Tony Hawk’s “Ride” Introduces Skateboard Peripheral

It’s not all too often I bring a rant about a console game into our main news section, but when Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground came out in late 2007, I felt like I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. As a huge fan of the series since the original game was released in 1999, I felt like something had to be done in order to keep the franchise alive.

A while after that was posted, Activision came out and said that no new Tony Hawk game would be published in 2008, which marked the first time since the original title that the one-per-year cycle was broken. The reason was simply because they wanted to spend more time on the next one, and what that probably meant was a full overhaul, and it looks like that’s exactly what we’re getting.

Being a fan of every game in the series so far, I was a bit worried about this new one, because after all, it’s the current game play I’ve come to enjoy, so an overhaul didn’t exactly excite me. But Ars Technica gave the new game a go at E3, and it actually looks to be quite a bit of fun. While .skate revolutionized the skateboard genre, Tony Hawk’s Ride actually puts you IN the action. Well, it at least puts you on a skateboard peripheral.

I’m doubtful I’ll enjoy the new game as much as the classics, but I still can’t wait to see this come out. If anything, I’ll finally get my much-needed workout.

In the first demo I have to manual-or balance on the rear wheels-for fifty feet. This requires the player to lean back on the board, causing the front to rise up from the ground. Balance is tricky, and I instinctively bring my arms up to held stay in this position. To ollie-or jump with all the wheels off the ground-you have to lean back quickly to bring the front up and back down. I try this and land on a rail, balancing my grind by leaning back and forth.