Tony Hawk's Underground 2

Tony Hawk's Underground 2
Developer(s)	Neversoft (PS2, Xbox, GC & PC) Vicarious Visions (GBA) Shaba Games (PSP)
Publisher(s)	Activision
Series	Tony Hawk
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Microsoft Windows, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation Portable
Release date(s)	NA 20041004October 4, 2004 EU 20041008October 8, 2004 EU October 15, 2004 (PC & GBA) NA March 15, 2005 (PSP) EU September 1, 2005 (PSP)
Genre(s)	Sports
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Tony Hawk's Underground 2, also known as THUG 2, is the sixth installment in Neversoft's Tony Hawk's Series and sequel to Tony Hawk's Underground. Tony Hawk's Underground 2 was released on October 4, 2004 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Microsoft Windows and Game Boy Advance platforms. The game is partly based on season 2 of Viva La Bam, although there are many references to Jackass.

Although not the first game in the franchise to be released in a seventh generation console, Underground 2 is also forwards compatible with the Xbox 360. On March 15, 2005, it was released for the PlayStation Portable and renamed Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix, indicating that the video game was recreated for the PSP format.

Gameplay

The gameplay in Tony Hawk's Underground 2 is similar to that of previous Tony Hawk games: the player skates around in a 3D environment modeled after various cities and attempts to complete various goals. Most goals involve skating on or over various objects or performing combos. Scores are calculated by adding the sum of the point value of each trick strung together in a combo and then multiplying by the number of tricks in the combo.

Many levels return from previous games, including an expanded warehouse (which also serves as the Story Mode's training area), School and Downhill Jam from Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Canada, Los Angeles and Airport from Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, and Philadelphia from Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2. The main menu contains the player next to the "Wheel of Loogies." The choices are on the wheel.

A classic mode was added to THUG 2, which allows players to skate through both new and remade classic levels in the traditional 10-goal, two-minute time limit mode that was present in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, complete with the stat points scattered all around the levels. In classic mode, the player chooses from one or two levels in which to attempt to complete enough goals to advance. All of the "remade" levels are accessible only through "Classic Mode" although once unlocked, it is possible to use them in any mode except "Story Mode".

Story

The opening sequence picks up after the events of the previous game and shows the player (the skater of the previous game) skating at their hometown, a neighborhood in New Jersey. A van shows up in the middle of the ramp and the player accidentally slams into the van. Two people wearing hockey masks kidnap the player and takes them to a dark room with other skaters including the player's rival Eric Sparrow from the previous game, as well as professional skaters Bob Burnquist, Mike Vallely, Eric Koston, Rodney Mullen, and Chad Muska. Then, Bam Margera and Tony Hawk explain their plans for the first annual World Destruction Tour, a "sick-as-hell" around-the-world skateboarding tour. The final goal of the Tour is that the losing team has to pay for everything. The skaters then split into two teams - Team Hawk and Team Bam - and the player, who was left for the final drafting round, joins Team Hawk because Bam had chosen Paulie "Wheels of Fury" Ryan, an obnoxious kid in a bodycast who rides on a motor-powered wheelchair, over him/her, leaving the player to Team Hawk.

The tour starts off in Boston, where Team Bam manages a last-minute win thanks to one of Paulie's stunts, which surpassed the advantage Team Hawk had at the time. As a result, Bob Burnquist, a member of Team Tony is eliminated (via having a tennis ball shot at his genitals). Later on, in Barcelona, Tony's team takes the lead again; however, the punishment for Team Bam is to have the rookies of each team swapped, in his case, the player and Eric Sparrow, who moves from Team Bam to Team Hawk, much to Bam's relief, and Tony's annoyance. At this time though, word has spread out about the World Destruction Tour, due to a clip of Bam hitting a bull in the scrotum with a rubber band causing Phil's room to be trashed somehow appearing on video surveillance.

The next leg of the Tour is Berlin, where Sparrow and the player are swapped back. At that moment, an underground film "writer, producer, director" by the name of Nigel Beaverhausen wishes to bring the tour to the public but instead winds up being humiliated by Tony and Bam. After causing chaos in Bangkok (the skaters were en route to Australia, but Chad Muska suggested a stop in Thailand), the Tour lands in Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia (Bam's team arrives later due to departure problems that make them wind up in India). At the end of the leg, the player is supposed to be eliminated (he/she was the last person to score when the leg was over) by being stripped down to underwear and hit by mousetraps launched at him/her, but due to Rodney Mullen spotting a mathematical error in the team's points, the player has to compete with Eric - the loser will be eliminated from the tour. The group ponders what to do when an Australian skater kid shows them a video of the tour, created by Nigel Beaverhausen. Bam then decides that whoever humiliates Beaverhausen more will stay on the tour. Eric only manages to steal his clothes but the player, with Nigel's clothes (Bam's idea, as he too does not want Eric around anymore), goes off causing chaos for Australian citizens, so that Beaverhausen will be blamed for it. Eric is eliminated from the tour, which advances to New Orleans.

