Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period.
THDJ NDS Impressions THDJ for the Nintendo DS is out! The first version of Downhill Jam offers a new Hawk experience. How is it compared to traditional Hawk games? Read on! More >
Planet Tony Hawk Relaunch! Didn't I once say I'd never go through a redesign? So much for that! With THP8 and THDJ coming out in a few short weeks, we're unveiling a snazzy new look. Lots to look forward to here, I'm excited! More >
WoW Patch 2.0.1 The biggest World of Warcraft Update yet. Download it from FilePlanet!
Downhill Jam Controls How will the Wii control? This should be interesting!
Project 8 Hands-On Preview PS2, PS3, PSP, Xbox, Xbox360 - Is that enough Project 8 for ya?
Monday, 4 December, 2006 � Planet Tony Hawk News
THP8 PSP Roundup 16:49 PST | slateman | Print News | Mail News I just got a hold of the PSP version of THP8 and am looking forward to digging into it. My 1.5 firmware posed a problem, but that was easily fixed.
So, I'm looking forward to playing the Classic Mode, and thanks for everyone who verified that Phoenix was indeed Downhill Jam from THPS. By the looks of it, the returning levels from THAW are the biggest chunk of this. However, we have Alcatrax an Hawaii, which are cool. Anyhow, while I get into this, you can read the scores as per GameRankings. The game is actually getting better scores than the PS2 game! While for years, the PS2 ruled supreme (mainly due to online play), it's now at the bottom of the barrel! Check out all the scores here! More to come soon!
Friday, 1 December, 2006 � Planet Tony Hawk News
THDJ NDS Level Guides - Jam Session - Rio 15:03 PST | slateman | Print News | Mail News One more level 'done'. I'm missing the secret tape here, but got the objectives written up for the most part. The high score goals on this level are huge! I've yet to get to the Hoover Dam level, I expect those to be enormous. Going away for a day, Dom will be around, so this is just a quick update. You can see the Rio Guide Here. Have a good weekend!
Since beating the game, THP8 has actually taken a bit of a back seat for me at the moment with Splinter Cell Double Agent, Call of Duty 3 and Gears of War taking all of my attention. I beat the first two and am now on the final boss for GoW. And let me tell you...WOW. What a game. This is THE game for Xbox 360. Truly a landmark in gaming. But don't worry THP8 is getting some time too and me and Slate are currently writing up some guides for the next few levels. Watch this space people!
Wednesday, 29 November, 2006 � Planet Tony Hawk News
THP8 PSP Info 17:10 PST | slateman | Print News | Mail News The last major Hawk release for this month comes in the form of THP8 for the PSP. This is a port of the game that recently appeared on the PS2 and Xbox and was developed by Shaba. IGN just reviewed the game and they gave it a 6.0. Not the best score, but no one expected grandeur.
However, one big item of interest is the exclusive levels found on the PSP game. A while ago Kenny emailed me the list, but to be honest, I wasn't sure if I could believe him or not! (sorry!) So, the list of returning levels on the PSP only are:
Chicago (THPS)
The Mall (THPS)
Minneapolis (THPS)
Marseilles (THPS 2)
Alcatraz (THPS 4)
Hawaii (THUG)
The Ruins (THAW)
Phoenix (?)
I'm not sure of Phoenix, but this is what he wrote in.
I'll await a copy to check out for myself, but take a peek at the review above. While the score isn't great, they do have some good things to say, even in comparison to the next-gen game.
Tuesday, 28 November, 2006 � Planet Tony Hawk News
Anyways, I'm here to report 2 new THDJ NDS Level Guides. I worked through Jam Session on the hard difficulty setting and wrote up one for Kilimanjaro and one for Hong Kong. Only 2 more to go.
And for those who haven't played the game on the NDS, the last level is the Hoover Dam which is Downhill Jam from THPS! It's a bit extended towards the end, but it works very well in the context of downhill skating, moreso than it did in the original game or its re-release in THUG 2! Check out the guides, more coming soon!
Monday, 27 November, 2006 � Planet Tony Hawk News
THP8 Cheats Updated 3:33 PST | slateman | Print News | Mail News I went through the Xbox360 and Xbox versions of THP8 and cleaned up the cheats sections. These contain all verified codes! One cheat chimed saying it works, but I couldn't figure out what it did! I read somewhere that it would give max air stats, but that doesn't seem to be the case. If anyone could verify, let us know! Otherwise, see the new-and-updated Xbox360 Codes Page and the Xbox Codes Page.
Sunday, 26 November, 2006 � Planet Tony Hawk News
THP8 Level Guides - Suburbia, Skate Park & Main Street 6:12 PST | slateman | Print News | Mail News These are for the Xbox360/PS3 version of the game only and are the first of many guides to come. These cover the first three stages from the game and have descriptions of the goals and gaps from that area. These are in progress and require some additional work. Anyone who wishes to help out, particularly with gap details, please let me or Dom know!
