Everything You Need to Know About 'Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 & 2'

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2—out now on Xbox One, Playstation 4, and PC—is a fantastic game. Development studio Vicarious Visions has crafted an experience that feels nostalgic rather than repetitive, and familiar rather than lazy. And most importantly, it's a whole lot of fun.

The Tony Hawk franchise has always been about feel. The skateboard controls need to feel responsive. The gameplay needs to be accessible enough for a complete beginner, but deep enough to maintain his or her interest. And the soundtrack needs to bang. Honestly, the playlist is a make-or-break factor; without the punk, nu-metal, ska, and hip- hop of our youth, what's the point? Nearly dying in the halfpipe, while Goldfinger's "Superman" plays in the background, is a shared cultural memory for every gamer from 1999.

Here's everything you need to know about Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 versus the original games.

The controls are more advanced

Tony Hawk gameplay has incrementally evolved over the last two decades to allow for additional tricks and customization options. The most notable ones are score multipliers and transitional moves that lengthen trick combos. So, if you haven't touched the series in a few years, you have some catching up to do. Manuals, which debuted in THPS2, are now usable in THPS1 levels as well. You can do Reverts, which debuted in THPS3. And you can pull off Spine Transfers and Wall Plants, which debuted in THPS4.

Thankfully, the game comes with a tutorial mode—narrated by Tony Hawk himself—to catch you up on everything. There are also game mods available in the Options menu, which allow for "No Bails" as well as perfect balance on Lips and Manuals, if you need some training wheels while you get used to everything.

Level layouts are the same

You'll be pleased to hear that the original level designs have been faithfully preserved from their original incarnations. In fact, they're nearly identical. The Warehouse still starts with a sharp downhill, which allows you to Ollie over the half-pipe and grind on the far rail. The Hangar still has a helicopter that takes off when you grind on the propeller blades. It feels great to use new controls in classic scenarios. It unlocks all sorts of potential in them that wasn't available two decades ago.

The graphics got a stunning upgrade

Everything in this game is polished to a sheen. The sun casts dramatic shadows across the crumbling concrete. The puddles reflect the nearby surroundings. And in several instances, the level's look has been drastically reimagined. Take the Mall, for example. In its original incarnation, the Mall was a bit run down, but now, it looks as though it's been completely abandoned and allowed to decay. There's additional graffiti on every surface. Vegetation is reclaiming the more dilapidated areas of the structure.

The draw distance is now on par with any current generation title; unlike in the classic games, you'll be able to plan out a trick better because of how far in the distance you can see.

The goals have been expanded

All of the goals from the original games have carried over to remake. You still have to collect letters to spell out S-K-A-T-E. You still have to knock over boxes and grind on benches to unlock later levels. Vicarious Visions has laid some additional goals on top of those. On The School, you have to Wallride five bells. There are additional goals for "Sick" scores and specific Gap Jumps as well.

You'll be happy to know that everything is where you remember it; the letters for SKATE haven't moved from their original positioning, and the Warehouse Secret Tape is still in the Secret Room over the halfpipe.

The roster is revamped, but secret characters are different

All the real-life skaters you remember, from Tony Hawk to Elissa Steamer, have returned. There's also some new, real-life faces that bring everything up to date: Lizzie Armanto, Leo Baker, Leticia Bufoni, Riley Hawk, Nyjah Huston, Tyshawn Jones, Aori Nishimura, and Shane O’Neill.

Spider-Man, unfortunately, is no longer in the game as an unlockable character. But Officer Dick, performed by Jack Black, makes a return, although you'll have to beat all the Create-A-Skater challenges to unlock him. You can also play as a Roswell Alien if you pick up the hidden alien doll in each level. Lastly, if you buy the deluxe or collector's edition of the game, you'll automatically unlock Ripper, a life-sized human skeleton.

(Almost) all of the original songs are there

Nearly every signature song from the first two games is here: Goldfinger's "Superman," Rage Against The Machine's "Guerilla Radio," Dead Kennedys' "Police Truck." Unfortunately, three songs didn't make the cut: Unsane's “Committed," Alley Life's “Out With The Old," and The High & Mighty's “B-Boy Document ‘99." Suicidal Tendencies' “Cyco Vision,” and Anthrax & Public Enemy's “Bring the Noise” were originally announced as not being in the game, but apparently, they're now cleared, which is great.

The new game adds 37 new songs to the playlist, including artists such as Black Prez, Machine Gun Kelly, Reel Big Fish, and Less Than Jake. But the golden addition has to be ska band Sublime's "Same in the End," off their self-titled album. It's the perfect music to break your bones to.

There's no blood

The bailing in the original THPS1 is distinctive and memorable. You hear, "OOF!" and the smack of flesh against concrete. Blood squirts out of your character's nose. But in the new game, there is no blood, and there's a blurred "rewind" effect in place of the skater getting up.

There's Couch Co-Op and Online Multiplayer

The interface for the game is an interactive hub that breaks down into three distinct "Skate Tours." The first two Tours are the single-player campaign modes of the two classic games. The Free Skate and online ranked play have been clustered into a single category called Ranked & Free Skate, which has global leaderboards to compare yourself against the world.

All your favorite multiplayer modes are back, along with some new additions: Score Challenge, Combo Challenge, Combo Mambo, Graffiti, HORSE, Trick Attack, and Tag. You can either play these modes as a casual competitor, which allows for multiple winners or as a serious skater, depending on your level of expertise.

Create-A-Park and Create-A-Skater are back

The Creation modes from THPS2 return with additional customization options; In the character mode, you now have the option to create women, and countless articles of clothing and accessories are available in the Skate Shop, purchasable with cash that you earn in-game.

You can upload your park online and download other people's parks, which are sortable by number of plays, rating, and upload date.