Yesterday, I postulated that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 might end up being a terrible game. The day one patch for the game clocks in bigger than the download for the game itself. Couple that with the late in development art change, the unannounced removal of split screen and the fact that review copies of the game have only just gone out, after launch, and you’ve got all the hallmarks of a terrible game.
Even after the nearly 8GB patch, the game is still a horrible, glitch mess, as evidenced by the video by the haps from Eurogamer, who’ve quite rightly been having a laugh at how terrible it all is.
It seems to be a rushed game, made with ineptitude and incompetence – produced to cash in on the nostalgia of fans of the long-running series. It could be a little more nefarious than that. Developer Dan Teasedale spotted a press release from 2002, confirming that Activision’s licencing deal with Tony Hawk expires at the end of this year.
Says the 2002 press release:
“Activision, Inc. announced today that the company has extended its successful partnership with world-renowned skateboarder Tony Hawk through an exclusive multi-year video game licensing agreement that expires in 2015.”
The cynical Grinch in me is left believing that somebody at Activision realised the contract was set to end, and decided that it was indeed time to capitalise, and wring profits out of the franchise for the last time – before the Tony Hawk name goes off, potentially, to somewhere else. The even more cynical part of me wonders if this isn’t a clever way to burn the series’ name for good, making it so that other publishers lose interest?
Should we be surprised that Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5 is a bad game? Probably not. Developer Robomodo hasn’t managed to pull off a great Tony Hawk game yet (and now likely never will). Their initial foray in to the licence since progenitor, the sadly now defunct Neversoft left it behind to work on Guitar Hero was Ride; a peripheral-based Tony Hawk game that was lambasted by critics and users alike. They then did much the same thing with Shred – and then even managed to cock up an HD remaster of the first game, by yanking out Split screen multiplayer and the Park Creator.
This, I fear, is the end of the road for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, once one of the greatest franchises in videogames – and it’s sad that it’s been reduced to such a shambles. As a reminder, it’s a full-priced, $60 game.
If anything, we can only hope that all the interest in the game is the impetus EA needs to revive Skate.
Last Updated: September 30, 2015
(Umar) Must be Cipher
September 30, 2015 at 08:07
Man……Apparently you can’t even really play the game WITHOUT the patch…Damn, whatever happened behind scenes is irrelevant…this is some disgusting shizz. Full price FOR WUT!?
Francois Knoetze
September 30, 2015 at 08:09
Crap like this would actually make me set my console on fire and gauge out my eyes
Grand Admiral Chief
September 30, 2015 at 08:20
Asshats like these are what is wrong with gaming. No respect. I’d sooner set myself on fire that be associated with kak like this
Pariah
September 30, 2015 at 09:00
See now this is worth raging about.
Ottokie "Yahtzee"
September 30, 2015 at 08:23
People have asked me a lot why I stopped buying AAA games and almost always play indie games. Well, here is a good example with Tony Hawks.
If you want awesome nostalgia take $15 and go buy shovel knight.
(Umar) Must be Cipher
September 30, 2015 at 08:27
It’s a double edged sword though. Whole yes, some AAA games are hot messes, others are gems. We just have to be smart about our purchases and what we choose to buy.
Ottokie "Yahtzee"
September 30, 2015 at 08:29
True, but with today’s Rand Dollar exchange, games are most likely going to float very close to the R1000 mark and that is a pricey mistake if the game turns out bad.
(Umar) Must be Cipher
September 30, 2015 at 08:31
Very true, which is why we shouldn’t pre-order (I say this to myself first, as I’m yet to fully let go of that too). I get it though, games are crazy expensive, and imagine dropping R800 on something like The Order 1886.
Ottokie "Yahtzee"
September 30, 2015 at 08:36
Yea I cant stress enough how many times I tried to stop people from pre ordering just because they don’t read gaming news and pre reviews and I have a little more background on what we might expect from a game. That’s the reason I love Lagz, if a game sucks they tell you it sucks xD
Milesh Bhana
September 30, 2015 at 08:50
i generally don’t buy games on day 1 (more an affordability and backlog issue :P). But it works in my favour because when i decide i want that title, i have a pretty good idea whether or not the launch bugs have been fixed.
Still, it’s crappy that day 1 purchasers have been reduced to beta testers (or in the case of THPS5, Alpha testers).
Alien Emperor Trevor
September 30, 2015 at 13:28
Batman: AK is both, does that make it a semi-precious gem?
HairyEwok
September 30, 2015 at 09:02
Can I do a 360 no scope with my skateboard in shovel knights?
Ottokie "Yahtzee"
September 30, 2015 at 09:09
You can pogo stick jump…much better trust me 😛
HairyEwok
September 30, 2015 at 09:09
WHAAAAATT!!!! SOLD!!!
