In comparison to the past 2 THUG games You really feel that they spent more time on giving the game a better storyline and overall attitude. The graphical transitions/illustrations harkens back to late 70s, early 80s skate culture. The story centers on you falling in with a group of skaters with an enigmatic leader who are looking to build a Skate Ranch. Along the way, you try to gain professional recognition and sponsorships..but really, it's all about building the ultimate Skate park by tricking off and stealing landmarks that will be placed in the Ranch.  One of a few beefs, I did have with the story mode is that when you're completing the mini-missions, some of which are really repetitive (1st of 3 problems), you usually need to complete 3 different levels of the task...if you complete the first 2 of the 3 and then fail the third ( 2nd of 3 problems )..you will have to start from the beginning again...I can't tell you how much swearing that lead to. Would it have killed the developers to add in a quick save function for these tasks? And finally, with the tasks, some are ridiculously easy and others were ridiculously difficult and this isn't just early on in the game when you're learning to play...this is even into the final levels.

The game play mechanics in the game are still solid and to Neversoft's credit they really ease you into the depth of the control mechanics that you can use throughout the game. Like the THUG games...you can ride a BMX, it's pretty funny. If you played the Matt Hoffman series of games you'll know that the controls were a little screwy too...there is a slight improvement to these controls and tricks, but they're still jerky. however, you don't have to use the bike for anymore than a few missions so you won't feel trapped into using the bike for too long. So that's a big plus in my books.

Another big plus, that people I think take for granted is the amazing level design. In all levels there are the obvious half pipes, rails, stairs and gaps, but if you look a little harder or experiment you'll find some great areas to pull some awesome tricks off of. So a big thumbs up for level design.

Also, not to be forgotten is the soundtrack. Like every other Tony Hawk game, it boasts an awesome soundtrack. This time around they've got a few current 'punk' bands covering punk classics as well as tracks as well singles from decidedly non-punk acts such as The Bravery and The Faint  Also, an awesome surprise for me was a track from Death From Above 1979, an amazing Canadian duo. If you like their track, I highly recommend you pick up their album [ You're a woman, I'm a machine ].

Speaking of product placement...there was more product placement in this game then I'd care to shake a stick at: Jeep, Nokia, POWERade, Nestle Chocolate bars and Sirius Radio. Sirius Radio was such a big sponsor that one of the unlockables in the game was a Sirius DJ. What's up with that?

Other hidden characters include Billy Joe from Green Day and Matt Hoffman from the Matt Hoffman Pro BMX series.

I did play a bit of Tony Hawk Underground online with Xbox Live. it was good and not jerky at all, but you'll have more fun playing with friends at your place.