Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam is a fresh approach to skateboarding games, concentrating on a return to the downhill levels of the first Tony Hawk game. Take your skater to one of over 90 events in eight locations around the world and race those downhill courses. Speed is the key in this game; the tricks are secondary, as you must win the race to progress. No longer are you worrying about where to find the next quarter pipe so you can get some air, you are just blasting down the course, busting tr ... more >>

Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam is a fresh approach to skateboarding games, concentrating on a return to the downhill levels of the first Tony Hawk game. Take your skater to one of over 90 events in eight locations around the world and race those downhill courses. Speed is the key in this game; the tricks are secondary, as you must win the race to progress. No longer are you worrying about where to find the next quarter pipe so you can get some air, you are just blasting down the course, busting tricks as you go in order to earn boost to go even faster!

Another change in the approach of Downhill Jam is in the removal of almost all of the licensed skaters. Only Tony himself remains, the likes of Mullen and Margera replaced with more extravagant, almost cartoon-like characters. As with the other games, you can still make use of the Create-a-skater tool to make your own skating hero to guide through the game. You also have access to a wide variety of different types of skateboards, from fishtails and long-boards to today's high-tech decks. Each type of board will affect the way the game plays; some boards are built for speed and some are more suited to tricks and manoeuvring. And you will have to a lot of manoeuvring, as the courses you are racing down are not empty. There are vehicles and pedestrians to avoid in addition to the other skaters, and there are objects and scenery to crash through and shortcuts to find. You can even knock down your opponents to get ahead.

With both single and multi-player modes, Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam has all the right ingredients to make a really fun game. If you like the other games in the series, and if you like snowboarding games like SSX, this is the game for you. << less