Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 is a 2001 skateboarding video game and the third installment in the Tony Hawk's series. It was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision under the Activision O2 label in 2001 for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Game Boy Color and GameCube. In 2002, it was published for the Xbox, Game Boy Advance, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, and the Nintendo 64. It was the final official release for the Nintendo 64 (having been discontinued 3 months prior), the first game released for the PlayStation 2 supporting online play and was a launch title for the GameCube in North America.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
North American cover art
Developer(s)Neversoft[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)Activision[lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3]
Programmer(s)Mick West
SeriesTony Hawk's
Platform(s)
Release
October 30, 2001
  • PlayStation, PlayStation 2
    • NA: October 30, 2001[2]
    • EU: November 30, 2001
    Game Boy Color
    • NA: November 16, 2001[3]
    • EU: November 23, 2001
    GameCube
    • NA: November 18, 2001[4]
    • EU: May 3, 2002
    Xbox
    Game Boy Advance
    • NA: March 15, 2002[6]
    • EU: March 28, 2002
    Microsoft Windows
    • NA: March 29, 2002[7]
    • EU: May 10, 2002
    Nintendo 64
    • NA: August 20, 2002
    Mac OS
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 received critical acclaim, with the PlayStation 2 version being tied for highest-rated PlayStation 2 game on Metacritic alongside Grand Theft Auto III,[9] and selling over 2.1 million copies in the United States by July 2006. Pro Skater 3 is also considered to be one of the greatest video games ever made.

Gameplay
The Microsoft Windows version of Pro Skater 3
See also: Gameplay in the Tony Hawk series

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 saw the introduction of the revert, a trick that enabled vert combos to be tied together with a manual, by tapping a button when landing in a quarterpipe; it allows for much longer combos than in the previous two games, where landing in a quarterpipe would finish a combo. It also added hidden combos. These were variations on standard tricks that could be performed as grab, flip, lip, or grind tricks. For example, double-tapping the kickflip button would make the character perform a double kickflip. This system would later be refined in Pro Skater 4.

The game stood out in the franchise for being the first title to have online capabilities. Users could connect directly to other players online on the PlayStation 2 version—even prior to the launch of the network adapter, with a USB Ethernet adapter. Due to the shut down of most Sony servers the game is no longer playable with others online, except for via programs like XLink Kai or through websites that allow users to play online through a DNS. The PlayStation and Nintendo 64 versions run on the Pro Skater 2 engine, with a different revert animation that is the same as the PlayStation version of Pro Skater 4.

The game features thirteen professional skateboarders, along with several unlockable original characters, depending on the version.[10] Furthermore, the game features Darth Maul, Doomguy and Wolverine via licensing deals,[11] as well as professional surfer Kelly Slater (to coincide with Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer). Additionally, the Japanese and other Asian versions featured three Japanese pro skaters.

In both the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation versions, the wooden sides on the board (around the grip tape) has colors (except Bam Margera, Jamie Thomas, and the custom skater's decks), and the game has new tricks such as the Cannonball, Wrap Around, Fingerflip, Del Mar Indy and a new animation for the Airwalk. The Xbox version has an improved frame rate over the PlayStation 2 and GameCube version, as well as an additional level, the Oil Rig.

Reception

Chester Barber reviewed the PlayStation 2 version of the game for Next Generation, rating it five stars out of five, and stated, "PS2's most impressive game to date. Not just perfectly balanced – THPS3 offers enough new elements to warrant the coveted fifth star reserved for revolutionary titles".[12]

By July 2006, the PlayStation 2 version of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 had sold 2.1 million copies and earned $77 million in the United States. Next Generation ranked it as the 14th highest-selling game launched for the PlayStation 2, Xbox or GameCube between January 2000 and July 2006 in the country. Combined sales of Tony Hawk console games released in the 2000s reached 10.7 million units in the U.S. by July 2006.[37] Its PlayStation 2 version also received a "Platinum" sales award from the British Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA),[38] indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies in the country.[39]

The PS2 version earned a rare perfect 10 score from Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot (one of only 20 titles to earn this award in GameSpot's history), who stated that the game "makes everything before it almost unplayable by comparison".[40][41] GameSpot named Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 the best PlayStation game, best alternative sports console game and overall second-best console game of 2001. It was also nominated for the publication's annual "Best GameCube Game" and "Best PlayStation 2 Game" awards.[42] It was also awarded the best sports game award at E3 2001. IGN rated the game 9.7/10, stating that the game "should go down in history as one of the best twitch-fests on PlayStation 2. Yes, Tony Hawk 3 is that good. The perfect skating game remains a small distance out of reach, but if you are not satisfied with your purchase of this game, head examinations are recommended".[43] The game is currently the top rated PS2 game on the review aggregate website Metacritic, with an average score of 97/100, tying with Grand Theft Auto III.[44] Famitsu gave the game a 30/40.[45]

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 was a runner-up for GameSpot's 2002 "Best Sports Game on PC" award, which went to Madden NFL 2003.[46] It won the publication's 2002 "Best Sports Game on Game Boy Advance" award, and was a runner-up for "Game of the Year on Game Boy Advance".[46] During the 5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 was honored with the "Console Sports" award by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences; it also received nominations for outstanding achievements in "Animation" and "Visual Engineering".[47]

Awards

Sequel
Main article: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4

A fourth game in the series, titled Pro Skater 4, was released the following year in October 2002.[50]

Notes
  1. Ported to PlayStation by Shaba Games, ported to Game Boy Color by HotGen, ported to Game Boy Advance by Vicarious Visions, ported to Microsoft Windows by Gearbox Software, ported to Nintendo 64 by Edge of Reality and ported to Mac OS by Beenox.[1]
  2. Released under the Activision O2 Brand.
  3. Mac OS version published by Aspyr.

References
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  3. "Tony Hawk 3 for the GameCube at retailers [date mislabeled as "May 17, 2006"]". GameSpot. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  4. "GameCube Sunday". Eurogamer.net. November 19, 2001. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  5. "Xbox launch line-up finalised". Eurogamer.net. February 28, 2002. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
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  8. "Aspyr ships Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3". Macworld. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  9. "Highest and Lowest Scoring Games". Metacritic. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
  10. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (PS version), instruction manual, p. 4-10)
  11. King, Austin (September 14, 2020). "Why Spider-Man Isn't In Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2". Screen Rant. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  12. Barber, Chester (December 2001). "Finals". Next Generation. Vol. 4, no. 12. Imagine Media. pp. 94–95.
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