At the end of the New Orleans leg, Nigel revealed that he filmed the whole tour, even before he met Tony and Bam in Berlin. Nigel then proposes that if he is allowed to film the whole tour, he will pay for all the damages of the tour. After Phil Margera shows Tony and Bam the long damage bill (a final money sum of over $21,000,000), they accept. Tony still has some unfinished business, so Bam agrees to let them take care of it since Bam's cockiness impedes his team's win when the hock-a-loogie hits "The Equalizer" target, which if Tony's team does successfully, the tour will be a draw for the win. Team Hawk then performs a death-defying stunt called the "Equalizer" to tie up with Team Bam and is successful, but team members Mike Vallely, Chad Muska and Rodney Mullen are arrested by the cops for stealing (and crashing) the helicopter used for the stunt, leaving only the player and Tony Hawk for the final leg of the Tour: Skatopia, in the backwoods of Ohio, defined by Tony as "the skateboarding Mecca". Though Team Hawk, reduced to two members, performs well enough to win, Bam decides to blow up Skatopia, confident on his victory. In order to save people from the imminent damage, Tony quickly evacuates the skaters and, so thereafter, Bam dares the player (who is still stuck in the back end of Skatopia) to exit the whole flaming park in a single combo, which he considers impossible, but is accomplished by the player, giving Team Hawk the win in the World Destruction Tour. Nigel then wants Bam to give him the tape of the tour, which only shows Bam's father, Phil Margera in the toilet, yelling to his wife April for more toilet paper. The game ends with Bam and Tony humiliating Beaverhausen once more, with Bam pulling down his pants in international TV broadcast.

Skaters

Many different skaters, both real-life professionals, as well as made up, silly, impossible skater characters, are introduced in this game. Mike Vallely, Rodney Mullen, Bob Burnquist, Chad Muska, Tony Hawk, Bam Margera, Eric Koston, Paulie "The Wheels Of Fury" Ten-Year Old Skating Madman, Custom Skater, Eric Sparrow and wee-man are the main ones. In the Boston - Skatopia stage of the game even more are met, such as, Ben Franklin, Jesse James, Bull Fighter, Steve-O, Graffiti Tagger, Shrimp Vendor, Aberigine, Jester, Voodoo Doctor, and Bigfoot. The game also features Aliens, which are also playable characters including people seen throughout Story Mode gameplay.

It stars the Custom Skater unlike the Pro Skater series, but similar to the first Underground.

Soundtrack

Track listing
No.	Title	Length
1.	"25 Ta Life - Over The Years"
2.	"Aesop Rock - No Jumper Cables (Remix)"
3.	"Atmosphere - Trying To Find A Balance"
4.	"Audio Two - Top Billin'"
5.	"Brand Nubian - Punks Jump Up To Get Beat Down"
6.	"Camaros - Cheesecake"
7.	"Cut Chemist - Drums Of Fire"
8.	"Das Oath - Awesome R***"
9.	"Dead Boys - Sonic Reducer"
10.	"Dead End Road - Sin City"
11.	"Disturbed - Liberate"
12.	"Diverse - Certified"
13.	"Faith No More - Midlife Crisis"
14.	"Fear - I Love Livin' In The City"
15.	"Frank Sinatra - That's Life"
16.	"Grand Puba - I Like It"
17.	"Handsome Boy Modeling School - Holy Calamity"
18.	"Iggy & The Stooges - 1970"
19.	"Jimmy Eat World - Pain"
20.	"Johnny Cash - Ring Of Fire"
21.	"Joy Division - Warsaw"
22.	"Lamb Of God - Black Label"
23.	"Less Than Jake - That's Why They Call It A Union"
24.	"Libretto feat. Lifesavas - Volume"
25.	"Living Legends feat. Slug - Night Prowler"
26.	"Melbeatz feat. Kool Savas - Grind On"
27.	"Melvins - Sweet Willie Rollbar"
28.	"Metallica - Whiplash"
29.	"Mike V & The Rats - Never Give Up"
30.	"Ministry - No W"
31.	"Nebula - So It Goes"
32.	"Operatic - Interested In Madness"
33.	"Pete Rock & CL Smooth - Soul Brother #1"
34.	"Rancid - Fall Back Down"
35.	"Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Power Of Equality"
36.	"Steel Pulse - Born Fe Rebel"
37.	"The Casualties - Unknown Soldier"
38.	"The D.O.C. - Whirlwind Pyramid"
39.	"The Distillers - Beat Your Heart Out"
40.	"The Doors - Break On Through (To The Other Side)"
41.	"The Explosion - Here I Am"
42.	"The Germs - Lexicon Devil"
43.	"The Hiss - Back On The Radio"
44.	"The Living End - End Of The World"
45.	"The Ramones - Rock 'n' Roll High School"
46.	"The Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight"
47.	"The Suicide Machines - High Anxiety"
48.	"Three Inches Of Blood - Deadly Sinners"
49.	"Ultramagnetic MC's - Ego Trippin'"
50.	"Violent Femmes - Add It Up"
51.	"Ween - It's Gonna Be A Long Night"
52.	"X - Los Angeles"
53.	"Zeke - Long Train Runnin'"

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	84% (PS2/GC) 83% (Xbox) 70% (GBA) 86% (PC)
Metacritic	83/100 (PS2/Xbox) 82/100 (GC) 85/100 (PC)
Review scores
Publication	Score
1UP.com	A (Xbox/PC) A- (PS2/GC)
Eurogamer	8/10 (PS2)
Game Informer	9.75/10 (PS2/Xbox/GC)
GameSpot	8.3/10 (PS2/PC) 8.2/10 (Xbox/GC)
IGN	8.6/10 (PS2) 8.4/10 (Xbox) 8.3/10 (GC)

The game received generally positive reviews from critics. It was chosen to be part of the Smithsonian's "Art of video games" display for the PlayStation 2 section.