Game: Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 Remix Publisher: Activision Developer: Neversoft Entertainment & Shaba Games Wireless Multiplayer: Yes Game Sharing: No Wireless LAN: No Requires Memory Stick: Yes

First up, I am a Tony Hawk (game) fan from way back.

I've played the PC version of Town Hawk 2 and THUG2 to death and have clocked the Gameboy Advance versions of TH2 (first GBA purchase) and TH3 (many hours on the train! :) ). I could yabber on all day but the question you probably want to know is: "Does the Tony Hawk franchise deliver the same high quality on the PSP??"

The graphics in THUG2R are near identical to THUG2 on other platforms.

I did notice that there appears to be a bit of blurred motion while playing, it doesn't really detract that much from the experience though.

The animations look realistic as always, motion capture looks great and the palette is good.

The FMV cut sections are similar to those on other platforms – perhaps a little less fluid and blocky? But heh – it's the gags and content that's important here! Sometimes the in-level FMV detracts from gameplay while it loads, plays then dumps you back. It's not enough to really complain about though.

The sound in THUG2R is very good. The music is a real mixed bag of skater punk, mixed with some metal and some retro tracks thrown in for good measure. As always some big names make cameos such as Faith No More, RHCP, Metallica and the Violent Femmes, as well as a few retro tracks like Johnny Cash’s "Ring of Fire" and the "Break On Through" intro track by The Doors. I do admit there are a couple of ordinary tracks too (it could be just me though) at least there is an option to skip the current track. However with 50 odd tracks on the UMD you can't complain at all.

The standard smacks, cracks, grinds, switchin', flippin' and bloody thuds are present. Not much to say here.

I have played THUG2 a fair bit on the PC but when I got to the first location I didn't recognise it… and for a while I thought that I wouldn't get to play some of the standard locations but was relieved to find out that the first level is one of the 4 new tracks included exclusive to PSP! Awesome work! As always the level designs are well thought out and they squeeze heaps of goals into each level.

In fact I sometimes can't tell the difference. It plays near identical so if you’re a fan you'll be impressed and if you've never played it you'll think its great too.

THUG2R has wireless game play that I can't wait to try out… Although where is the GAMESHARING options? The Wipeout gamesharing option is awesome and I think more games should employ this feature. This aside THUG2R does provide a huge amount of options for wireless mini-games to play with friends – just as well :)

Load times are a bit sluggish, but once's you're in the level you often stay there for ages so I guess Shaba can be forgiven.

There are too many gameplay options to list here and I am trying to keep this brief. Lets just say that it includes pretty much all the same stuff as on PS2 or PC – including the character building and face mapping options – awesome.

The wacked out storyline complete with Jackass cameo's such as Wee Man, Bam's dad and Steve-o as well as your favourite skating legends keep the game interesting throughout.

I guess the difficulty really depends on how good a Tony Hawk player you are. I have spent way too much time playing this game on other platforms and I was pretty much able to pull out the big moves after a few minutes. Very intuitive!

The style of the game also helps to ease a newbie into the action so even a novice will be able to get the hang of it in 20 mins or so.

This title is great value as it provides so many options, levels, multiplayer modes and secrets that it should keep you entertained for hours. Although if you’ve played THUG2 a fair bit on the PS2 or PC then it may wear a bit thin after a while with some considerable Déjà vu!

A few years ago I would never have predicted that I could be playing the same awesome game on a handheld. In short, THUG2R has captured the playability of its namesake on other platforms near flawlessly. If you love Tony Hawk games you will love this game, the only potential problem is the fact its so close to other versions of the game that perhaps you don’t want to double up on this purchase? Then again can you play your other TH games on the bus?? :)

Graphics: 9
Sound: 9
Gameplay: 8
Difficulty: 6
Value: 8


Score: 8.3