Activision Aims Tony Hawk: Shred at Kids

vansau

Mortician of Love
May 25, 2010
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Activision Aims Tony Hawk: Shred at Kids



Activision's upcoming Tony Hawk game is getting a lot more kid-friendly and a lot less realistic.

Despite the fact that <a href=http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-Tony-Hawk-Skateboard-Bundle/dp/B0029TQV4E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1281722206&sr=8-2>Tony Hawk: Ride was, well, <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/96594-Tony-Hawk-Pissed-About-TH-Ride-Reviews>generally considered terrible, Activision is committed to releasing another game that utilizes the skateboard control. However, this new game Tony Hawk: Shred is being marketed towards kids because that was the audience that Ride was the most popular with.

According to Joystiq, which got to see a demo of the game in action, Shred is designed to be a more cartoon-like experience with both its art and its gameplay. As a result, the game completely leaves any sense of realism behind in lieu of insane (read: physically impossible) stunts that are sure to thrill younger gamers.

In Shred, players will jump off buildings, leaving craters in the ground when they land. They will also be able to, "jump and grind between roller coaster-styled rails in levels that would feel at home in a Sonic game." The game will mainly consist of linear downhill levels so you'll know where you're supposed to go. Shred's big addition to the Tony Hawk franchise, though, is the inclusion of snowboarding, as well as some big-name snowboarders as playable characters.

One of the major complaints many players had about Ride was that the skateboard controller was often difficult to use. Activision has promised that Shred will have better controls that are easier to use; an example of this is that any motion made before hitting a rail will be interpreted as a jump.

Tony Hawk: Shred certainly sounds like it has the potential to be better than its predecessor, but it's hard to get excited about the game before anyone gets to spend some hands-on time with it. The game is due out sometime during the 2010 holiday season, with the hardware bundle selling for $100 instead of Ride's launching pricetag of $120.

Source: Joystiq

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silver wolf009

[[NULL]]
Jan 23, 2010
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Heh kids, guess what? Bright lights and pretty colors!

Serioulsy this is going to flop just as hard as ride did, Skate is going to win Activision, let it go.
 

Torque669

New member
Apr 21, 2009
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I used to love the old Tony Hawk games aswell ... Pity.

They should just leave Skate to the crowd interested in games like this. They obviously do it better.
 

ultimateownage

This name was cool in 2008.
Feb 11, 2009
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You know, I used to like Tony Hawk, back in the days when the games where good and Activision wasn't full of bastards. I even liked the free roam in Underground, and hanging out with the Jackass crew in Underground 2. But at least I once liked Tony Hawk, I have never liked Skate. The controls are shit, fiddly and frustrating, and that's the only notable difference between that and the good Tony Hawk games, although that could just be nostalgia saying that.
 

Sennz0r

New member
May 25, 2008
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I didn't even know Tony Hawk: Ride came out.

Last Hawk game I played was American Sk8tland on the DS, which was a pretty fun game. Seems like they're going in a completely different direction now.
I mean, crashing into the ground forming craters? You might as well put Transformers on skateboards, I bet that'd be more fun. Hmm...

*Copyrights 'Transformers: Boards of Cybertron'*
 

Therumancer

Citation Needed
Nov 28, 2007
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Never been a big Skateboarding game fan, despite some interest in "Skate Or Die" when it first came out.

That said, I can't figure out what the marketing crowd is thinking. To be entirely honest kids know when they are being patronized, and a lot of the appeal they found in the original failed product was specifically it's (relative) realism and connection to a real master Skateboarder like Tony Hawk who a lot of them probably secretly wish they could be. Release something cartoony that has people leaving impact craters in the ground while skateboarding, and no pretensions of realism at all, and I think they will murder the tiny audience they already established.

Truthfully as I understand things a big part of the problem with "Ride" was simply put that it's a mess. I'd think that the right direction to go in would probably be for them to take a look at the issues people were complaining about and work on tightening it up, adding more content, and otherwise improving what was a reasonably sound idea for those who like playing games with a foot pad of some sort (and understand, this is a niche audience to begin with).

I don't know, if I was a kid, and into Skateboarding even as just a concept (without doing it IRL) enough to want a $100-$120 game for it, I don't think I'd be all that interested in shred. As odd as it sounds the last thing kids want is the things they do to be seen as "kiddy".
 

daskat

New member
Nov 4, 2009
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Only games i liked from Tony Hawk series was 2 and 3. Zero realism, fun to play (at least for me) and great soundtrack. When they started to add realism i realize that skating is not for me (i have 2 left foots and the body/space coordination of a mammoth). Anyways they weren't all that realistic, for me a realistic skate game would one that instead of control the skater i would control the guy who control the skater and it would be something kind of simesque. Making the guy learn manuals then playing the game some, eat something, back to the game... etc.
 

sephiroth1991

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Dec 3, 2009
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I can ride a telephone wire, jump of a tall building, wall ride a elephant and perform a mile long manual and it's getting less realistic what will happen next you can drop from space and land inside a pool of money.
 

Megacherv

Kinect Development Sucks...
Sep 24, 2008
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Goddammit, as long as they don't normal controller support, the Tony Hawk series is dead to me...

...and it has pretty colours and everything...*cries*
 

YepGeddon

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Apr 16, 2009
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Optimus Hagrid said:
Look on the bright side people, it might be a bit like Jet Set Radio.
I thought that.. But then I slapped myself for such a stupid thought. Nothing could ever be a bit like Jet Set Radio :(
 

rosac

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Sep 13, 2008
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Dear activision.

Bring back pro skater 1, 2 and 3 as single game with updated graphics and normal, non gimmick controls and see how it sells.

Do it now.

thankyou