Tony Hawk's Project 8 (THP8) may be the second Tony Hawk game to appear on the Xbox 360, but it's THP8 that is Neversoft's true next-gen herald. Everything in THP8 has been built from the ground up, and we're not just talking about a new coat of paint. With an entirely new graphics engine and animation system, THP8 delivers a skating experience that feels both familiar and brand spanking new. Of course, after nearly eight years and as many games, Tony Hawk isn't exactly what you'd call a spring chicken.

Is 8 really great?
Let's get this out of the way, right off the bat; we've been playing Tony Hawk games for nearly eight years. Let's face it, in any type of media, be it TV, music, movies or games,,eight years is a dynasty, but, there comes a time when things start to become stale, even for dynasties. The Cosby Show only made it for eight seasons, Seinfeld decided to call it quits after nine and Friends should never have made it to ten! Now, after eight years of Tony Hawk, does THP8 warrant an encore or is it ringing the series' death knell? I'll give you a hint; that ringing in your ears isn't from the grim reaper. Odds are that it's probably from your umpteenth bail off of an insane trick line gone wrong.

Yes, Tony Hawk has done it again. THP8 delivers an intense skating experience that's more reminiscent of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (some would say the best of the bunch) than the last few entries in the series. THP8 sets an entire city at your fingertips. There's a lot of real estate to cover, and you'll need every inch of it if you're going to get your name on the roster for Tony's new skate team: "Project 8." Tony has come to your town looking for some new recruits, but he's not taking just anybody. To get on Tony's team you'll have to claw your way up the ranks to get into one of the top eight spots, and where do you think you'll start? That's right, say hello to number 200. You've got a long way to go before you get your name on Tony's coveted list.

With Jason Lee—of Mallrats and My Name is Earl fame—as your guide to the top of Tony's list, you'll start out in the suburbs of town and quickly make your way out into the city. Each area of the game has sets of challenges that mirror each other but easily remain interesting throughout the game thanks to fantastic level design. While each area may have a "demo" challenge where you have to keep three separate crowds entertained for a certain amount of time, the different level designs for each area force you to mix it up. You can't rely on doing bowl tricks in every area to amp up the crowd; instead you'll find the layout in one area encouraging you to use ramps and flip tricks while another has you grinding it out on rails. Upping the ante, THP8 has 3 difficulty levels for nearly every challenge; am, pro, and sick. Completing a challenge on sick will do a lot more to improve your rank than completing the amateur goal. The three difficulty levels give THP8 long legs when you consider that most Tony Hawk fans could breeze through these challenges normally. Even the hardcore will find the sick goals on the verge of insanity.

Nail that trick!
Pretty much every trick from past Hawk games return in THP8. Thankfully, Neversoft has something new up its sleeve. The "Nail the Trick" mode gives you full, seamless control over your skater as you perform custom flip tricks. Once you're in the air, pushing both thumb stick buttons activates the "Nail the Trick" mode. In this mode, time slows down and the camera focuses in on your feet and board. Each thumb stick controls one of your legs so that you manually perform flip tricks. The new mode is incredibly deep and a blast to experiment with. Don't expect to master it right away, but you get a tutorial to help you get started with the mode.

If it's been a while since your last Tony Hawk game, Tony Hawk's Project 8 is just the thing to get you back on your board again. Besides a few framerate problems and several pro skaters that look more like reanimated corpses, THP8's new graphics engine is a huge leap forward from last year's last-gen look-a-like 360 outing. At its core, THP8 may not be all that different from past games in the series, but when your core mechanics are as addictive as this, why deviate? Neversoft has distilled all of the best elements from Tony Hawk games—classic goals, streaming levels, an angst ridden teenager approved soundtrack—and put them all into one tidy package. Consider this one, nailed!

- teal