The guides we feature here will offer tips on how to accomplish certain goals as well as some tricks that'll help you throughout the game. You can find the THP8 FAQs & Guides here with links to Suburbia, the Skate Park and Main Street. So much more to come!
THDJ Level Guides - Wii 6:11 PST | slateman | Print News | Mail News Since you can't just go up and skate any level in free skate on the Wii (shame shame!) I've written up a big level guide to cover it all. This features details on all the different game modes (slalom, racing, point-based, destruction/slap goals) and should help out anyone having issues or general questions. Check out the full guide here! I'll be updating it with some more details shortly.
New THDJ Images 6:11 PST | slateman | Print News | Mail News There are high-res character renders of all the skaters from THDJ posted in the Screenshot/Image page. The diverse cast of skaters are bright and colorful, something that matches their attitudes in the game. While the cast is the same as the handheld games, these images are for the Wii version. It would be cool to get a hold of the concept art for the stages. They appear in the game, but as movies, not still images. That art is pretty cool.
Saturday, 25 November, 2006 � Planet Tony Hawk News
Still Going... 13:06 PST | slateman | Print News | Mail News Every year I do the same thing. I get the new Hawk game, complete it, then start working on the site! Well, being under the weather hasn't helped, that's one. Secondly, I'm still playing THDJ. I'm on the 10th tier and I got stuck with 2 Top-To-Bottom Slalom objectives before the final boss. These are sheer memorization and precision and I haven't been able to win yet. Not to mention the PS2/Xbox game. I don't even know where to start this year. *sigh*
Thursday, 23 November, 2006 � Planet Tony Hawk News
I went and spent the day w/ my family and have only just returned. Having beaten THP8 the other day (Got to #7), I want to get back to it and crack the top 4. There are still things I haven't yet seen, so I should get to that tonight! Then, it's on to working on the PS2/Xbox version and chugging through the Wii. I'm pretty far into that one, but I feel like I just keep doing goal after goal after goal.
Anyways, with so much Hawk this autumn, it's been pretty hard keeping current! I hope all of you out there are enjoying the day and enjoying whatever Hawk game you have this year. I'll be back later w/ more of something!
Monday, 20 November, 2006 � Planet Tony Hawk News
THDJ GBA Guides 14:17 PST | Metal_Dom | Print News | Mail News Whilst THP8 madness envelops us here at PTH I've taken some time out to throw up the first 4 level guides for THDJ on GBA. I expect to do the rest soon but focus at the moment really is on THP8. I beat the game earlier on today and I really enjoyed the whole thing. Now comes the slow arduous task of picking the game apart bit by bit!
Sunday, 19 November, 2006 � Planet Tony Hawk News
It's a Wii World After All... 12:33 PST | slateman | Print News | Mail News My initial woes regarding 14-hour waits were eased as I was able to secure a system last night at midnight. I waited a short while, but not hours on end. So, of course the requisite purchase was....Zelda! Come on, there's no doubt about that one! I did pick up THDJ as well, still hoping to get a copy from Activision anyway.
The hardware itself is interesting, and that's the best way to describe it. Everything just seems so different, and moreso than just the console and controller. The interface is pretty cool and I created some Mii characters for my daughters as we played Wii Sports this morning.
However, I suppose cuiriosity remains highest for THDJ. Having played the NDS game a lot prior, it's fun to see the similarities in level design and characters. The biggest concern is the controls and even after several hours, it still just doesn't sit well with me. Turning gets better as time goes on, but the trick system still doesn't feel good at all. Flips and spins don't register for me properly and please, for the love of whichever deity you pray to, don't get turned around backwards. Just tap the minus sign button (huh? The -) and it'll respawn you. Otherwise you're in for misery. I was also a bit disappointed at the sense of speed. Balancing speed and clarity of your surroundings is important, but I never got that OMG feeling, not that I should compare anything to Burnout.
The game is fun and the levels are very large. With courses broken up into different objectives (much like the NDS), it's cool to skate in varied sections. It is also a very different experience for those yearning for the series' reincarnation.
I'll dive more into it soon. And I have to say, this has been a crazy year. 2 new consoles, 5 new Hawk games, a new design, a new editor and a new job. :)
There should be several times more Wii consoles available when it launches this weekend. Cool! However, since I've moved to middle-of-nowhere Maine, my choices of retailers is limited. So, I chatted w/ them on the phone tonight and they tell me that they should have 29 units. Not bad, particularly considering they only had 4 PS3s. The bad news is that I have to get in line at 7am and wait till 9pm to get a ticket. Then I could return at midnight and pick it up. 14 hours to get a ticket? Surely not bad in light of the PS3 launch, but that means no wii for me...not this weekend!
Oh well. You can check out IGN's THDJ Wii Review here (they gave it a 7), but you won't be hearing from Dom or I for a while on this one. Not that we don't have enough to cover w/ the PS2/Xbox and PS3/Xbox360 versions of THP8, right?
