well...) all that is around is a ****load of curved vert ramps. It is nearly impossible unless you stop your character completely and do it stationary. Then, the photographer yells at you for not following him and you only have 10 seconds to catch up to him.
And did I mention level design? ****ing worst piles of **** levels ever. I could make better levels in the create a level editor in THPS2. Hell, a 3 year old could make a better level in the create a level editor in THPS2. And a ****ing whole Jeep themed level? That's ****ing retarded. Also, I looked into it briefly and it looks like they didn't even add any classic levels as secrets. I don't know what the **** they were thinking. Oh yeah. They also made a new suburbia level for no reason at all. Sure, they could have just used the one from THPS3 if they wanted a suburbia level, but no. They had to make a completely new piece of ****.
They've completely changed basics of game mechanics as well. Manuals can now be performed by hitting square instead of up, down. Not a big deal, usually, but it has ****ed me up more than once. Also, just trying to skate around, you'll find your skater randomly doing things like bert slides and kick turns that completely **** up your control. Also, they ****ed up quick turn arounds. They made the quick turn arounds look more realistic, but they **** up your control as well. Oh and they let you keep combos going when you land a trick off of a vert ramp... if this were possible in the THPS, combos of 5 million would be easy for anyone to pull off, yet you may remember having a hard time breaking 100k in THPS. Terrible idea there, as it pretty much removes any reason to revert to keep your combo going. Oh and walking is now totally useless as well. It's nearly impossible to use it in a combo without ending your combo with that. They even removed the extra mobility you could gain from getting off of your board. In the previous games you could climb on **** really easy, but it's nearly impossible here. You're better off trying to air up to higher things using ramps and things like that than you are trying to get off your board and climb up. Also, your skater will sometimes just sit there and not kick... then after like 5 seconds, he'll kick. In every game since forever, you have never needed to make it kick, yet in this one, they allow you to make him kick by pressing up (even though the only other game to feature the kick option is THPS2 and I believe the button was ironically square). I guess that they realized that the game would randomly be stupid and your character would just stand there on his board doing nothing, so they let you have the power to force him to kick. Or maybe they did it because of the new SUPER KICK LOL power that you can use to go faster by kicking while you have special and it uses some of your special. The only thing is you really don't go much faster at all and the weird forced zoom affect to make it seem faster is really distracting and takes away from gameplay. Oh yeah, they also made it so the camera moves to the side slightly when you grind. ****ing stupid.
And we all know how hard it is to find all of the gaps in these games, right? Well, as the games have progressed, they've been putting gaps for really weird **** that makes no sense at all, while obvious gaps have gotten nothing. Same thing here in this game, it seems, just taken to an extreme. I think I have something like 10 gaps found total out of like 5 levels.
Let's see... what else is there that's retarded...
Oh right. Changing your career mode skater does little, if anything. There are about 9 distinct different character designs (this is counting different faces mixed with different hairs). Create-a-skater (ie the character editor that doesn't affect career mode at all) is just as worthless.
The one thing about this game that doesn't suck complete ****ing ass is the music, and even that is **** compared to the rest of the soundtracks of the THPS line.
Long story short, don't buy this game. Hell, if someone offers to give you it for free, don't take it.
ps yes, I know there is already a thread about THP8, but this only applies to the PS2 port. I am sure that the PS3/Xbox360 version is ****ING FANTASTIC, even if it has the same ****ty objectives, because likely, they have them set up so that they're actually fun and possible (that is, give you vert tricks to do if you're in an area with vert ramps EVERYWHERE, rather than give you flat ground combos when you can't move two inches in front of you without hitting a vert ramp).
pps for anyone with an attitude of "lol chill out it's just a game" take notice of this: I have been a quite loyal fan of the series for years. I have loved every single one of them to death, even Shaba's previous piece of **** port of THPS3 to the PS1(ignoring handhelds, of course, because they're all worthless except probably the recent ones, but I haven't had a chance to try any of those). This just took things way too far though. I would have bought this game for the normal 50$ if I hadn't found it on sale so cheap. That makes me mad that they'd put so little effort into this port then sell it like it's hot ****. I also apologize about the obscenities, but it's hard for me to not curse when I have gave so much love to this series and they reward me with a ****ing load of ****.
I got it on sale at nearly 50% it's MSRP. I now wish I hadn't gotten it at all.
It's buggy as hell. Regularly, the skater seems to hit invisible walls and turn around a complete 180 degrees to the exact opposite direction you were going if you happen to skate too close to certain edges of objects. Angles of vert ramps are wrong; if you hit a vert ramp at a slightly weird angle, be prepared to fall. The new nail the trick feature is also ****ed up. I often find myself falling for no reason when I try to play around with it. Also, objectives often ask you to perform certain tricks, sometimes over certain objects or gaps. There have been many times I have completed the trick/gap completely and it simply doesn't take it and other times, I complete the trick but miss the gap and it still gives it to me.