Ottokie "Yahtzee"
September 30, 2015 at 09:10
Awwww yiss!
Pariah
September 30, 2015 at 09:02
Man, if I had to start listing the indie games I’ve loved, I’d be here all day. And I’m sure tons of people would extend that list.
AAA games, well the list is much shorter.
Ottokie "Yahtzee"
September 30, 2015 at 09:08
Exactly, the whole of 2016 I have not bought a AAA title. My time was spent on ARK, Tera, Trove, RoK, Cities Skylines, Rocket League and Warframe (we still need a 4th in warframe by the way… I am PEEKing at you Admiral)
HairyEwok
September 30, 2015 at 09:16
Oh oh you can get Wildstar too now. It went free to play if your into that games.
Ottokie "Yahtzee"
September 30, 2015 at 09:16
As well as Guild Wars 2 base game 🙂 I own both of these games… got Wildstar for $1 a few months ago XD
Pariah
September 30, 2015 at 09:18
I bought it on release, played for 2 months, and while it was a fun game – wasn’t worth subbing for. Don’t have the interest to go back yet, but I did spend hours and hours building my house at least. XD
Ottokie "Yahtzee"
September 30, 2015 at 09:18
I had that house building addiction in Trove xD
HairyEwok
September 30, 2015 at 09:19
I’m fortunate to have bought guild wars 2 on release (was such a stupid move) and then I went and bought Wildstar in hopes it will give me that WoW feeling away from WoW (I know sounds stupid. Another stupid move since both are F2P now) so much feels in this post of mine.
Ottokie "Yahtzee"
September 30, 2015 at 09:21
I was also a Beta tester and early adopter for GW2 it is not a bad game by a long shot. It is very boring without people to play with so now that its free I am going to rope some people in 😛
HairyEwok
September 30, 2015 at 09:23
I’ve roped in 3 guys already XD 2 Love it, the other 1 is meh about it. Said it’s the most boring game he has ever played.
Ottokie "Yahtzee"
September 30, 2015 at 09:25
You always have at least 1 naysayer in every group xD but for now I am very glad to be back in Warframe with people to group up with and get shit done 😛 MMO’s can wait a bit
Pariah
September 30, 2015 at 09:25
GW2 got boring though. I have 4 lvl 80’s, and while it was fun for a while, it just got dull. The only progression was legendary weapons. Which I nearly had my first as well when I decided meh and moved on.
HairyEwok
September 30, 2015 at 08:57
Where’s the guy that said on a post yesterday this game runs smooth and without problems?
Alien Emperor Trevor
September 30, 2015 at 09:19
He was only paid to comment positively on one article?
HairyEwok
September 30, 2015 at 09:21
So the payment was what, his soul?
Pariah
September 30, 2015 at 09:26
You’re saying a Ginger asked him to post a good thing about a shit game? O_O
*Tin Foil Hat*
HairyEwok
September 30, 2015 at 09:28
I know right *Illumiginernati Confirmed*
Alien Emperor Trevor
September 30, 2015 at 13:26
Surely they’d be the Infraredluminati?
Alien Emperor Trevor
September 30, 2015 at 09:19
#StayStrongD
Ottokie "Yahtzee"
September 30, 2015 at 09:21
The internet has ruined my mind…
Alien Emperor Trevor
September 30, 2015 at 09:29
It’s a Double entenDre!
Pariah
September 30, 2015 at 09:30
Double D’s are a bit too large for my tastes. C is about right.
Alien Emperor Trevor
September 30, 2015 at 09:34
Get in the C!
HairyEwok
September 30, 2015 at 10:03
Cal-C-Vita bruh.
Raptor Rants
September 30, 2015 at 12:54
And people ask me why I’m so vocal about day 1 purchases and pre-orders. Yet again another broken game with another massive day 1 patch that yet again doesn’t fix a thing by yet another large industry favorite.
BAH. Disgusting
Pariah
September 30, 2015 at 13:09
HEY. This isn’t a proper rant. I can’t tl;dr this. Do better… We all know you can, especially on this topic.
<3
Raptor Rants
September 30, 2015 at 13:24
Hehehehe. I’m sorry. I’ll do better next time 🙂
40 Insane Frogs
October 2, 2015 at 09:49
Dear EA, You could give Activision a thick lower lip, just remaster last gen’s Skate 1 and 2 for us on PS4 and Xboner! Don’t bother with Skate 3, that was shit in a brown paper bag. Also, remaster Def Jam Vendetta… the greatest wrestling/fighting game of the naughties.
40 Insane Frogs
October 2, 2015 at 09:50
What amazes me is how poor the graphics are…. sweet mother of Bobby Kotick…..