The career mode is poorly designed. Level unlocks seem totally random and I have yet to discover what exactly it is that gives additional stat points. Often, I get no stat points for completing goals, while other goals will tell me I have 2 stat points to use. Not only that, but the objectives are totally illogical. At least the early games had an excuse for it, as their objectives were things like "collect 5 of this" or "get xxx score". Basic arcade-esque objectives. Now, however, they've added all kinds of stupid **** that makes no sense like "oh hey get this thing out of a museum and bring it back to me oh ps there's lasers all over the whole world and you lose if you touch them". Even worse is the objective I was just playing that made me so frustrated I just needed to bettr post about it on ffr. I am told to perform tricks as they're called out and FOLLOW A PHOTOGRAPHER. How is it that me following a photographer would allow him to take photos of me? Do they not realize that, if anything, the photographer would follow the skater (in reality, photographers set up at certain angles for individual shots, or have lines preplanned with the skater)? Anyway, not only does that not make any sense, but he tells you to do really stupid easy ****, or at least it would be easy if the level design didn't suck ass. At the time he tells you to do a "180 grab + 180 flip trick" (you have to do it in that order specifically as well...) all that is around is a ****load of curved vert ramps. It is nearly impossible unless you stop your character completely and do it stationary. Then, the photographer yells at you for not following him and you only have 10 seconds to catch up to him.
And did I mention level design? ****ing worst piles of **** levels ever. I could make better levels in the create a level editor in THPS2. Hell, a 3 year old could make a better level in the create a level editor in THPS2. And a ****ing whole Jeep themed level? That's ****ing retarded. Also, I looked into it briefly and it looks like they didn't even add any classic levels as secrets. I don't know what the **** they were thinking. Oh yeah. They also made a new suburbia level for no reason at all. Sure, they could have just used the one from THPS3 if they wanted a suburbia level, but no. They had to make a completely new piece of ****.
They've completely changed basics of game mechanics as well. Manuals can now be performed by hitting square instead of up, down. Not a big deal, usually, but it has ****ed me up more than once. Also, just trying to skate around, you'll find your skater randomly doing things like bert slides and kick turns that completely **** up your control. Also, they ****ed up quick turn arounds. They made the quick turn arounds look more realistic, but they **** up your control as well. Oh and they let you keep combos going when you land a trick off of a vert ramp... if this were possible in the THPS, combos of 5 million would be easy for anyone to pull off, yet you may remember having a hard time breaking 100k in THPS. Terrible idea there, as it pretty much removes any reason to revert to keep your combo going. Oh and walking is now totally useless as well. It's nearly impossible to use it in a combo without ending your combo with that. They even removed the extra mobility you could gain from getting off of your board. In the previous games you could climb on **** really easy, but it's nearly impossible here. You're better off trying to air up to higher things using ramps and things like that than you are trying to get off your board and climb up. Also, your skater will sometimes just sit there and not kick... then after like 5 seconds, he'll kick. In every game since forever, you have never needed to make it kick, yet in this one, they allow you to make him kick by pressing up (even though the only other game to feature the kick option is THPS2 and I believe the button was ironically square). I guess that they realized that the game would randomly be stupid and your character would just stand there on his board doing nothing, so they let you have the power to force him to kick. Or maybe they did it because of the new SUPER KICK LOL power that you can use to go faster by kicking while you have special and it uses some of your special. The only thing is you really don't go much faster at all and the weird forced zoom affect to make it seem faster is really distracting and takes away from gameplay. Oh yeah, they also made it so the camera moves to the side slightly when you grind. ****ing stupid.
And we all know how hard it is to find all of the gaps in these games, right? Well, as the games have progressed, they've been putting gaps for really weird **** that makes no sense at all, while obvious gaps have gotten nothing. Same thing here in this game, it seems, just taken to an extreme. I think I have something like 10 gaps found total out of like 5 levels.
Let's see... what else is there that's retarded...
Oh right. Changing your career mode skater does little, if anything. There are about 9 distinct different character designs (this is counting different faces mixed with different hairs). Create-a-skater (ie the character editor that doesn't affect career mode at all) is just as worthless.
The one thing about this game that doesn't suck complete ****ing ass is the music, and even that is **** compared to the rest of the soundtracks of the THPS line.
Long story short, don't buy this game. Hell, if someone offers to give you it for free, don't take it.
ps yes, I know there is already a thread about THP8, but this only applies to the PS2 port. I am sure that the PS3/Xbox360 version is ****ING FANTASTIC, even if it has the same ****ty objectives, because likely, they have them set up so that they're actually fun and possible (that is, give you vert tricks to do if you're in an area with vert ramps EVERYWHERE, rather than give you flat ground combos when you can't move two inches in front of you without hitting a vert ramp).
pps for anyone with an attitude of "lol chill out it's just a game" take notice of this: I have been a quite loyal fan of the series for years. I have loved every single one of them to death, even Shaba's previous piece of **** port of THPS3 to the PS1(ignoring handhelds, of course, because they're all worthless except probably the recent ones, but I haven't had a chance to try any of those). This just took things way too far though. I would have bought this game for the normal 50$ if I hadn't found it on sale so cheap. That makes me mad that they'd put so little effort into this port then sell it like it's hot ****. I also apologize about the obscenities, but it's hard for me to not curse when I have gave so much love to this series and they reward me with a ****ing load of ****.
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